More secret in nature than the Chinese tongs that are linked throughout the country and almost as extensive as many major American labor unions, the Nazi Party in the United States operates in the large and small cities.
So mysterious are the machinations of this iron-bound organization that few persons realize the power behind the as yet innocuous speakers who ferret out the minor German groups of the nation and attempt to sway their attitudes toward the ruling regime in the Fatherland. The Detroit unit is said to be the directing force behind Nazi parties of the Eastern part of the United States. From reliable authorities it is learned that Portland, Oregon, is the vortex of an encircling Western organization, whose ramifications are quite as numerous as those in the Eastern seaboard.
In the larger cities the Nazi Party holds regular weekly meetings to which all sympathizers with Germany are invited. While talks featured during the evening program are bombastic in expression of the Hitler policy, no hint is given as to the nature of the group sponsoring the affair. The essential facts of the Nazi Party organization in each city and town are kept secret; the location, membership, date of meetings, and local policies of the nuclear clique are never mentioned. It is doubtful if even the New York police are aware of the location of offices of the city’s brownshirt party, who come from their congregation point on appointed nights to address German singing clubs, vereins, and business associations.
SWASTIKA, AMERICAN FLAGS SHOWN
The auditoriums in which the open meetings take place are usually decorated with an American flag placed side by side with the Swastika emblem, both of which are prominently placed behind the rostrum upon which the chairman and principal speakers of the evening are seated. The walls are covered with German Nazi slogans, pictures of famous figures in German history, and advertisements in banner form for publishers of Nazi propaganda.
In the rear of the rooms large tables are heavy with Nazi literature, some of it distributed copiously without suggestion of price, while other pamphlets and newspapers are marked for sale in terms of cents, marks, and pfennigs. This reading matter usually features German international problems and denunciations of foreign powers inimical to the Hitler regime, notably France and Poland; but imbedded in the heart of the matter are many references to Jews, which are designed to belie reports of atrocities against that race.
At the door of the assembly rooms stalwart young Germans collect admission fees, restrict the attendance to “friends”, and serve as bouncers in the event of obnoxious heckling. They also pass the hat at the end of meetings, and through their efforts the Nazi Party in the United States realizes considerable revenues.
Prepared speeches rendered by members of the party itself, paid propagandists of the Hitler administration, usually concern Germany’s social, economic, and political problems. But the outbursts that issue from the audience are usually of a more detailed, personal nature, and these deal with the Jewish question. The latter arouse the listeners to the most vigorous reactions of the evening.
DEFENSE ATTEMPTS
Whether extemporaneous speakers rise spontaneously to present their views or whether their ejaculations are carefully prepared in advance and rendered in accord with the designs of party leaders, no one seems to know. In any event they constitute the most effective and most outspoken utterances of the program. A favorite topic of the volunteer speakers is belittlement of the part played by Jewish soldiers in the German Army during the World War.
Leaders of the Nazi Party in New York confidentially assert that meetings held here and in other parts of their territory have thus far been successful in winning the support of many Germans whose views toward the National Socialist regime in Germany have heretofore been either lukewarm or decidedly negative. A strong appeal is made to those present to bury party prejudices and act as a unit with the group in power.
APPEAL TO CHAUVINISM
Not only the present crisis in Germany but also the future of the nation and its expatriates is stressed in the Nazi suit for support. Attempts are made to convince Germans who have become naturalized citizens of other countries and those who retain their German citizenship abroad that their own prestige is closely linked to that of their homeland. The status of Germany among world powers is said to be proportionate to their own among the natives of the country in which they have taken residence.
Further results of the Jewish Daily Bulletin’s investigations will be published in next Sunday’s issue.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
