Nazi activities in this country have been brought to a head by the first open attack on the Jews of America by the Friends of New Germany, Hitler organization in The United States, which has proclaimed a boycott on the Jews. The following is the tenth of a series of articles detailing the rise and growth of the Nazi-inspired anti-Semitic movement in this country in all its ramifications. The articles are based on an exhaustive investigation of Nazi propaganda activities in this country and in Germany for a period of over a year.
The Fascist movement in the United States is being supported by many nationalities and many creeds. It appears that Jews are the only people who have escaped to any extent the attraction of Fascism.
The Pelley and Gulden movements are guided mainly by an urge to install a Nordic Protestant Pat McGrady form of government. The Crusaders for Economic Liberty are Christian without considerable emphasis of national extraction. The Khaki Shirts have as a majority Italians. The American Nationalists have ## appearance of Irish and Catholics. The Croix de Feu are exclusively French, and French Jews adhere to this movement. The Nazis, of course, are German.
Of all the Fascist movements in this country, that of the German population is by far the most important. This will be discussed at length in the concluding articles of this series, describing in full the success enjoyed by Hitlerite agents in regimenting into pro-Fascist ranks a huge majority of the German Americans.
At this time it is of interest to consider the influence of the American nationalist movements of other groups. One thing is certain, neither the Italian, nor the German, nor the French, nor the Irish Fascists can apply their policies to this government. Any one national extraction would constitute a minority.
12,000,000 NEGROES
If one reckons minority races by the various shades of races existent in the United States the Negro constitutes perhaps our nearest approach to an American majority. According to the census of 1930, there are almost 12,000,000 Negroes in this country. They are registered as a pure racial stock. This is almost one-fourth of the entire pure foreign stock in the United States (that is immigrated and native of foreign parentage). According to the census figures, the number of Germans (foreign {SPAN}##{/SPAN} native of foreign parent {SPAN}##{/SPAN} quite seven millions; {SPAN}##{/SPAN} about four millions; Irish, three millions; Polish, 3,300,000; {SPAN}##{/SPAN}s 2,660,000; Scandinavian, {SPAN}##{/SPAN}. The census takes into count only 38,000,000 of the population who have remained socially (with regard to nationality) pure.
These facts make necessary the construction of a successful Fascist American group on international lines. Thus far distaste for the Jew, who is considered by Fascists as international rather than national, appears to be the one point upon which almost all Fascists can see eye to eye.
In a previous article I described the American Nationalists as an outgrowth of the Ku Klux Klan. B. H. Gilligan of Astoria, Long Island, the leader of the movement declares that this is entirely untrue. Gilligan’s movement is not to be confused with another Nationalist movement on Long Island. Gilligan, a Catholic and former law student with some political experience, is an ardent crusader for national reforms and is seeking to build up a national political party.
IRISH POLITICS
Gilligan states that his following of more than one thousand in New York City is for the most part Catholic. I am told that his expansion program includes the regimentation of Irish in the city into a political bloc, which, when and if accomplished, will be a forerunner to national expansion. Thus far no Jews have enrolled in the American Nationalists, but Gilligan says that “if Jews can subscribe to our rigid pledge of nationalism they are as acceptable as other people.”
With regard to the great number of scurrilous anti-Jewish chain letters which have been circulated through the mails, Gilligan denied that he or his organization is responsible for their authorship. While no charge has been made formally against any of the local Fascist leaders on this count, Gilligan expressed the opinion that a New York Fascist has entered into this activity with the purpose of discrediting his organization.
“I would not put it past this party,” he said, “to try such nonsense. Neither my men nor I would besmear our reputations with despicable operations of this sort. I have neither written anti-Semitic circulars, authorized my following to write them, nor would I tolerate anything so contrary to our positive ideals.”
‘AMERICA FOR AMERICANS’
The leader of the American Nationalist Party has circulated application blanks for membership. He cites as one of the principal planks of his platform, “America for Americans.” He is anti-Marxian, anti-Republican, anti-Democratic, and pro-American. He admits that much as he “dislikes dictators” a centralized form of government may be necessary to purge America of “parasites and poisonous growths and make America a land to be proud of.” Dues are twenty-five cents monthly, and a member of the party is expected to put in as much time as possible. He is toying with the idea of some form of stormtroops.
The Khaki Shirts of America have recently come to grief. Their leader, “General” Art Smith, was recently found guilty of perjury in connection with the killing of a man by a member of his organization. Smith was to have led a march on Washington about eight months ago, when he and his band were to have declared Roosevelt dictator of the United Fascist States of America. At the same time Smith gained the ill-will of many of his followers by allegedly absconding with considerable funds gained from the sale of shirts.
Some time ago I talked with “Major General” Martino Aquaro in Philadelphia. As far as I could see, the “general” was prepared to take care of any emergency which might arise from a very tense situation occasioned by a recent schism in the Khaki Shirts. It seemed that a large faction of the Khaki Shirts had remained faithful to “General” Smith and that no particular feeling of fraternity existed between the two camps. “General” Aquaro was surrounded by a dozen Italian-American co-Fascists and during the course of our conversation kept his right hand on what appeared to be the butt of a revolver.
SAYS THE MAJOR
“Major General” Aquaro said that Smith had always been given to exaggeration, that any statements tending to indicate a following of one-and-a-half millions or ten millions, as Smith sometimes claimed, were gross misrepresentations.
He asserted that in their best days the Khaki Shirts had not more than 30,000 and that today, with the Smith scandal having reduced their ranks, they had not more than 10,000 men. However, he looks forward to an increase in the following and predicts that in the not too distant future the Khaki Shirt dictator will hold sway. Joe Warren is commander-in-chief. His name translated back into the original Italian is Joseph Guarni and he leans toward Mussolini’s Fascism.
The main branch of the Khaki Shirts, composed chiefly of Italians, have no direct connections with other groups here. Other parts of the original organization which came into being with the general disintegration of the Khaki Shirts, however, hold different viewpoints. In New Jersey, Italian and German Fascist groups have united forces on occasion to extol the merits of the corporative state.
Another branch of the Khaki Shirts is that of “General” Emil G. Atone of Newark, who also claims to have enrolled 10,000 members. Members pay two dollars a year in dues. He is against Communists, poverty, socialists, anarchists, municipal police departments, and capital-labor disturbances. He has arbitrarily made President Roosevelt an honorary member.
ITALIAN FASCISTS
The Italian Fascists have had little strength in the United States since 1929. The Italian press, however, leans heavily toward Fascism. The Italian press of the country, with the exception of one Socialist paper in New York, frequently contains laudatory comment of the government of Hitler, alhough on a few occasions it has criticized the anti-Semitism of Jew Germany.
Recently when Piero Parini, the former head of Mussolini’s propaganda department arrived in this country to join the Italian Embassy staff, anti-Fascists protested. He left after a few weeks in Washington.
French Fascists in the United States belong to the Croix de Feu, which in translation means Cross of Fire. According to the president of the society, M. R. Bertol of New York, it is not active in American politics, seeks only parliamentary peace in the homeland. The Croix de Feu is one of two leading Fascist groups in France.
Among the Jewish members of the American Branch of the Croix de Feu is Dr. Simon Levy-See. He has striven to allay the fears of New York Jewry with respect to the rise of the French Fascists. He also claims that the interests of his group are entirely concentrated in the governmental affairs of France.
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.
