German American Bund

B.  Americanization Intensified

Kuhn returned to the United States with a considerable dilemma.  He had failed to repeal Germany’s decision and it seemed that the collapse of the Bund was a distinct possibility.  This critical moment had a profound impact on the direction ultimately taken by the Bund. Hated in America and rejected by Germany, the Bund became an orphaned organization that had to re-invent itself in order to survive.  Germany’s unwavering rejection of the Bund once again forced the Bund to be adaptive in its ideology. His initial plan was to mislead his followers about his failure and present his endeavor as a success.  In short, Kuhn flat out lied and claimed he had been in contact with Goebbels and Goering who continued to endorse the politics of the Bund.  He immediately went to work, continuing the fight and reinvigorating the Bund with new life and a new direction.  On May 3, 1938 Kuhn issued Bund Command 18 calling for the reorganization of the Bund:

I returned from Europe a few days ago strengthened by the great experience of the reunion of Austria with the Fatherland…Our fight too is going successfully forward.  Various changes are imminent, but they are not changes which affect the fundamental principles of the movement.  All hindering movements must be done away with, and a clear direction must be laid down from which no deviation must be permitted.  The internal organization of our movement must be sharpened.[1]

 

While the “fundamental principles” were not changed, the entire direction of the Bund was to shift.  The movement’s new emphasis was to be almost entirely on its “Americanism.”   Germany’s rejection of the Bund would simply be used as more ammunition to strengthen the Bund’s claim that it was an American organization and took no orders from Germany.  Publicly, Kuhn made statements reaffirming that the Bund held no divided allegiance and was led by American citizens who, like all Bund members, took an oath of loyalty to the American flag and Constitution.  He reiterated the Bund’s political program: to uphold the American Constitution, oppose atheism but defend religious liberty, fight Jewish communism, oppose racial mixing between Aryans and non-Aryans with the ultimate aim of applying the racial legislation of twenty-eight American states to the entire nation.[2]  

Kuhn’s pronouncements marked a new emphasis and an important shift in the Bund’s aims.  Rejected by Germany, Kuhn sought to take critical measures to more convincingly “Americanize” the movement.  Hoping to soften public opinion, the Bund opted to drop some of its most obvious Nazi trappings.  The group dispensed with the German swastika flag and replaced it with its own “Bund flag.”  The Bund flag maintained a clearly recognizable swastika logo, but its design was an entirely unique Bund creation.  A key goal of the Bund’s new Americanizing program was to extend its appeal beyond just the German-American community.  No longer was the Bund to be merely a German-American group.  It would now attempt to branch out to mainstream America, or at the very least, extend a broader influence over right-wing extremist America.  The Bund would present its cause as the cause of all white America and efforts were made to extend their message to all Aryan Americans.  It increased the number of its English language pamphlets and papers which now welcomed “patriotic Aryan Americans” to the group’s meetings and rallies.  Bundists also made more appearances at native fascist movement’s rallies. Eager to sell his new message to a wider American public, Kuhn issued statements to the press affirming that the Bund held no divided allegiance and was led by American citizens who, like all Bund members, took an oath to the American flag and the constitution.  He argued that Bundists were American citizens who stood committed to America, and as such, he demanded the same rights and privileges given to any other American organization.  No reference was made to the Bund’s role in defending Germany or promoting good relations between America and Germany.  Rather, Kuhn now emphasized the Bund’s American goals with particular emphasis in race and anti-Semitism.  In short, Kuhn’s plan was to more vigorously “Americanize” the movement, to hopefully garner a greater appeal to a broader spectrum of Americans. 

Despite the decision to discard some of the more obvious Nazi features, the Bund’s ideology of hate did not abate.  In fact, it became even more intense.  The 1938 Bund convention called for the establishment of a racial state similar to the Third Reich with rigid restrictions placed on the mobility of the Jews and on their admission to important positions in all areas of power in America.[3]  The Bund openly opposed racial mixing between Aryans and non-Aryans with the ultimate aim of applying the existing racial legislation of twenty-eight American states to the entire nation. 

By 1938 it was clear that the focus of the Bund had shifted dramatically.  The Bund’s 1938 eight point program called for the following:

1.  A socially just, white, gentile-ruled United States.

2.  Gentile-controlled labor unions free from Jewish Moscow 

     directed domination

3.  Gentiles in all positions of importance in the government,

      national defense and educational institutions

4.      Severance of diplomatic relations with the Soviet Russia,

      outlawing of  the Communist Party in the United States

5.  Immediate cessation of the dumping of all political refugees

     on the shores of the United States

6.  Thorough cleaning of the Hollywood film industries of all

     alien, subversive doctrines

7.  Cessation of all abuse of the freedom of the pulpit, press,

     radio and stage

8.      A return of our government to the policies of George

     Washington. Aloofness from foreign entanglements.

     Severance of all connections with the League of Nations [4] 

 

The eight point program represented an important shift of emphasis of the Bund.  In 1936, the Bund wanted to unite all German-Americans under their wing.  They openly admitted that one of their key purposes was to defend Germany and National Socialism while fostering U.S.-German relations.  While these goals were not entirely forgotten, as their 1938 Convention and eight point program reflected, the focus of the movement now centered almost entirely on the Bund’s domestic goals with a major emphasis on race and anti-Semitism. The new platform was for more “American” than any previous rhetoric of the Bund. Virtually nothing was said about defending Germany or serving the homeland although a key emphasis was still on maintaining American neutrality in the brewing European conflict. 

From this point forward, the Bund focused its efforts to increase their appeal to more Americans rather than simply just the German-American community.  Their emphasis was now on the preservation of American values and institutions for the benefit of white America. When giving their fascist salute, Bundists now shouted “Free America!” rather than “Sieg Heil!”  The Bund newspaper became more Americanized as well.  On September 29, 1938 the Deutscher Weckruf und Beobachter became the Deutscher Weckruf und Beobachter, the Free American.  They also agreed to utilize more English language at rallies and devote a still larger English language section in their newspaper.  For most occasions, traditional American patriotic music like the “Star Spangled Banner” would replace the “Horst Wessel Song” which would only be sung on special German occasions like German Day. 

Another strategy of the Bund was to adopt an even more aggressive anti-communist platform in order to obtain a broader American appeal.  Every opportunity was made to associate Jews with communism.  By nearly eliminating their messages concerning Germany and focusing almost entirely on attacking those whom they saw as the “subversive” and “un-American” elements in the U.S., the Bund hoped to bolster their image as American patriots.  Bund publications pronounced, “You can be convinced that 95% of the Americans agree we us that the Jew is a filthy scoundrel…We must bring the attack on the Jews more in touch with politics, economics, and culture…The frame of mind of the Americans is against the Jews.”[5]   If the Jews and communists were the enemies of America, the Bund highlighted that their organization was at the forefront in the battle against these “enemies.”  It was the only organization in America which was both resolute and uncompromising in the struggle against communism.  Numerous leaflets asked Americans to save the country from communists by attending Bund rallies which ended with the rallying cry, “Free America!”  Rallies now were tagged “pro-American meetings.”  Bundists portrayed their fight as one not just for German-Americans, but for all of white America.  They proclaimed their goals to “keep this country really a WHITE MAN’S COUNTRY….for we who are in this fight to the finish , are certain that one day all of America’s really WHITE PEOPLE will thank this generation of German Americans for our dedication.”[6]  Local N.Y. units invited “white Americans” to evenings of friendship and understanding.  The Bund held more and more mass rallies with more belligerent bombastic anti-Semitism, calling for Americans to join with the Bund in the battle to “Free America!”