Part Two: Fritz Kuhn and the German American Bund

Section I.  Fritz Kuhn and the First Americanization of the Bund

Under the leadership of Fritz Kuhn, the German American Bund was to take an entirely new direction.  Kuhn would ultimately be the man responsible for making the Bund perhaps the most publicized and feared extreme right-wing organization in America.  Kuhn proved to be a charismatic leader who effectively made use of the sensationalism and élan of fascism.  Although Kuhn and the Bund never referred to themselves as Nazis, the American press as well as a host of Bund detractors regularly referred to them as such.  Kuhn consistently argued that the Bund was a pro-American movement, inspired by German National Socialism, but ultimately serving the interests of America.  The American press dubbed Kuhn the “American Fuehrer” and often portrayed him as an illiterate thug.  Speaking with a heavy German accent, Kuhn was a large imposing figure who was often mocked for his poor English, clownish ways, womanizing and heavy drinking.  But as a leader, he came with some considerable prestige and credentials. 

Kuhn’s early life was somewhat ordinary.  He was born in Munich on May 18, 1896 and like all German children, he attended the Volkschule and Oberrealschule in the city of his birth.  Kuhn’s life took a turn when the Great War broke out.  During WWI, he joined the Bavarian army and fought in the trenches for the Fatherland in some of the war’s fiercest battles.  He served on four fronts of the war; the French, Italian, Serbian, and Romanian. He rose to the rank of lieutenant in the infantry and his valor on the front earned him the Iron Cross, Germany’s most distinguished military decoration.  In 1919, after Germany’s defeat, he joined the Friekorps and later joined the Nazi Party in 1921.[1] 

Kuhn soon returned to Munich and studied chemical engineering at the University of Munich where in 1922 he earned the equivalent to a master’s degree.  Because of Germany’s post-war economic dilemma, he was unable to find work in Munich as a chemical engineer.  In 1924, he left Germany for Mexico where he worked as a laboratory chemist for the LaCorona Oil Company, a chemist for Marcisis Company, a cosmetic manufacturer in Mexico City, and a teacher at the College of Mexico City from 1927-1928.   In 1928, Kuhn entered the United States as an immigrant and settled in Detroit where he worked for the next eight years as a chemist at the Henry Ford Hospital and later with the Ford Motor Company.  He filed papers for citizenship and became a naturalized U.S. citizen on December 3, 1934. 

Like many other immigrants, Kuhn sought cultural camaraderie and soon joined the Friends of the New Germany where he became leader of the Detroit regional group.  His work in the organization was largely confined to the Detroit area until 1935 when he rose to the position of Gauleiter Mittelwest, then quietly to Bundsfuehrer of the newly formed German American Bund after the dissolution of the Friends of the New Germany in 1935.  In becoming Bundsfuehrer, Kuhn was able to oust Fritz Gissibl from the organization because Gissibl was not a U.S. citizen.[2]  Kuhn’s rise to leadership in the organization was so quiet that the final edition of the Friend’s newspaper, the Deutscher Weckruf und Beobachter, still listed Gissibl as Bundsfuehrer.  The official announcement of change was not made until the following April after the Bund Convention of 1936. 

            Kuhn came to the position of leadership with impressive professional and military accomplishments. As a chemical engineer employed by the Ford Motor Company, he held a respectable job during a time of acute depression.   His war record and ties to Germany were firm and impressive,[3] yet at the same time, he was a naturalized American citizen.  As an American citizen, Kuhn was essentially free to conduct attacks against his enemies and push for a political and social agenda in ways which were undreamed of by Gissibl and Spanknöbel. Under him, the organization moved in an entirely new direction, as it evolved and transformed from a purely German Nazi offshoot into a genuine American political movement. 

Kuhn took the opportunity to outline the major changes to the organization at the 1936 convention of the defunct Friends of the New Germany at the Statler Hotel in Buffalo, New York on March 28 and 29.  The meeting was held in secrecy with only one brief press release made at the convention’s end.  Inside the convention, many familiar faces from the Friends of the New Germany were in attendance. Yet few anticipated the major changes Kuhn planned to orchestrate which would change the entire foundation and direction of the movement.  Kuhn’s first reform was to change the organization’s name from the Friends of the New Germany to the Amerikadeutscher Bund, translated in English and more commonly referred to as the German American Bund.  He believed that the old name sounded too aggressive and as an American movement, he did not want to show too strong a solidarity with a foreign government.  Shortly after the name change Kuhn explained the decision, “we arrived at the conclusion that the name of Friends of the New Germany as that of an organization of American citizens of German blood implies a too restricted attitude, whereas the exercise of our objects demands a wider field and our movement a broader foundation.”[4] The Friends of the New Germany was thus dissolved at the Buffalo convention and officially reborn as the German American Bund. 

In April 1936, in front of a crowd of 1,500 at the New York Turnhall at eighty fifth Street and Lexington Avenue, Kuhn made his first important public address as National Leader of German American Bund.  Here, he outlined his new proposals which were greeted by the thunderous response of “Sieg Heil!”  Kuhn explained that while the key activities of the former Friends of the New Germany during the three years following Hitler’s ascension to power had been designed to explain the virtues of the New Germany to the American public, the emphasis of the new organization was to be much broader.   The new organization, the German American Bund, was to be an American organization, made up exclusively of Americans of German extraction for the purpose of influencing American politics and “leading America and the world in general in the same direction as Germany-in the fight against communism and the Jews.”[5]  The Bund would devote itself to “to combat the Moscow-directed madness of the Red world menace and its Jewish bacillus-carriers.”[6]  The primary focus of the organization was now the struggle against the forces of international Jewish communism which had permeated every aspect of American culture and society.  As German-descended men and women, Bundists were obliged to follow the Nazi example and eradicate the communist menace here in America, their freely adopted nation.  Thus, in the tradition of the Fatherland, the Bundists could aggressively assert their Deutschtum while perform a great patriotic service to America.[7] 

The Americanization of the Bund was a key change in the organization and a clear departure from all previous movements.[8]  Kuhn told the convention, “The Bund is a political organization and can only have citizens.”[9]  The organization was to be a legitimate political vehicle for National Socialist inspired German-Americans to organize and assert their political will in America.  German foreign nationals in the organization had to decide whether or not they wanted to become American citizens in order to remain in the movement.[10] However, the question of foreign nationals remaining within the Bund remained a point of controversy throughout much of the Bund’s existence.  To hold true to his claim of only accepting American citizens as members, Kuhn established an auxiliary organization called the Prospective Citizens League.  The Prospective Citizens League was, in fact, a surreptitious method of circumventing the Berlin decree that German nationals abstain from belonging to American political organizations. Moreover, it allowed the Bund to retain previously forbidden former members of the Friends of the New Germany.  Under the condition that German nationals residing in the United States applied for American citizenship, the Bund could swell their ranks with German nationals.  Although technically not full-fledged Bundists, once naturalized, the auxiliaries could become full members.  Such practices considerably compromised the professed “American” make-up of the Bund. 

            The new direction and goals of the Bund represented a triadic nature within the German American Bund’s philosophy.   The new movement was to be pro-American and patriotic and yet simultaneously vehemently National Socialist and Germanic.  Apparently, the Bund had no trouble reconciling the differences between Americanism, National Socialism and Germanic culture.  During this early phase of the newly-created Bund, much of their core doctrine was National Socialist ideology fuelled by calls to unify German-ness with Americanism.  Kuhn’s public pronouncement was careful to emphasize that while the Bund were heavily inspired by Nazi ideology, they were not intending to transplant National Socialism to the United States.[11]  A major goal of the Bund was to lead the spiritual awakening and unification of the German-American element around Nazi-inspired ideas for the benefit of their adopted nation, the United States.  Kuhn proclaimed, “We can not and must not deny our racial characteristics, because if we did we would be useless to America.  National Socialism is an inner political affair of Germany and nobody outside the Third Reich must interfere with it.  Our task here is to fight Jewish Marxism and Communism.”[12]  While Kuhn certainly believed in the notion of “once a German, always a German,” Bundists were Germans always, but now Americans first. They made it clear that although they were proud Germans who would always be bound by blood to the Volksgemeinshaft, their political allegiance was to their adopted nation, the United States.  Such notions were quite a departure from the National Socialist conception of the Heimat abroad which demanded the allegiance of Germans around the world to the Fatherland.  Bundists were to remain Germans by blood, but politically devoted to the United States.  For a group primarily comprised of recent immigrants with iron-clad cultural ties to the homeland and with a high degree of National Socialist indoctrination, the Americanization of the Bund was to be a challenging task. 

Shortly after the April 1936 convention Kuhn announced, “We must free ourselves from the suggestion that we are guests in this country.  We are ready to cooperate for the benefit of the American nation but we are determined to remain what we are.  We do not want to Germanize America; we want to make friends with our Aryan-American fellow countrymen.”[13]  The Bund thus was to serve the interests of both Germany and the United States, with American interests being paramount.  In fact, one key change in the Bund’s constitution was to explain if there was ever a conflict of interest, the Bund’s ultimate loyalty was with the United States.[14] For the United States, the Bund would stand as a bulwark against the foreign-inspired menace of communism.  It would be a fighting force, dedicated to protecting American institutions from Jewish-communists and subversives.   The Bund would also fight anti-German prejudice in America while simultaneously working to unify and galvanize the German-American population into a cohesive political force.  Bund leaders simultaneously addressed the group’s Germanic responsibility to rekindle and cultivate Deutschtum within the United States.  Just as Hitler forged a new unity among the people of Germany, the Bund sought to create a strong and united brotherhood of Americans of German blood. They would also work to promote friendship understanding between the U.S. and Germany and to help foster a favorable image of Germany amongst Americans. 

            Following the changes announced at the 1936 convention, the newly created German American Bund published a pamphlet entitled, AWAKE AND ACT!: the Aims and Purposes of the German American Bund which outlined the guiding principles of the new movement.  The main ideas espoused in AWAKE AND ACT! included the Bund’s goals to :

1.  Unify all German-Americans around the ideals of National Socialism, not transplant Nazism to America

2.  Fight against anti-German prejudice

3.  Become a potential political force

4.  Fight communism and Jews in America as Hitler had in  

     Germany

5.  Rekindle Deutschtum while remaining loyal to America

6.  Restore the good name of Germany and lobby for better 

     German-U.S.relations

7.  Advocate American isolationism and work to end the 

      boycott agains Germany[15]

 

AWAKE AND ACT! was a clear outline of the Bund’s new principles, many of which were designed to evoke notions of Deutschtum and remind German-American of their duty to both America and the Fatherland.  Bund literature proclaimed that “The German American Volksbund is inspired with the National Socialist world concept.  National Socialism has given the Germans in foreign countries a unified world view; they cannot survive without spiritual ties with the homeland.”[16]  They referred to themselves not as German-Americans, but as American Germans.  But at the same time, the Bund’s literature and rhetoric made it clear that while they were American citizens, loyal to the United States, they always remained integrally connected to Germany.   Bund literature proclaimed, “Today every German, by birth or descent should be a friend-an assumption we take for granted- a friend of present day Germany.”[17]  At the same time the Bund would “foster understanding of our homeland, convert our American fellow citizens into true friends of the present day Germany…we must make it clear to the Aryan Americans beyond the circle of our own people that the National Socialist Germany is well deserving of their loyal friendship.”[18] 

However, the Bund strenuously sought to clarify that “There can be no suggestion of our desire to transplant political National Socialism to this country.”  National Socialism was a political phenomenon of Germany, not an “ideology for export.”[19]  The Bund professed, “the application of the National Socialist idea is primarily an affair of the German people and of no more concern to the rest of the world than it is the concern of the German people what form of government other nations adopt.”[20] Similarly, Bundists made it clear that their endeavor to cultivate Deutschtum in America was solely aimed at those of German descent.  They had “no intention of Germanizing members of other nations, but mostly of closing the ranks of our German American citizens in order to forestall their complete extinction.”[21]

In 1936, the Bund fervently believed that Germans everywhere shared a bond of unity and once all Germans in America recognized this racial bond, internal divisions would end and Germans in America would create a bulk of America to support the New Germany.  The Bund pronounced, “The Bund…represents the last possibility of American Germanism to rise from the condition of a down-trodden, war subjugated disavowed nationality, contented with its lot to the status of a sound, great, proud nationality through which we and our descendents may live according to our own God-given way.”[22]   Throughout 1936, Bund conducted a vigorous campaign aimed at glorifying Hitler and the accomplishments of National Socialism.  The Bund newspaper, Deutcher Weckruf und Beobachter served this aim, as did a series of books and pamphlets published by the Bund like The New Germany under Hitler. The Bund embarked on a campaign to glorify Germany and to fight any potential anti-German prejudice.  The Bund listed three key duties which Auslandsdeutsche, Germans abroad, had to the Third Reich:  act as cultural pioneers by preserving the German language, customs, traditions, stand as economic pioneers and buy German goods and services, and function as fighters against anti-German propaganda. [23]   In 1936 the Deutscher Weckruf und Beobachter made statements like “It is the duty of every German to do his duty to his country- Hitler!; We will do our utmost to serve the Fuehrer be it to victory or defeat- Heil!”  Similarly, “Our duty is to the health and best interests of the Fatherland.”[24]  

Yet, despite all their dedication to Germany, German-Americans were encouraged to maintain their American citizenship and fight for Americanism.  “It must be noted that we are first of all Germans, that is our native tongue, our blood is German, that is why we prefer to have ourselves referred to as German Americans…For us our Homeland is not merely sentimentality.  From it we draw our strength…”[25] The Bund however, attempted to show that they looked to Germany for inspiration, not orders; “Let us take the Fuehrer of all Germans, Adolph Hitler, as a shining example…and we who take him as an example, want never to stand in the way of an attempt to unite Americans and all truly German-minded organizations to join together in honest faith and to form one great, powerful nation.”[26] 

While inspired by the ideals of Nazism, the Bund was comprised of American citizens who vehemently sought to protect traditional American institutions. They repeatedly and unequivocally pledged their allegiance and loyalty to the United States.  Awake and Act explains that the Bund,

as an organization of American citizens, it purposes to take a positive attitude in the affairs of the country while complying unqualifiedly with its duties to the United States…The new order in the homeland, with its deep and challenging ideas, has brought to us a new conception of our allegiance. We shall always practice loyalty and allegiance as citizens of this country linked with the destiny of our ancestral race.  Hence we call ourselves American Germans and our movement the German American Volksbund. [27] 

 

Such pronouncements were a far cry from those made years earlier by Gissibl who maintained that the Friends were “Germans in America.”  The Friends were a largely German organization, an outpost on Nazism in America, and its goals primarily served the Fatherland.  However, the Bund was now something quite different.  Unlike Teutonia and the Friends, Bundists were now emphatically ready to “give their souls” to America.   They were no longer “Germans in America,” but rather, they were “Americans of German descent.” With their newly “Americanized” program, the Bund’s emphasis and ideology had radically shifted.  As Americans, their primary allegiance was with the United States and their goals focused on issues central to America.  Yet, their inspiration and character would forever remain German.  Bundists saw no problem in amalgamating American patriotism with their National Socialist notions of Deutschtum. 

The Bund’s literature sought to elucidate the dual German/American character of the Bund; “The Bund is American in its inception and its field of endeavor, German in its idealism and character.”[28]  While purporting their allegiance to the United States, Bund rhetoric suggested that it was their Deutschtum that gave them strength and made them great Americans.  Therefore, according to Bund ideology, in order to be good Americans, Bundists had to be good Germans who preserved and cultivated their Deutschtum, for “America is not benefited by the dissolution of the honest, forthright, race-conscious German element into a mongrel horde of citizens...”[29]  Bundists believed that throughout American history, its German element had made enormous contributions to the American character.  Because Germanism was a critical factor in what made America great, it was essential to maintain German-American Deutschtum for the sake of the maintaining the greatness of America. 

While the Great War did enormous damage to the state of Deutschtum in the U.S., it was time for German-Americans to desist the abandonment of their culture through American assimilation.  It was time to once again embrace their Deutschtum.  The achievements of Hitler and National Socialism were touted as reason for Germans in America to stop being ashamed or afraid to celebrate their heritage.  Bundists believed Germans-Americans could once again look to their homeland and their heritage with pride.  To neglect their Deutschtum would be a grave disservice to their beloved adopted nation for as Kuhn professed, “we cannot and dare not shake off our native attributes; that they consist of what is best in us and that we render the United States no good service by divesting ourselves of them.”[30]