From 1936 to 1941, what was the German American Bund?

The German American Bund was an organization established in the United States in 1936 with a goal of promoting a favorable view of Nazi Germany. Its membership consisted of German citizens living in the United States and German emigrants who only recently had become citizens.

The organization existed from 1936 to 1941 consisting of a membership of approximately 5,000 to 10,000 individuals, although documented evidence records rallies that were attended by a larger number of supportes- up to 20,000 individuals, at Madison Square Gardens.

The administrate structure of the Bund mimicked the regional administrative subdivision of the Nazi Party. The German American Bund divided the United States into three administrative regions called ‘Gaue Ost’ (East), ‘Gaue’ West and ‘Gaue’ Midwest. The national headquarters were located at 178 East 85th Street in the New York City borough of Manhattan.

Various training camps were also established in New York, New Jersey, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Nazi rallies were held with Nazi insignia and procedures such as the Hitler salute (picture), voicing attacks on the administration of US President Franklin D, Roosevelt, Jewish-American groups, and Communism.

The zenith of the Bund’s activities was the rally at Madison Square Garden in New York City on February 20, 1939. Some 20,000 supporters were in attendance to hear the US President Roosevelt being referred to as “Frank D. Rosenfeld”, calling his New Deal the “Jew Deal”.