Hitler's American Friends

September 3, 2018
“The threats posed by the American Nazi movement were far greater than we remember today” is the chilling conclusion that history professor Hart reaches in this well-sourced overview of American support for Nazism in the 1930s and 1940s. Hart opens with a 1941 speech by the best-known American Nazi sympathizer—legendary aviator Charles Lindbergh—who told an audience in Iowa that Jewish influence in Hollywood, the news media, and government “presented a unique danger” to the U.S. Though his anti-Semitic remarks were condemned widely, the America First Committee, for which Lindbergh was a spokesperson, also saw a “grassroots outpouring of support.” Hart then steps back to detail lesser-known figures who aspired to bring Nazi ideology to the U.S. and to keep the country out of World War II, starting with the German American Bund, which held Fourth of July rallies honoring Hitler and Mussolini. That organization was brought low by John Metcalfe, a German-born reporter who had infiltrated it. Hart also gives credit to other journalists and government officials who “risked life and limb to expose plots against the United States.” American Nazis were ultimately unsuccessful, but Hart intends his history as a cautionary tale, noting that “Hitler’s American friends were successful for a time because they seemed to provide an alternative set of answers to those being offered by the political establishment.” This illuminating history will interest anyone who wants to know how nationalist movements succeed or fail. Agent: Andy Ross, Andy Ross Agency.

October 1, 2018

Hart (media, communications & journalism, California State Univ., Fresno; George Pitt-Rivers and the Nazis) shines new light on the extent of U.S. pro-Nazi backing during the 1930s until the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. Extensive archival research shows that in addition to German-American cultural organizations, the Nazis had outspoken and influential support among the religious right, business, academia, isolationists, and members of Congress. A German spy network in the United States was broken up with help from British intelligence, in spite of J. Edgar Hoover's preference for finding Communists. Hart convincingly shows that these Nazi supporters had the potential to sway public opinion to their way of thinking but were often stopped by their own hubris, greed, violence and some brave journalists and civic officials who helped unmask their views. An intriguing afterword explores what happened to these individuals and corporations during and after the war. VERDICT Readers interested in the history of Depression-era politics and social climate, or those curious about the dissemination of religious and racial prejudice will appreciate this book.--Laurie Unger Skinner, Highland Park P.L., IL

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.