German-American Bund

American organization

Also known as: Friends of the New Germany

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History

German-American Bund, American pro-Nazi, quasi-military organization that was most active in the years immediately preceding the United States’ entry into World War II. The Bund’s members were mostly American citizens of German ancestry.

The organization received covert guidance and financial support from the government of the Third Reich. Military drill and related activities were provided for adults and youths at Bund-maintained camps: Camp Siegfried, Yaphank, New York; Camp Nordland, Andover, New Jersey; Deutschhorst Country Club, Sellersville, Pennsylvaniaa; and elsewhere.

Anti-Semitic and pro-Nazi elements in the United States generally supported the Bund. The Bund included self-designated storm troopers, who affected the uniforms of the German Nazi SA. Mass rallies were held at such sites as Madison Square Garden in New York City. In 1939 the Bund’s total membership was about 20,000.

In 1939 the Bund’s national leader, Fritz Julius Kuhn, was prosecuted for grand larceny (misappropriating Bund money) and forgery; in 1940 its national secretary, James Wheeler-Hill, was convicted of perjury. After the United States’ entry into World War II, the Bund disintegrated.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Michael Ray.

German-American Bund

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