20th February 1939: Pro-Nazi rally held at Madison Square Garden in New York City

Описание: The German American Bund was the successor to the Friends of New Germany organisation. This had been established, with support from Nazi Deputy Führer Rudolf Hess, by recent German immigrants to America who supported the Third Reich. It was soon investigated for being unpatriotic and, after it closed at the end of 1935, the German American Bund was established.

Under the leadership of Fritz Julius Kuhn, a naturalized American citizen of German descent, the organization gained momentum although it never received financial or verbal support from the Nazi government in Germany.

On February 20, 1939, at an event that arguably marked the height of the organisation, Kuhn addressed approximately 20,000 at a rally at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. Nazi flags, swastikas, and propaganda adorned the venue while an enormous portrait of George Washington hung behind the stage.

Amidst this ocean of symbolism, Kuhn delivered an anti-Semitic and pro-Hitler speech, reflecting the organization's loyalty to Nazi Germany. President Roosevelt was repeatedly referred to as ‘Frank D. Rosenfeld’ while his New Deal was called the "Jew Deal" and the product of a Bolshevik-Jewish conspiracy.

Meanwhile, outside the building, 1,500 police officers had to hold back enormous crowds of anti-Nazis who had come to protest. Some protesters managed to gain access to Garden, where members of the militant arm of the Bund engaged in in fistfights with the hecklers. After the rally, Kuhn was found guilty of embezzlement and forgery, and the organisation rapidly declined.