Nazi Town, USA
“The Untold Story of Nazi Sympathizers on American Soil”
Storyline
In February 1939, more than 20,000 Americans filled Madison Square Garden for an event billed as a “Pro-American Rally.” Images of George Washington hung next to swastikas and speakers railed against the “Jewish controlled media” and called for a return to a racially “pure” America. The keynote speaker was Fritz Kuhn, head of the German American Bund. Nazi Town, USA tells the largely unknown story of the Bund, which had scores of chapters in suburbs and big cities across the country and represented what many believe was a real threat of fascist subversion in the United States. The Bund held joint rallies with the Ku Klux Klan and ran dozens of summer camps for children centered around Nazi ideology and imagery. Its melding of patriotic values with virulent anti-Semitism raised thorny issues that we continue to wrestle with today.
Cast & Crew
Beverly Gage
Historian (self)
LeadWilliam Hitchcock
Historian (self)
Sarah Churchwell
Cultural Historian (self)
Steven Ross
Historian (self)
Leah Wright Rigeur
Historian (self)
Arnie Bernstein
Writer (self)
What People Are Saying
“A staggering achievement of craft and ambition. Peter Yost's vision lands with breathtaking precision.”
“Every frame feels alive. Nazi Town, USA is the rare release that takes its audience seriously.”
