On the eve of the Second World War, the American journalist John Roy Carlson infiltrated a large number of pro-fascist organisations across the country. The book he wrote, Under Cover, was a best-seller.
The inside covers of his book are illustrated with his membership cards, using the false name he gave to all the groups. The range of the groups is extraordinary, from the German American Bund (a powerful and influential group) to long-forgotten fascist bands like the Silver Shirts. Some of the groups were explicitly Christian nationalist. The fascist radio star Father Coughlin had an audience estimated at thirty million listeners. The Ku Klux Klan was probably the largest, and most violent, with a membership estimated to be in the millions. Others were anti-war — supporters of American isolationism, opposed to giving any support to embattled Britain. All the groups were antisemitic to one degree or another, though some — such as the America First Committee — took pains to pretend that they were not.
Some of this forgotten history has come back into public view in recent years thanks to Donald Trump. In 2016, Trump embraced the slogan “America First” — which was probably the largest and most effective of the pro-Nazi groups in the 1930s. And more recently, on the eve of this year’s election, he chose to hold his final mass rally in Madison Square Garden, where in February 1939, the German American Bund rallied 20,000 supporters. Back then, the stage was decorated with an enormous portrait of George Washington, American flags — and swastikas. This time, the swastikas were gone.
The similarities between the “MAGA movement” (as Trump calls it) and the range of groups Carlson infiltrated and exposed are clear. The hyper-patriotism, the racism, the fawning over foreign dictators, the threat of violence, the conspiracy theories, the isolationism — they were all present in 1940 and they are all present today. Arguably, Father Coughlin with his tens of millions of listeners used a new technology (radio) in the same way that Elon Musk does today with social media.
The only thing missing, it seems, is the pervasive antisemitism of the earlier movement. Back in 1939, Fritz Kuhn, the German American Bund leader, could openly refer to “President Rosenfeld”, implying that Roosevelt was either Jewish, or in the control of Jews. This kind of overt anti-Jewish hatred is a not a feature of Trump’s speeches.
But with his promises to put an end to “wokeness” it may only be a matter of time before openly antisemitic language returns. And let’s not forget what Trump called those who in 2017 chanted “the Jews will not replace us”. He said they were “good people”. He also has only kind words for those jailed for the 6 January 2021 storming of the capitol — one of whom was wearing a “Camp Auschwitz” hoodie.
The “Nazi underworld of America” in Carlson’s time was enormous, led by some highly influential and powerful figures, including politicians, clergyman and celebrities like Charles Lindbergh and Henry Ford. Yet within days of the attack on Pearl Harbor and the American entry into the war, the movement collapsed. It did not collapse because the left and the unions effectively destroyed it with their counter-protests. It collapsed because of state repression. American fascists, like their counterparts in Britain led by Oswald Mosley, were arrested, jailed and driven underground.
Could history repeat itself? Probably not. And not least because the successors to the groups described in Carlson’s book will soon be running the country. The institutions, including the Justice Department and FBI, that came down hard on the German American Bund and America First eight decades ago will now be entirely in the hands of Trump’s most loyal supporters.
With the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government under his control, bringing down this generation’s “Nazi underworld” will be an even greater challenge.
This article appears in this week’s issue of Solidarity.