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Fritz Kuhn, the American Fuehrer and the rise and fall of the German-American Bund

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Date Issued:
2010
Summary:
It is not generally known that a pro-Nazi organization, the German-American Bund, held sway among certain segments of American society during the 1920s and 1930s. The organization achieved its greatest successes after the self-proclaimed "American Fuehrer," Fritz Julius Kuhn, took up the reigns of leadership in 1936. Under Kuhn's leadership, the Bund saw a dramatic increase in its membership rolls; it is estimated that over 25,000 dues-paying members belonged to this first-ever National Socialist organization created outside the environs of Nazi Germany. This thesis explores reasons why this blatantly pro-Nazi organization thrived in the bastion of democracy. While most historians attribute other reasons for the Bund's success, this thesis argues that it was the outstanding organizational skills of Kuhn that kept the movement alive in the years prior to World War II.
Title: Fritz Kuhn, the American Fuehrer and the rise and fall of the German-American Bund.
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Name(s): Kopp, Eliot A.
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
Department of History
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Issuance: monographic
Date Issued: 2010
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Physical Form: electronic
Extent: v, 115 p. : ill.
Language(s): English
Summary: It is not generally known that a pro-Nazi organization, the German-American Bund, held sway among certain segments of American society during the 1920s and 1930s. The organization achieved its greatest successes after the self-proclaimed "American Fuehrer," Fritz Julius Kuhn, took up the reigns of leadership in 1936. Under Kuhn's leadership, the Bund saw a dramatic increase in its membership rolls; it is estimated that over 25,000 dues-paying members belonged to this first-ever National Socialist organization created outside the environs of Nazi Germany. This thesis explores reasons why this blatantly pro-Nazi organization thrived in the bastion of democracy. While most historians attribute other reasons for the Bund's success, this thesis argues that it was the outstanding organizational skills of Kuhn that kept the movement alive in the years prior to World War II.
Identifier: 608688211 (oclc), 1927303 (digitool), FADT1927303 (IID), fau:2943 (fedora)
Note(s): by Eliot A. Kopp.
Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2010.
Includes bibliography.
Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2010. Mode of access: World Wide Web.
Subject(s): Kuhn, Fritz (Fritz Julius), 1896-1951
German American Bund
National socialism -- United States
White supremacy movements -- United States -- History
Held by: FBoU FAUER
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/1927303
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU