Swastika Nation: Fritz Kuhn and
The Rise and Fall of The German-American Bund
New Updated Second Edition

Newly Updated Second Edition Now Available

Swastika Nation: Fritz Kuhn and the Rise and Fall of the German-American Bund chronicles a pro-Nazi movement that swept the United States in the 1930s. However, their dream of America under a swastika flag and ruled by their leader Bundesführer Fritz Kuhn, attracted powerful foes.

Through the independent work of many larger than life figures--including the duo of New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia and prosecuter Thomas Dewey, the newly-formed Congressional House Committee on Un-American Activities, the bulldog reporting of newspaper columnist Walter Winchell, and the distinctive methods employed by Jewish mobsters Meyer Lansky, Longy Zwillman, Bugsy Siegel, and Mickey Cohen--Kuhn and the German-American Bund came to an inglorious end.

All this, plus a supporting cast that includes Henry Ford, Walt Disney, Jack Ruby, Edward G. Robinson, and many others. It's a book that's jam packed with incredible tales, a wild slice of American history you won't be able to put down.

Q&A with Arnie Bernstein

plus Book Club discussion questions

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Updated paperback edition coming soon

Originally published by St. Martin's Press & Picador

I'm interviewed on the PBS series American Experience for the documentary "Nazi Town, USA" 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.

Click to watch "Nazi Town, USA"

I'm featured on Episodes 2 & 3 for podcast "Star-Spangled Facism" Bradley W. Hart & Rachel Maddow examines fascist leaders and movements that have emerged here in the United States over the past century. He’ll look at what fueled their authoritarian ambitions, the supporters who flocked to them, and the Americans who stood in their way. Series launch will be February 20, 2024