The German-American Bund in St. Louis — St. Louis Post-Dispatch
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch chronicled activity of the German-American Bund in St. Louis in a local German restaurant in 1942.
An article on Page 4 of the Sunday morning, Oct. 2, 1942, newspaper of the Post-Dispatch describes court testimony surrounding St. Louisans who had allegedly engaged in “typical Nazi storm trooper methods” while attending meetings of the Friends of New Germany, the former name for the German-American Bund.
This article describes a witness being beaten and thrown out of a Bund meeting for opposing the speakers’ support of Hitler. This description of violent action ties back to many of the themes of fascism — namely militant action and suppression of opposing viewpoints—and supports the accusations of the Bund being a fascist group.
The article details the witness’s visual description of the event, which strikes up very similar to other documented Bund events across the nation — with simultaneous displays of the U.S. flag, the flag of the German Empire, and the Nazi swastika. It’s likely not a coincidence that this description matches that of Bund events nationwide — this likely indicates that the Bund had some sort of consistency in order, even though it was not centralized.
These descriptions repeat throughout the article — later a witness quotes a Bund chairman as saying, “Those who do not agree with what is to be said might as well leave” before the meeting. Not only does this reinforce that the Bund was suppressing any opposing opinions at its meeting, but it implies that the Bund was known — the quote refers to “what is to be said” before the meeting, as though attendees know what is commonplace at these meetings. This detail is important, as it signifies that this was an established group with at least some sort of a reputation.
