They Too Were Americans The German American Bund.
£399.00
In stock
Description
Produced to much acclaim by the famed Roger Bender publishing company this book is unique in both the subjet matter and the depth of its information.
For students of the Second World War’s home front, the German-American Bund represents one of the most unsettling and under-examined chapters in American pre-war history. Scott Freeland’s They Too Were Americans attempts to fill that gap, and for collectors and military historians alike, it is a volume worth knowing about — though one that demands a careful and critical eye.
What the Book Offers
The work positions itself as a comprehensive reference, tackling questions that serious researchers of the period will immediately recognise as pertinent: Was the Bund a German or American organisation? How many members and units existed? Was there an American SS? And crucially for the collector community — what do authentic Bund relics and memorabilia look like, and how does one distinguish genuine pieces from fakes? Amazon
Freeland draws on interviews, personal diaries, and hundreds of photographs and artefacts to construct what he describes as an inside view of the organisation. Amazon For the military historian focused on the ideological and paramilitary landscape of 1930s America, the primary source material alone makes this a reference worth tracking down. The Bund’s origins are traced through the post-WWI Freikorps movement, Hitler’s early activities of 1922–1924, the economic boycott of German products from 1933, anti-German sentiment in the United States, and the backdrop of the Great Depression Amazon — contextual threads that any serious student of the lead-up to American involvement in WWII will want pulled together in one place.
For the Collector
The artefact and memorabilia section will be of particular interest to those who collect Third Reich-era material. The book addresses whether Bund items are faked in the manner of many Third Reich pieces, and how to tell the difference Amazon — practical intelligence rarely addressed with this level of focus in standard histories of the period.
A Word of Caution
Military historians will want to approach the analytical portions of the text with appropriate scepticism. One reviewer notes that Freeland has been identified as a historical revisionist, and that a close associate described the book as a contribution to “Revisionist History.”
This does not diminish the photographic and artefactual record compiled here
One reviewer does credit Freeland with skillfully using primary documents to sketch a history of the Bundists as they might have viewed themselves — a legitimate and valuable historiographical approach when handled transparently, though readers should ensure they balance that perspective with the wider record.
Verdict
They Too Were Americans is a visually rich and primary-source-heavy reference on a neglected corner of WWII’s ideological prehistory. As a photographic and artefactual record of the German-American Bund, it has few rivals. As historical analysis, it requires the same critical scrutiny any serious military historian brings to a partisan source. Recommended for the specialist bookshelf — but read with your historiographical guard up.
Availability note: First edition copies have become increasingly scarce and command significant premiums on the secondary market, with copies listed well above £400. Those with a serious research interest should seek it out sooner rather than later.
Suitable for: WWII home front historians, Third Reich artefact collectors, researchers of American political extremism in the 1930s
Was the Bund a German or American organization?
How many members and units of the Bund existed?
What was the Bund vision for America? Was there an American SS?
Was worldwide genocide contemplated for people of Germanic origin?
What U.S. official and arch enemy of the Bund turned out to be a Soviet agent?
What became of Bund members during and after WWII?
What do authentic Bund relics and memorabilia look like?
Are Bund items faked like many Third Reich items, and how does one tell the difference?
These and the answers to 100s of other questions can be found in They too were AMERICANS.
What were the origins of the Bund?
They were a mixture of many things, to include the post-WWI abortive Communist Revolution in Germany and response by the Freikorps movement, the early Hitler activities of 1922-1924, the world-wide economic boycott of German products starting in 1933, anti-German propaganda in the USA during the 1930s tied with fresh memories of US involvement in the Great War, and of course the Great Depression. They too were Americans is an inside view of the German-American Bund from interviews, personal diaries, hundreds of photos and artifacts compiled by the author. The Bund was a truly independent form of American National Socialism which sought understanding as well as friendship between the United States and Germany. Domestically, the Bund believed portions of the Capitalist as well as National Socialist world view could be of benefit to their fellow citizens in America.
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