Nazis in Copley Square: The Forgotten History of the Christian Front with Charles R. Gallagher

Cult Conversations: The Influence Continuum with Dr. Steve Hassan

Dr. Steven Hassan

Self-improvement, Society & Culture, Education

4.8 • 684 Ratings

🗓️ 20 March 2023

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Rachel Maddow’s podcast, Ultra, is about Nazism in the United States in the 1930s and 1940s. She based her podcast on the scholarly work of a Jesuit historian Professor Charles R. Gallagher, and his award-winning book. I was fascinated to learn more and discovered that he teaches at nearby Boston College. So we met for lunch, and he kindly consented to this fascinating interview. I learned that the Nazis sent agents such as Charles Scholtz to Boston to recruit and radicalize Americans. These agents wanted to prevent the United States from coming to the defense of the United Kingdom and other European countries. The Nazis did not want America to help Jews who were persecuted and exterminated. Father Charles Coughlin was a Roman Catholic priest and radio personality with a listenership of 30 million people. He was a vocal supporter of the Christian Front. He praised Hitler’s efforts to combat communism and advocated for a similar approach in the United States. Coughlin also used his radio broadcasts to spread anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and to attack Jewish people and Jewish-owned businesses. Coughlin also supported fascist regimes in Europe. In the 1940s, Coughlin and some of his followers began to plot a violent coup to overthrow the US government. The Nazis are still actively promoting violent fascism. Learn more about Steven Hassan and Freedom of Mind Resource Center. Visit freedomofmind.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, I'm Dr. Stephen Hassan with another episode of the Influence Continuum.
0:10.0	I have a very special guest today with me.
0:14.0	Father Charles R. Gallagher is a historian, associate professor, Jesuit priest, Associate professor of history at Boston College, which is just like a mile from here.
0:26.6	We had the pleasure of having lunch together.
0:29.6	And, Professor, I learned about you and your incredible book that I want to mention as we begin,
0:40.1	The Nazis of Copley Square, the forgotten story of the Christian Front.
0:46.5	And I learned about your book on a Rachel Maddow podcast called Ultra,
0:52.2	all about the Nazis infiltration into politics and into the American
0:57.8	discussion, radio, Father Cofflin, and the Nazis. And I went, holy mackerel, and I looked
1:08.6	you up and you were nearby. and I'm so grateful for your openness
1:14.0	to consent to this interview. So I really want people to understand. His history helps inform us
1:22.3	for today and to prepare and protect ourselves for the future.
1:32.8	I want to say that this book was published by Harvard University Press.
1:38.5	It won a 22 Catholic Media Association Book Award in History.
1:43.9	And I also want to reference your earlier work, if I may,
1:47.7	Vatican's Secret Diplomacy, Joseph P. Hurley,
1:54.9	and Pope Pius the 12th, which was a Yale press that won the American Catholic Historical Associations, John Gilmerie Shea's Prize. Congratulations. And I'll just finish by saying you study the
2:04.1	intersection of intelligence and religion, religion and right-wing movements, the Holocaust
2:11.2	and the Vatican diplomacy. Wow. And you're currently teaching a course called Religion and Espionage at Boston College.
2:21.2	Do you accept people to come in an audit, professor? Because I'm fascinated by your work.
2:28.1	Yeah, absolutely. We have a few seats available now in that course, although it's pretty tight,
2:33.4	but the students are enjoying it,
	...

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