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History Daily

Nazis in New York

History Daily

Airship | Noiser | Wondery

History

4.42.1K Ratings

🗓️ 20 February 2025

⏱️ 21 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

February 20, 1939. Thinly disguised as “a mass demonstration for true Americanism”, a Nazi rally takes place in Madison Square Garden, where 20,000 people cheer the rise of Adolf Hitler and spout anti-Semitic rhetoric.


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Transcript

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0:00.0

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0:04.1

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0:06.0

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0:10.6

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0:31.5

Thank you. It's the evening of February 20th, 1939, at Madison Square Garden in New York City. 26-year-old plumber Isidore Greenbaum silently rages at the people cheering all around him. Holding his hands at his side,

0:40.1

Isidore clenches and unclenches his fists and tries not to let his anger show.

0:45.2

Up on the stage in front of him is a 30-foot painting of George Washington. The first president of the

0:51.1

United States is flanked by the stars and stripes and two giant swastikas.

0:56.7

Isidore is in the middle of a crowd of supporters from the German-America Bund. The Bund

1:02.0

advertises itself as a place where Germans in America can reconnect with their homeland.

1:07.2

But its leader, Fritz Coon, is an ardent supporter of the Nazi party, and he has attracted

1:11.8

a crowd of 22,000 fellow believers to this rally in the heart of New York. Many wear Nazi

1:18.0

armbands and uniform stormtroopers stalk the aisles. But not everyone here is a fascist. Young

1:24.8

Plummer Isidore is a Jewish American who snuck into the rally to witness

1:28.7

it firsthand. He's already listened to hours of hate from the speakers on stage, but now he

1:34.4

watches with disgust as Fritz Coon himself struts out to a hero's welcome. Coon begins his

1:40.6

diatribe, and with each mocking and hate-filled statement, Isidore becomes more and more

1:45.4

angry. Coon's audience, though, responds with laughter, cheers, and Nazi salutes. It's too much to bear.

1:53.1

So Isidore pushes his way through the crowd and charges onto stage right at Fritz Coon himself.

1:58.9

Coon startled, angry and afraid,

2:01.2

but Isidore doesn't attack him.

2:03.4

Instead, he grabs the microphone cable

...

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