Tag: David Freeman-Mitford

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The British Kardashian Sisters

 

I introduced you briefly to the famous (some would say infamous) Mitford sisters several years ago in my blog, British Fascists and a Mitford (click here to read the blog). It was the story of an English noble, Sir Oswald Mosley, and his wife, Diana who were staunch supporters of Hitler, Nazi Germany, and fascism. Diana Mosley was one of the six Mitford sisters.

Like the modern-day Kardashians, the Mitford sisters were well-known, extensively covered by the press, and considered to be “socialites.” I suppose today they would be called “celebrities.” As war with Germany approached during the 1930s, the antics of several sisters were widely covered in print and photos by the English press (no social media or television back then). In fact, the press branded one of the sisters as “Hitler’s girlfriend.” Unity Mitford wore that label proudly. Several of the other sisters held extremist views and were just as controversial.

Unity Mitford and Adolf Hitler in Bayreuth, Germany about one year after meeting. Photo by anonymous (c. 1936). TheDailyMail.co.uk. PD-Author release.
Unity Mitford and Adolf Hitler in Bayreuth, Germany about one year after meeting. Photo by anonymous (c. 1936). TheDailyMail.co.uk. https://www.thehistoryreader.com/military-history/when-hitler-took-cocaine-hitlers-english-girlfriend/ PD-Author release.

Did You Know?

Did you know that the last survivor of the Führerbunker recently passed away?

Johanna Ruf (1929−2023) was fifteen when she entered the bunker in April 1945. Hitler used the bunker as his last headquarters and residence beginning 16 January 1945 and by April, Joseph Goebbels and his family had moved in. Read More The British Kardashian Sisters

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“British Fascists and a Mitford”

England, France, and the United States were certainly no strangers to Hitler and his Nazi party philosophies during the 1930s. In fact, England and America were home to large fascist organizations while France hosted several influential right-wing fascist groups which would directly influence the Vichy government and its collaboration with Germany.

America saw the founding of the pro-Nazi “Friends of New Germany” (FoNG) in 1933 after Hitler gave his permission for the organization’s formation. The FoNG closely followed the Nazi party’s tactics including propaganda, harassment of Jews, and infiltration of other German American groups. Congress investigated the FoNG and determined it represented a direct subsidiary of the Nazi party. By late 1935, FoNG ceased to exist but was quickly replaced by the German American Bund with Fritz Julius Kuhn as its Bundesführer. The Bund mimicked the real Nazi party with respect to its organizational structure. Training camps were set up around the country and rallies were held with members displaying the Hitler salute. The Bund’s primary attacks were centered on Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jewish organizations, and Communists.

Nearly 1,000 uniformed men of the New Jersey division of the German American Bund march in Camp Nordland. Photo by anonymous (18 July 1937). The Atlantic.
Nearly 1,000 uniformed men of the New Jersey division of the German American Bund march in Camp Nordland. Photo by anonymous (18 July 1937). The Atlantic.

After Bund leaders traveled to Berlin, giving the impression that Hitler was supporting the Bund, Congress passed the 1938 Foreign Agents Registration Act requiring foreign agents to register with the United States State Department ⏤ an act which remains in place today. After this, Germany purposely tried to distance itself from the Bund. A rally at Madison Square Garden on 29 February 1939 resulted in violence between protesters and Bund storm troopers after the president was referred to as “Frank D. Rosenfeld” and the New Deal was referred to as the “Jew Deal.” Predictably, the Bund was dissolved in 1941. Sadly, it was followed in 1959 by the American Nazi Party, founded by George Lincoln Rockwell, and is known today as the World Union of National Socialists. Read More “British Fascists and a Mitford”