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'''The Free Society of Teutonia''' was a [[German American]] organization that was associated with a strong support for [[Nazism]].
'''The Free Society of Teutonia''' was one of the earliest National Socialist organizations to appear in America. It was a [[German American]] organization that was associated with a strong support for [[Nazism]].


The Society was formed in 1924 by four German immigrants, including [[Nazi Party]] members Fritz and Peter Gissibl and their brother Andrew.<ref name="loyal">Erik V. Wolter, ''Loyalty On Trial: One American's Battle With The FBI'', iUniverse, 2004, p. 62</ref> The organization was originally lead by German immigrant and non-citizen Fritz Gissibl,<ref name=IMDb>[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0474096/bio IMDb Biography]</ref> who made his headquarters in [[Chicago]] and from there it set about recruiting [[ethnic Germans]] who supported German nationalist aims.<ref>Wisconsin Cartographers' Guild, ''Wisconsin's Past and Present: A Historical Atlas'', Univ of Wisconsin Press, 1998, p. 19</ref> Walter Kappe was one of Gissibl's chief lieutenants.<ref name=IMDb /> Initially functioning as a club, the Society soon raised a group of militants based on the [[Sturmabteilung|SA]] and, with membership increasing, became leading critics of [[Jew]]s, [[Communism]] and the [[Treaty of Versailles]].<ref>Max Wallace, ''The American Axis - Henry Ford, Charles Lindbergh, and the Rise of the Third Reich'', St. Martin's Griffin, 2003, p. 132</ref> Alongside this however it retained a social function, with Society meetings frequently ending up in heavy beer drinking sessions.<ref>Wolter, ''Loyalty On Trial'', p. 74</ref>
The Society was formed in 1924 by four German immigrants, including [[Nazi Party]] members Fritz and Peter Gissibl and their brother Andrew.<ref name="loyal">Erik V. Wolter, ''Loyalty On Trial: One American's Battle With The FBI'', iUniverse, 2004, p. 62</ref> The organization was originally lead by German immigrant and non-citizen Fritz Gissibl,<ref name=IMDb>[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0474096/bio IMDb Biography]</ref> who made his headquarters in [[Chicago]] and from there it set about recruiting [[ethnic Germans]] who supported German nationalist aims.<ref>Wisconsin Cartographers' Guild, ''Wisconsin's Past and Present: A Historical Atlas'', Univ of Wisconsin Press, 1998, p. 19</ref>


Walter Kappe was one of the Teutonia Society's leaders.<ref name=IMDb /> Kappe (b. 1904) arrived in the United States in 1925 and worked in a farm implement factory in Kankakee, Illinois. Later he moved to Chicago and began to write for [[German language]] newspapers. He became a leader of the Teutonia Society. Kappe was fluent in English and later became the press secretary for the [[German American Bund]]. He founded their paper ''Deutscher Weckruf und Beobachter'' and its predecessor ''Deutsche Zeitung''. In 1936, when the German American Bund was established, Kappe organized the AV Publishing Company and five other Bund corporations. Fritz Kuhn ousted Kappe from his position in the Bund seeing him as a dangerous rival. In 1937, Kappe returned to Germany, where he was attached to [[Abwehr II]] (the sabotage branch of German intelligence) where he obtained a Naval commission with the rank of lieutenant. He was designated by Adolf Hitler to launch a sabotage operation against America shortly after the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]]. Known as [[Operation Pastorius]], Kappe began to recruit men for the mission by reviewing records from the [[Ausland Institute]] of those who were paid to return to Germany from America. He established a sabotage school on the outskirts of Berlin to train the new recruits. Once the sabotage network was established and transferred to America, Kappe planned to slip into the US with a new identity and direct operations. Kappe is believed to have survived the war.
⚫
The group changed its name to the Nationalistic Society of Teutonia in 1926, at which point Peter Gissibil was advising members to also seek Nazi Party membership.<ref name="loyal"/> The group gained a strong, if fairly small following, and was able to establish units in [[Milwaukee]], [[St. Louis, Missouri]], [[Detroit]], [[New York City]], [[Cincinnati]] and [[Newark, New Jersey]]<ref>Wolter, ''Loyalty On Trial'', pp. 62-63</ref> The group's treasurer was Fritz Gissibil, who was also the main Nazi Party representative in the [[United States]] and who regularly collected money for the Nazis through the Society.<ref>Wolter, ''Loyalty On Trial'', p. 63</ref> A "thank you" letter from [[Adolf Hitler]] to the Society would cause a stir during the [[Second World War]] when the Gissibil brothers were brought to trial following an [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] investigation.<ref>Wolter, ''Loyalty On Trial'', p. 78</ref>


Initially functioning as a club, the Teutonia Society soon raised a group of militants based on the [[Sturmabteilung|SA]] and, with membership increasing, became leading critics of [[Jew]]s, [[communism]] and the [[Treaty of Versailles]].<ref>Max Wallace, ''The American Axis - Henry Ford, Charles Lindbergh, and the Rise of the Third Reich'', St. Martin's Griffin, 2003, p. 132</ref> Alongside this however it retained a social function, with Teutonia Society meetings frequently ending up in heavy beer drinking sessions.<ref>Wolter, ''Loyalty On Trial'', p. 74</ref>
⚫
The group accepted Hitler as its titular leader and members adopted the [[Nazi salute]], the Society changed its name again in October 1932 to become the Friends of the Hitler Movement.<ref>Wolter, ''Loyalty On Trial'', p. 64</ref>

⚫
The group changed its name to the '''Nationalistic Society of Teutonia''' in 1926, at which point Peter Gissibil was advising members to also seek Nazi Party membership.<ref name="loyal"/> The group gained a strong, if fairly small following, and was able to establish units in [[Milwaukee]], [[St. Louis, Missouri]], [[Detroit]], [[New York City]], [[Cincinnati]] and [[Newark, New Jersey]]<ref>Wolter, ''Loyalty On Trial'', pp. 62-63</ref> The group's treasurer was Fritz Gissibil, who was also the main Nazi Party representative in the [[United States]] and who regularly collected money for the Nazis through the Society.<ref>Wolter, ''Loyalty On Trial'', p. 63</ref> A "thank you" letter from [[Adolf Hitler]] to the Society would cause a stir during the [[Second World War]] when the Gissibil brothers were brought to trial following an [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] investigation.<ref>Wolter, ''Loyalty On Trial'', p. 78</ref>

⚫
The group accepted Hitler as its titular leader and members adopted the [[Nazi salute]], the Society changed its name again in October 1932 to become the '''Friends of the Hitler Movement'''.<ref>Wolter, ''Loyalty On Trial'', p. 64</ref>


Under orders of [[Germany|German]] immigrant and German [[Nazi Party]] member [[Heinz Spanknobel|Heinz Spanknöbel]], the Society was dissolved in March 1933.<ref>Wolter, ''Loyalty On Trial'', pp. 64-65</ref> In May 1933, Nazi [[Deputy Führer]] [[Rudolf Hess]] gave Heinz Spanknöbel authority to form an American Nazi organization.<ref name=Bredemus>{{cite web |url=http://www.traces.org/americanbund.html |title=American Bund - The Failure of American Nazism: The German-American Bund’s Attempt to Create an American "Fifth Column" |author= Jim Bredemus |date= |work= |publisher=TRACES |accessdate=2 March 2011}}</ref> Shortly thereafter, with help from the German consul in New York City, Spanknöbel created the [[Friends of New Germany]]<ref name=Bredemus /> by merging two older organizations in the United States, [[Gau (country subdivision)|Gau-USA]] and the Free Society of Teutonia, which were both small groups with only a few hundred members each. The Friends of New Germany in turn formed the basis of the [[German American Bund]] in 1936, the latter name being chosen to emphasise the group's American credentials after press criticism that the Society was unpatriotic.<ref>Wolter, ''Loyalty On Trial'', p. 65</ref>
Under orders of [[Germany|German]] immigrant and German [[Nazi Party]] member [[Heinz Spanknobel|Heinz Spanknöbel]], the Society was dissolved in March 1933.<ref>Wolter, ''Loyalty On Trial'', pp. 64-65</ref> In May 1933, Nazi [[Deputy Führer]] [[Rudolf Hess]] gave Heinz Spanknöbel authority to form an American Nazi organization.<ref name=Bredemus>{{cite web |url=http://www.traces.org/americanbund.html |title=American Bund - The Failure of American Nazism: The German-American Bund’s Attempt to Create an American "Fifth Column" |author= Jim Bredemus |date= |work= |publisher=TRACES |accessdate=2 March 2011}}</ref> Shortly thereafter, with help from the German consul in New York City, Spanknöbel created the [[Friends of New Germany]]<ref name=Bredemus /> by merging two older organizations in the United States, [[Gau (country subdivision)|Gau-USA]] and the Free Society of Teutonia, which were both small groups with only a few hundred members each. The Friends of New Germany in turn formed the basis of the [[German American Bund]] in 1936, the latter name being chosen to emphasise the group's American credentials after press criticism that the Society was unpatriotic.<ref>Wolter, ''Loyalty On Trial'', p. 65</ref>

Revision as of 07:47, 1 September 2013

The Free Society of Teutonia was one of the earliest National Socialist organizations to appear in America. It was a German American organization that was associated with a strong support for Nazism.

The Society was formed in 1924 by four German immigrants, including Nazi Party members Fritz and Peter Gissibl and their brother Andrew.[1] The organization was originally lead by German immigrant and non-citizen Fritz Gissibl,[2] who made his headquarters in Chicago and from there it set about recruiting ethnic Germans who supported German nationalist aims.[3]

Walter Kappe was one of the Teutonia Society's leaders.[2] Kappe (b. 1904) arrived in the United States in 1925 and worked in a farm implement factory in Kankakee, Illinois. Later he moved to Chicago and began to write for German language newspapers. He became a leader of the Teutonia Society. Kappe was fluent in English and later became the press secretary for the German American Bund. He founded their paper Deutscher Weckruf und Beobachter and its predecessor Deutsche Zeitung. In 1936, when the German American Bund was established, Kappe organized the AV Publishing Company and five other Bund corporations. Fritz Kuhn ousted Kappe from his position in the Bund seeing him as a dangerous rival. In 1937, Kappe returned to Germany, where he was attached to Abwehr II (the sabotage branch of German intelligence) where he obtained a Naval commission with the rank of lieutenant. He was designated by Adolf Hitler to launch a sabotage operation against America shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Known as Operation Pastorius, Kappe began to recruit men for the mission by reviewing records from the Ausland Institute of those who were paid to return to Germany from America. He established a sabotage school on the outskirts of Berlin to train the new recruits. Once the sabotage network was established and transferred to America, Kappe planned to slip into the US with a new identity and direct operations. Kappe is believed to have survived the war.

Initially functioning as a club, the Teutonia Society soon raised a group of militants based on the SA and, with membership increasing, became leading critics of Jews, communism and the Treaty of Versailles.[4] Alongside this however it retained a social function, with Teutonia Society meetings frequently ending up in heavy beer drinking sessions.[5]

The group changed its name to the Nationalistic Society of Teutonia in 1926, at which point Peter Gissibil was advising members to also seek Nazi Party membership.[1] The group gained a strong, if fairly small following, and was able to establish units in Milwaukee, St. Louis, Missouri, Detroit, New York City, Cincinnati and Newark, New Jersey[6] The group's treasurer was Fritz Gissibil, who was also the main Nazi Party representative in the United States and who regularly collected money for the Nazis through the Society.[7] A "thank you" letter from Adolf Hitler to the Society would cause a stir during the Second World War when the Gissibil brothers were brought to trial following an FBI investigation.[8]

The group accepted Hitler as its titular leader and members adopted the Nazi salute, the Society changed its name again in October 1932 to become the Friends of the Hitler Movement.[9]

Under orders of German immigrant and German Nazi Party member Heinz Spanknöbel, the Society was dissolved in March 1933.[10] In May 1933, Nazi Deputy Führer Rudolf Hess gave Heinz Spanknöbel authority to form an American Nazi organization.[11] Shortly thereafter, with help from the German consul in New York City, Spanknöbel created the Friends of New Germany[11] by merging two older organizations in the United States, Gau-USA and the Free Society of Teutonia, which were both small groups with only a few hundred members each. The Friends of New Germany in turn formed the basis of the German American Bund in 1936, the latter name being chosen to emphasise the group's American credentials after press criticism that the Society was unpatriotic.[12]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Erik V. Wolter, Loyalty On Trial: One American's Battle With The FBI, iUniverse, 2004, p. 62
  2. ^ a b IMDb Biography
  3. ^ Wisconsin Cartographers' Guild, Wisconsin's Past and Present: A Historical Atlas, Univ of Wisconsin Press, 1998, p. 19
  4. ^ Max Wallace, The American Axis - Henry Ford, Charles Lindbergh, and the Rise of the Third Reich, St. Martin's Griffin, 2003, p. 132
  5. ^ Wolter, Loyalty On Trial, p. 74
  6. ^ Wolter, Loyalty On Trial, pp. 62-63
  7. ^ Wolter, Loyalty On Trial, p. 63
  8. ^ Wolter, Loyalty On Trial, p. 78
  9. ^ Wolter, Loyalty On Trial, p. 64
  10. ^ Wolter, Loyalty On Trial, pp. 64-65
  11. ^ a b Jim Bredemus. "American Bund - The Failure of American Nazism: The German-American Bund's Attempt to Create an American "Fifth Column"". TRACES. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
  12. ^ Wolter, Loyalty On Trial, p. 65
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