Nazi Town, USA

Although many today would find this hard to believe, but Fascism wasn't just a think in Germany. Many countries had their own Fascist movements...such as in France and the United States. This episode of "The American Experience" is specifically of the German American Bund...the Fascist organization that gained a lot of traction and was quite mainstream in the 1930s.

Before the show specifically addressed the German American Bund, it laid the groundwork for the organization--putting it in context. Various hate groups, such as the KKK, and famous Americans, such as Henry Ford and Father Coughlin, were advocating the same ideals as the Bund. In other words, antisemitism and racism were already open and institutional before the Bund came about and this explains the organization's rapid growth and acceptance. Add to this the Depression and its economic uncertainty, and you can understand how the public accepted these hateful people.

This documentary is pretty much what you'd expect from "The American Experience"...a few bits of film, lots of photos and interviews with various experts who talk about this organization. And, considering how successful this formula is and how interesting this episode is, I think it's very much worth seeing.

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