Under Cover: My four years in the Nazi underworld of America--the amazing revelation of how axis agents and our enemies within are now plotting to destroy the United States

274 Pages·2005·13.1 MB·English

by  John Roy Carlson (Avedis Boghos Derounian)

UNDER COVER
My Four Years in the Nazi Underworld of America
The Amazing Revelation ofHow Axis Agents
and Our Enemies Within Are Now Plotting
to Destroy the United States
By JOHN ROY CARLSON
E. P. DUTTON & CO., INC.. NEW YORK
PUBLISHERS 1943
Copyright, /943
By E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc.
Allrights reserved :: Printed in the U.S.A.
"i!
First printing, June 194J
Second printing,July /943
Third printing, July /943
FourtlJ printing, August 1943
Vedicated to SAM and STEVE, ROY and JOHN
Fifth printing, Augmt 1943
and to those other official under covermen anu women who,
Sixth printing, August 1943
Se'l.xllth printing, August 1943 unnamed and unsung, are fighting the
common enemy of Democracy on
the military front abroad
andthe psychological
No part of this book may be reproduced front at home
in any form without permission in writing
from the publisher, except by a reviewer
who wishes to quote brief passages in con
nectionwithareviewwritten for inclusionin
magazine or newspaper or radio broadcast.
AMERICAN BOOK-STRATFORD PRESS, INC., NEWYORK.
As investigator of subversive activity, the author joined or be
came affili<lted with many self-styled "patriotic" groups, some of
which afC listed below. The endpaper pattern was based on his CONTENTS
membership cards and buttons.
Pag{
American National-Socialist Parry
German-American Bund Author'sPreface 9
Christian Front
The Ultra-American nOOK I-BEFORE PEARL HARTIOR
Chapter
Nationalist Parry
American Nationalist Party I. ABlackChristmas 15
American Women Against Communism
The Gray Shirts II. School at Stahrenberg's 22
AmericaFirst Committee III. The I-lateCrusade )8
No Foreign War Committee
Christian Mobilizers IV. Coughlin's "Christian Crusade" 54
American Destiny Party
v. Native Fuehrer 70
American Brotherhood of Christians Congress
The Ethiopian Pacific Movement VI. Drillingfor DerTag 91
CitizensProtectiveLeague
Social Justice Distributors Club VII. PuppetsofAdolfHitler 108
The American Defense Society
Anglo-Saxon Federation of America VIII. The Pied Pipersof"Patriotism" IF
Paul Revere Sentinels IX. HitlerandHirohitoinHarlem 154
Ra-Con Klub
Crusaders for Americanism, Inc. x. Poison in the Pulpit 164
\Ve the Fathers, Auxiliary to We the Mothers Mobilize for XI. Spiesl 177
America
The Christian Mobilizer XII. Park Avenue "Patriots" 187
Phalanx, PA,'C (secret gun club)
xU!. The Hand that Rocks the Cradle 211
National Workers League
Yankee Freemen XIV. Behold Our Liberators! 227
Cross and the Flag
Committee of One Million xv. America'sDoomSquad 239
Flanders Hall, Nazi publishers
American Patriots
nOOK II-AFTERPEARL HARBOR
American Bulletin
National Gentile League I. Underground
II. The BillofRights-Hei!!
Ill. Inner Circle of the N.\V.L.
7
88 CCOONNTTEENNTTSS 1
CChhaapptteerr Page
lIVV.. OOuutteerr CCiirrccllee ooff tthhee NN..WW..LL. .
v. DDeettrrooiitt IIss DDyynnaammiittee
V.
AAUUTTHH OORR''SS PPRREEFFAACCEE
VVII.. FFaakkee YYaannkkeeeess 337
VVIII!.. SSeerrppeennttss aanndd VViippeerrss 357 ""TThhuunnddeerr oonn!! ssttrriiddee oonn,, DDeemmooccrraaccyy!!
SSttrriikkee wwiitthh vveennggeeffuull ssttrrookkee!!" "
VVIIIIII.. TThhee MMootrmmoonn CCiittyy 373
WALTW HITMAN
IIXX.. MMiiddwweesstt RRoouunndduupp 386 WALT WHITMAN
xX.. AAttttoorrnneeyy GGeenneerraall BBiiddddllee CCrraacckkss DDoowwnn 4°9 ""UUNNDDEERRCC OOVVERE"Rii"ss nnoott ssoo mmuucchh aann eexxppoossee ooff tthhee wwoorrkk ooff
XXIl.. PPrroosseellyytteess ooff tthhee ""NNeeww OOrrddeerr"" 417 aalliieenn NNaazzii oorr FFaasscciisstt aaggeennttss aass iitt iiss,, uullttiimmaatteellyy,, aa wwaarrnniinngg ttoo
AAmmeerriiccaa ooff tthhoossee ffaaccttoorrss wwhhiicchh hhaavv~e lleedd ttoo tthhee ddeevveellooppmmeenntt
XXIIII.. TTrreeaassoonn iinn LLiibbeerrttyy''ss CCrraaddllee 439 ooff aa nnaattiivviisstt,, nnaattiioonnaalliisstt,, AAmmeerriiccaann NNaa77ii oorr AAmmeerriiccaann FFaassceiisstt
XXIIIIII.. GGtraavvee DDiiggggeerrss ooff DDeemmooccrraaccyy 456 mmoovveemmeenntt wwhhiicchh,, lliikkee aa ssppeeaarrhheeaadd,, iiss ppooiisseedd ttoo ssttaabb aatt DDeemmoocc-
rraaccyy..
XXIlVV.. LLiibbeerrttyy''ss HHaannggmmeenn 481 DDeeffeeaattIiSstt aanndd ddiisssseennssiioonniisstt pprrooppaaggaannddaa ccoonnttminuueess wwhhiillee oouurr
xXvV.. DDeemmooccrraaccyy MMuusstt WWiinn tthhee PPeeaaccee!! 5°1 ccoouunnttrryy iiss aatt wwaarr,, ddeessppiittee tthhee aarrrreesstt ooff nneeaarrllyy aallll tthhee kknnoowwnn
ffoorreeiiggnn aaggeennttss.. TThhiiss iiss nnoott ssuurrpprriissiinngg.. TThhee KKuuhhnnss aanndd VViieerreecckkss
IInnddeexx 523 ttuurrnneedd tthhee ttoorrcchh oovveerr ttoo tthhee PPeelllleeyyss aanndd LLaauurraa IInnggaallllsseess,, aanndd
tthheessee AAmmeerriiccaann--bboorrnn ooppeerraattiivveess ooff aa ffoorreeiiggnn ppoowweerr ssyymmbboollii -
ccaallllyy rreellaayyeedd iitt ttoo tthhee tthhiirrttyy--tthhrreeee mmeenn aanndd wwoommeenn iinnddiicctteedd
FFoouurr--ppaaggee pphhoottooggrraapphhiicc iinnsseerrtt oonn cchhaarrggeess ooff sseeddiittiioonn..
bbeettwweeeenn ppaaggeess 226644 aanndd 226655 UUnnffoorrttuunnaatteellyy,, tthhee ttrraaiill tthhaatt mmaayy lleeaadd tt~~ tthhee ddeessttrruuccttiioonn
ooff DDeemmooccrraaccyy ddooeess nnoott eenndd,, bbuutt aaccttuuaallllyy bbeeggiinnss wwiitthh tthheessee
tthhiirrttyy--tthhrreeee mmeenn aanndd wwoommeenn.. TThheeiirr mmiissssiioonnaarryy eeffffoorrttss aanndd
tthhee mmiissgguuiiddeedd zzeeaall ooff aa tthhoouussaanndd ootthheerrss lliikkee tthheemm ssttiillll aatt llaarrggee,,
hhaavvee ppeerrmmeeaatteedd ddeeeepp iinnttoo tthhee AAmmeerriiccaann mmiinndd.. AAnndd aafftteerr
mmaannyy rreeffiinniinngg pprroocceesssseess,, tthhee vviieewwppooiinnttss oorriiggiinnaallllyy pprroommootteedd
bbyy tthhee KKuuhhnnss aanndd VViieerreecckkss aanndd SShhiisshhmmaarroovvaass hhaavvee bbeeccoommee
ppaallaattaabbllee ttoo mmaannyy AAmmeerriiccaannss wwhheenneevveerr mmoouutthheedd bbyy nneeiigghh -
bboorrss wwiitthhoouutt aann aacccceenntt..
IInn tthhee ccoouurrssee ooff mmyy iinnvveessttiiggaattiioonnss,, II ffoouunndd tthhaatt mmaannyy ootthheerr -
wwiissee ffiinnee AAmmeerriiccaannss wweerree pprrooppaaggaattiinngg tthhee lliieess aanndd tthhee ""ppaarrttyy
lliinnee"" oorriiggiinnaallllyy aaddvvaanncceedd bbyy HHiittlleerr''ss aaggeennttss aanndd ddooiinngg iitt ssiinn -
cceerreellyy iinn wwhhaatt tthheeyy bbeelliieevveedd ttoo bbee ggoooodd AAmmeerriiccaanniissmm..
TThhiiss ssttaattee ooff mmiinndd--tthhee mmoosstt ddaannggeerroouuss oobbssttaaccllee ttoo AAmmeerr -
iiccaa''ss ffuuttuurree DDeemmooccrraaccyy--ccoouuldld bbeeccoommee aa ffaattaall iissssuuee wwhheenn wwee
aarree sseeaatteedd aarroouunndd tthhee ppeeaaccee ttaabbllee,, aanndd bbee aa ffaaccttoorr iinn iinnfflluueenncc -
99
AUTHOR'S PREFACE
10 AUTHOR'S PREFACE 11
"Under Cover" went through many adventures before it
ing us to lose the peace after winning the war. It was to help
illustrate the many facets of this "clear and present" danger was ready to see the light in the form of printer's ink. I began
of Nazified "Americanism" that I undertook to live, then writing it almost as soon as I started my investigations, since
write Under Cover. I want my fellow Americans to learn to it was with a book in mind that I continued in my work. In
recognize the American Fascist whenever he drapes the flag nearly four and a half years I estimate that I've written about
around himself, and to detect his Nazi mouthings regardless five million words. My files on the Christian Mobilizers alone
of how subtle his approach. contain more than 175 individual reports totalling 250,000
I have applied the terms fascist, fascist-minded, nationalist, words. It was inevitable that this mass outpouring "in the heat
American Fascist and American Nazi to those who, according of battle," should have affected my writing. Consequently 1
to the record, have subverted Democracy by morally or tried to work with a collaborator in the preparation of Under
financially supporting the racial, political or social doctrines Cover, but after a few weeks we parted company and once
of Hitler's National-Socialism, Mussolini's corporate-state again I started out from scratch.
Fascism or Franco's clericalist-Falangism; and have pro- I've had many offers of help on the part of groups and in-
moted an American species of Axis ideology in the name of dividuals who, while well-meaning and engaged in the demo-
super "patriotism" and super "Americanism." Actual member- cratic cause, each had an obvious axe to grind. All extraneous
ship in authoritarian regimes is not necessary for an American, "advice" and "suggestions"-one of which included the dele-
native-born or naturalized, to qualify as fascist-minded. tion of three consecutive chapters now in Book 11-were po-
I regard as blasphemy the stunt of those "super-patriots" litely rejected, and the independence of the writing main-
who seek to whitewash their native Nazism by falling back tained. For better or worse, this book is the author's own
on ancestors who died in order that Democracy might live. work, though of course it has gone through a certain amount
One need only recall that Major Vidkun Quisling was a of editorial trimming and pruning.
"pure-blooded" Norwegian, and Pierre Lava1 was a "pure- I am grateful for the moral support and foresight of a num-
blooded'' Frenchman from the heart of Auvergne, to realize ber of friends, who I hope will remain my friends after read-
that "Democracy" like "fascism" is a state of mind, not of ing Under Cover. I am indebted to the publishers of Fortune
physical boundaries or hallowed ancestry. magazine, and in particular to Russell W. Davenport, then its
Aly criterion for true patriotism is found in Elihu Root's
managing editor, for engaging me early in 1939 to make a
definition:
preliminary survey of the New York fascist scene. That is
how I happened to get my start.
True love of country is not mere blind f artisanship. It is regard
I am indebted to the patient and kindly Reverend L. M.
for the people of one's country and all o them; it is a feeling of
fellowship and brotherhood for all of them; it is a desire for the Birkhead for his permission to use the extensive and orderly
prosperity and happiness of all of them; it is kindly and con- files of his militant organization, Friends of Democracy, for
siderate judgment toward all of them. The essential condition of some of my background material. I am indebted to Joseph
true progress is that it shall be based upon grounds of reason, and Roos of Los Angeles for information on West Coast Nazis;
not of prejudice. to Kenneth M. Birkhead (now in the army), Mrs. Marion
Hart and Miss Anne Simmons.
This definition differs so radically from the "patriotism"
I wish also to pay my grateful respects to E. G. Morris
of American Fascists that if I know them at all, I am certain
for his zealous and untiring efforts in my behalf over a period
they will eventually brand Elihu Root either as a Jew, a
of two years. He has been my friend as well as my literary
Communist, or both. They will manage it somehow. I an-
agent.
ticipate the same compliment myself.
12 AUTHOR'S PREFACE 1
And, finally, I wish to pay tribute to the loving inspiration
of Marie and Robert, without which this book would never
have been realized nor, indeed, could I have survived the ex-
perience of living it.
B O O K O N E
BEFORE PEARL HARBOR
A BLACK C H R I S T M A S
"The evil that men do lives after them;
The good is oft interred with their bones."
WILLIAMSH AKESPEARE
"We National Socialists have never ¥maintaine MY STORY actually begins in December, 1933, with an episode
that blazed across newspaper headlines for months thereafter.
that we were representatives of a dewmcratic
On the morning of Christmas Sunday, 93 3, Archbishop Leon
viewpoint, but we have openly declared that I
Tourian, Primate of the Armenian Church in North and
we only made we of democratic means in order
South America, was scheduled to celebrate Holy Mass in the
to gain power, and that after the seizure of
Holy Cross Church on West 187th Street, New York.
power we would ruthlessly deny to our oppo-
The tiny church was filled with devout worshippers. The
nents all those means which they had granted
altar was gayly decorated with flowers. Candles were lighted.
to us during the time of our opposition."-
The pungent odor of incense filled the air and all morning
PROPAGANDA MINISTER DR. PAUL JOSEPH GOEB-
a vested choir had sung of "Peace on earth, good will to
BELS . . ."
men The congregation stood up reverently when a
stately figure in the full magnificence of ecclesiastical dress
emerged from the vestry room at the rear of the church and
remained poised at the end of the aisle. In his left hand the
Archbishop carried a crozier of gold. With his right hand,
holding a jewel-studded crucifix, he blessed the bowed
parishioners.
Bound for the altar, the procession was led by a censer
bearer, followed by twelve members of the choir abreast in
couples. Then came the resplendent figure of the Primate.
Two acolytes brought up the rear of theJ 'r ocessional. Organ
music filled the air, and the choir chante softly as it started
from the aisle. The devout crossed themselves. The candle
. . .
lights flickered.
Suddenly from the right side of the aisle, a swarthy, pock-
marked figure jumped into the aisle and stooped low. In his
right hand was a two-edged butcher knife six inches long and
whetted to razor sharpness. Simultaneously from an adjoining
pew, a second assailant threw himself on the Primate and
pinned back his arms, while the first one, with a pumping
'5
I 6 UNDER COVER A BLACK CHRISTMAS 17
motion stabbed four times through the sacred rooes at the Sea in Southern Greece. Our home, the largest in the shipping
Archbishop's vital section. port, was located on Governor Street and overlooked the
Carried out with thoroughly practiced savagery committed busy wharves. Father was district manager for the Singer
in the presence of a stupefied crowd, the murder was over in Sewing Machine Company. Grandfather on mother's side
a few seconds. The figure of the Prelate lurched forward, had been an architect to tlie Sultan in Constantinople. Other
then fell prostrate the full length of the aisle. The screaming, uncles and grandparents had been jewelers, translators and
bewildered congregation stampeded to the door. right-hand men to various Turkish Sultans.
Thomas E. Dewey-now Governor of New York-was I used to ask questions about America of the fishermen and
engaged to prepare the case against the assassins. Nine men hamals-stevedores-unloading cargo boats. My uncle Arthur
were eventually convicted of the murder. All were found to had sailed to the United States three years after my birth. My
be members and officers of the Armenian Revolutionary companion, Christo, a youth of fourteen years, knew less
Federation, a secretive political gang also known as the Dash- about America than the stevedores. Together with Aydz, a
nag-the Dashnaf whose methods anticipated those of the goatmy parents maintained for its milk, Christo and I spent
Gestapo. I had, o course, known of the existence of the Dash- most of our afternoons in the peaceful valleys surrounding
nag and had heard of their international program of terrorism, Alexandropolis.
but the murder of Archbishop Tourian and what became Hitler and Himmler now rule it.
known of their organization during the trial, brought to light Soon after I was born, in 1909, the Greek Army was de-
the formidable power which this small but sinister fascistic feated at Alexandropolis and the Bulgarian Army occupied
clique wielded not only in America but wherever Armenians our city. They didn't stay long. The Turks came back and
lived. It was thoroughly hated by the overwhelming majority drove them out. Then the Greeks returned with reinforce-
of Armenians-but they could do little about it. ments and with some Italian help, drove out the Turks. The
Our family had known Archbishop Tourian in the Old inhabitants of Alexandropolis being of Greek, Bulgarian, Ar-
World. While still a priest, he had baptized my little brother menian and Turkish descent, each marauding army plundered
Steven in the Armenian Church at Sofia, Bulgaria. As Arch- the homes of the nationals it was fighting. The invading Bul-
bishop, he had had dinner with us in our home in Long garians pillaged Greek and Turkish homes. Then the Turkish
Island. I adored him as a person and literally worshipped him soldiers plundered the Greeks, the Bulgarians and the Ar-
as a man of God. It was nearly impossible for me to conceive menians. Alexandropolis was truly a cosmopolitan city-it
that this frightful murder had occurred in mv adopted was plundered by each and every Balkan Army.
America. A portion of the civilian population took to the safety of
the hills whenever one or another army entered the city. Peo-
I am an Armenian by parentage and our history as a Chris- ple unable to flee lived in the cellars of their homes while
tian people goes back to Biblical days. It was on Mount Ararat, street fighting raged among Turks, Bulgarians and Greeks.
in the land of Armenia, that tradition tells Noah's Ark rested. The defenseless Armenians were the prey of all the armies
Some people have their religion or their nationality thrust all the time. The cellar of our home was completely furnished
upon them by the accident of birth. I am an American by to withstand months of siege. We lived as refugees in our
choice. It was in this country that my family, after countless own home while the battle went on furiously. At night we
generations of persecution, saw hope of a reality of freedom ventured for fresh air into the back yard surrounded with a
and Democracy. high stone fence, and studded on top with broken glass. Our
I was born on Good Friday in Alexandropolis-a city valuables, which were placed in an urn, were buried beneath
founded by Alexander the Great on the shores of the Aegean the roots of the grapevine.
I 8 UNDER COVER A BLACK CHRISTMAS 19
Once, when a raiding party was systematically looting following the Armistice in Constantinople. In due time, we
homes, piling the booty in waiting carts, father sought protec- sailed for America aboard the Greek ship Meghali Hellas
tion under the American flag. He hung it from the balcony with several hundred other Armenians and arrived in the
of our home, and shouted: "I represent an American company. New World on April 2, 1921.
Don't you dare break down the door." The ruffians took I remember our first Sunday here. Mother, father, my
father for an American Consul and passed us up.
brothers John, Steven and I walked up trim, arbored, sun-
I was four years old when we were warned that a horde
spotted Willis Avenue in Mineola, Long Island, a suburb of
of wild Turkish bandits-bashibozouks-were about to raid
New York. Uncle Arthur was proudly leading the way to
the town and set it afire. Father and mother piled bread and
our new home. No Turks lurked around the corner. No
cheese, bundles, mattresses, blankets and their two children
corpses littered the streets. There was no need to hide in
into an old bullock cart and took to the hills. Behind and
warehouses or cellars, to bolt the doors or talk in whispers.
ahead of us were hundreds of other carts of Armenian families
This was America! I was a gawky boy of twelve, and so
fleeing the terrible Turks.
terrorized by past experiences I could hardly believe that one
When it was safe to do so we fled to Bulgaria. I remember
could live in one place any length of time without having to
the bread line that formed daily in front of the government
flee for safety.
warehouse in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. The line, a long
Our new home was far removed from the "nationality
queue of aged peasant women wrapped in shawls, of bent old
islands" of New York City. Stern and strong-willed, father
men, of children bawling from hunger, of young girls with
insisted that we enroll in school immediately and become
sunken eyes and waxlike pallor, began to form at dawn. There
were no young men or middle-aged men in that line. All Americans. "We have come to a New World," he said, "we
must learn new ways of living. Forget Europe."
were off to war. But there were young mothers, their faces
pinched, huddling emaciated little infants, waiting hour after Mother was a graduate of the American Women's College
hour; waiting eternally, it seemed, for rations of coarse rye at Constantinople and spoke English well, in addition to
bread. Nothing else. It seems odd to hear a people complain French, Greek, Turkish, Bulgarian and Armenian. She en-
today about rationing. rolled John and me in school the week after we had landed
An ally of Imperial Germany, the tyrannous Turk deter- here. That same week father, accompanied by our uncle,
mined to exterminate the Armenians in Turkey who had tradi- went to the Nassau County Courthouse to register his inten-
tionally sided and volunteered for service with the Allies. tion of becoming an American citizen. In the wholesome at-
Turk nationalists embarked on a Moslem "holy war" of mas- mosphere of a pretty little suburb, surrounded by friendly,
sacre, starvation, brutality and mass deportations which up native-born Americans our own Americanization got off to
to that time had been unparalleled among the so-called civi- a flying start.
lized nations. Hundreds of thousands of innocent Armenians Father was a linguist who spoke six languages. He learned
perished. But tens of thousands more would have perished if the seventh, English, very rapidly by reading newspapers.
the Near East Relief, the Foreign Missions and the Red Cross Uncle knew seven languages, including some Chinese. I spoke
had not established orphanages, hospitals, schools and food Armenian, Greek, Bulgarian, Turkish and French and also
kitchens. The unstinting manner with which Americans dur- a smattering of Italian-which I had learned from the Pas-
ing those tragic war years gave of their savings left an un- cualis, the childless couple who were our neighbors in Alex-
forgettable imprint on our family, on all Armenians-and par- andropolis-but I knew no English.
ticularly on me. We looked to America with reverence. My first teacher in America, a short, plump, red-cheeked
My family spent the war years in Sofia and the next two little bundle of sympathy and kindness, kept me after school
20 UNDER COVER A BLACK CHRISTMAS 2 1
and patiently tutored me in English and spelling night after Democracy. Five years later the second incident occurred
night. Miss A. Canning was representative of many Ameri- which was to crystallize for me the certainty that a concerted
cans I've met since then. attempt was being made to destroy Democracy in the United
In the meanwhile, father had established himself in business States.
as importer of cheese, fish, honey, rose-petal jam, caviar and
other delicacies. Mother spent her evenings helping us with
our American history lessons. In May, 1926, the family cele-
brated our official recognition as American citizens. We in-
vited all the neighbors to a sumptuous Armenian dinner which
lasted five hours.
In June, 1928, I was graduated from Mineola High School
with honors. America was good to us! We were treated as
equals by our neighbors, as fellow Americans. We were given
no cause to side, then or in years to come, with alien political
movements which thrive on hate and social frustration. We
joined the American blood stream and were swept past the
painful period of maladjustment which plague many new-
comers. Democracy became my ideal of a way of life.
Four years later I was graduated from the New York Uni-
versity School of Journalism, having worked my way through
as reporter for a string of Long Island newspapers. I decided
to travel throughout the United States-hitchhiking and work-
ing at what I could get to do. I was not driven to travel by
necessity but by a desire to get acquainted with my adopted
country and its people. I returned home in November, 1933.
And it was just after this trip, where I had been learning
what my adopted country was Eke, that I received the terrific
shock of Old World politics and terrorism. I had no concep-
tion at that time of the forces of evil already at work to un-
dermine the tolerance and freedom which had been the pe-
culiar heritage of America. The murder of the Armenian
Primate made me sense that even here there was the danger
of the same feelings of perverted nationalism which had
plagued Europe for generations.
It is difficult to express in words the effect the brutal mur-
der of Archbishop Tourian by Dashnag henchmen had on me.
For a long time I was bewildered and then gradually I began
to learn that the Dashnags, while they represented a vicious
political clique of terrorists, were not the only fascistic or-
ganization then engaged in violating the principles of our