The dream of a white, blond-haired, blue-eyed ‘master race’ didn’t originate with Adolf Hitler. This idea was implemented in the United States decades before Hitler rose to power by American eugenicists, who sterilized tens of thousands of Americans through the 1970s, barred the marriage of thousands, and segregated others.

The Jim Crow laws of the early twentieth century were also of great interest to Hitler, and his lawyers “perfected” them to create the Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor and the Reich Citizenship Law. Together, these were known as the Nuremberg Laws, and they laid the legal groundwork for the persecution of Jewish people during the Holocaust.

Since our laws and policies inspired Adolf Hitler, it should come as no surprise that on February 20, 1939, the German American Bund, which was openly supportive of Hitler and the rise of fascism in Europe, held an event at Madison Square Garden attended by 20,000 Americans. The rally was a very bizarre mix of white supremacy, fascist ideology, and American patriotism.

In the United States, we think of ourselves as a country of patriots devoted to democratic principles who helped win World War II. It’s certainly true our efforts helped turn the tide when we entered the war in 1941. It’s also important to remember that our policies and laws inspired Adolf Hitler, and that the sentiments behind those policies persist to this day.

I wrote The Sunflower House to show one woman’s resistance during one of the darkest times in modern human history. When my protagonist, Allina, is forced to work as a nurse at a Nazi ‘baby factory’ called Hochland Home, she must hide her Jewish identity to survive. Yet, when she uncovers the neglect of children there, she cannot turn away from their suffering. Instead, she risks her own life to attempt to save theirs.

Despite the serious, dark themes in The Sunflower House, I remain hopeful – and grateful for the tiny bits of light uncovered while researching the book, in the stories of people who helped those at risk during the war. I’m also hopeful because those stories prove that the human race demonstrates the capacity to pull itself back from the brink of insanity.

But we cannot forget that during World War II, too many paid the price before we turned against fascism and Nazism. Six million Jews and millions of others – including Black people who lived in Germany, Poles, the Romani, the disabled, homosexual men, political opponents (labeled as communists), and Jehovah’s Witnesses, among others – perished while others cast their eyes aside.

Today, in the face of rising fascism, radical nationalism, antisemitism, and the hatred of people of differing ideologies and lifestyles, it’s important to recognize our own thoughts and prejudices – and to act to help those who are in harm’s way. Only then can we hope to keep from repeating history.

Interactive Resources

I hope you’ll take the time to review these video, audio, and written resources. Some are quite disturbing, but they tell the story more completely than any blog could, and they also link to additional resources:

• This History Channel article, How the Nazis Were Inspired by Jim Crow, gives a good summary and contains helpful links for further research.
  
• These two videos from PBS The American Experience, American Eugenics and the Nazi Regime, detail how American eugenics efforts inspired Adolf Hitler, and the ultimate result.

• This article from NPR, When Nazis Took Manhattan, explains the events of that evening, and there’s a 7-minute podcast at the top of the article that is quite chilling.
  
• This video from YouTube, A Night at the Garden, will let you see and hear parts of that rally.