HENRY FORD AND SECRET NAZI
109
ACTIVITIES
and Los Angeles included material printed in Spanish for the
special use of General Nicholas Rodriguez, head of the Gold Shirts.
The Spanish as well as the English material was taken to the
Deutsches Haus in Los Angeles and turned over to Schwinn,
who forwarded the batches to Rodriguez. The contact man
between Schwinn and the head of the fascist movement in
Mexico is a native American named Henry Douglas Allen of
San Diego. Allen, under the pretext of being a mining engineer
and interested in prospecting in Mexico, went repeatedly into
the neighboring country with the smuggled propaganda
delivered
it
to Rodriguez
and
agents.
Since native Americans, especially if they say they wish to
into
prospect, can travel across the international boundary
Mexico as often as they please without arousing suspicion,
Allen was chosen as the liaison man between Nazi agents in the
United States and Rodriguez. As I said earlier, the Nazis tried
and to draw
from the beginning to get an American
as many Americans into it as possible obviously strategic prepa
ration for future work more serious than mere propaganda.
Hence Allen was instructed to become active in the Silver Shirt
movement. He organized Down Town Post No. 47-10 and
"front"
established Silver Shirt recruiting headquarters in
at 730 South Grand Ave., Los Angeles.
Room
693
In August, 1936, when a lot of Nazi and anti-Roosevelt money
was being shelled out in efforts to defeat Roosevelt, Allen be
came extremely active. While Pelley was out of town, he was
instructed to work with Kenneth Alexander, Pelley s right-hand
man. Alexander was formerly a still-photographer at United
Artists Studios. The two opened offices in the Broadway Arcade
Building and on October i, 1935, moved to the Lankersheino
Building at Third Street near Spring, Los Angeles.
Rodriguez, after he was given assurances of Nazi aid, worked
not only with Nazi agents in this country but also with Julio
Brunet, manager of the Ford factory in Mexico City.