SECRET ARMIES
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three-dollar weekly rent for his hall bed-room at the Aldine
Ave. address. After Schwinn s visit and meeting with him,
Tietzow began to commute by air between Chicago and Buffalo
where he opened a branch office.
Tietzow was tested out a little at first. He was put to work
in the offices of the Friends of the New Germany on Western
Ave. and Roscoe St., Chicago. In his spare time he worked out
of 1454 Foster Ave., Chicago. A quotation or two from some
of his letters will give an indication of his activities. On Febru
ary 21, 1936, he wrote to William Stern, Fargo, N. D., a member
of the Republican National Committee. He said in part:
Information about the so-called fascist movement here in the U. S. A. will
be furnished by me if you so desire, together with other data you might be
interested in. An opportunity to discuss our national problems and to lay
before patriotic persons of means and influence and before national organiza
tions my plans for a nationwide movement would be welcome. . . .
This letter to a high Republican Party official was written
Tietzow had outlined the contents to Toni Mueller, Nazi
after
agent in Chicago reporting directly to Fritz Kuhn.
Since most of the patrioteers were opposed to the
and
New
Deal
some of them were already working with Nazi agents
in this country, it was not long before they were going full blast
in their "Save America" racket. The people of the United States,
though they don t talk much about it, are thoroughly patriotic
since
in the fullest sense of the word.
To
accuse anyone of not being
a patriot is almost worse than telling a man that he is a son
of not quite a lady. The racketeers in patriotism long ago dis
covered that people would contribute to a "patriotic cause" if
only to escape the reputation of being unpatriotic; and the
racketeers have made a nice living out of it. For some of the
patrioteers
it
has become a thriving business, with everybody
Some of the big
involved except the suckers getting his cut.
"patriotic"
organizations are really influential,
and the small