United States v. Sautter, 4430

• Court: United States District Courts. 7th Circuit. United States District Court (Northern District of Illinois)
• Writing for the Court: Mr. J. Albert Woll, United States Attorney for the Northern of Illinois, of Chicago, Ill
• Citation: 54 F. Supp. 22
• Parties: UNITED STATES v. SAUTTER et al.
• Docket Number: 4703,4688,4599,4713,4747-4749.,4510,No. 4430,4430
• Decision Date: 15 September 1943

54 F. Supp. 22

UNITED STATES
v.
SAUTTER et al.

Nos. 4430, 4510, 4599, 4688, 4703, 4713, 4747-4749.

District Court, N. D. Illinois, E. D.

September 15, 1943.

Mr. J. Albert Woll, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, of Chicago, Ill.

Counsel for the defendant is Joseph T. Harrington, of Chicago, Ill.

CAMPBELL, District Judge.

These causes were consolidated for trial of the single issue of the aims, purposes and organization of the German-American Bund and its predecessor organizations. I have carefully reviewed the testimony taken at the trial of this issue, the voluminous mass of exhibits introduced herein, and the briefs and arguments of counsel together with the authorities they cite. I have come to the conclusion that the plaintiff has clearly and satisfactorily established its contention that the aims and purposes of the German-American Bund and its predecessor organizations were subversive of and contrary to the principles of the Constitution of the United States.

Specifically, I make the following Findings of Fact

1. The organization known as the German-American Bund was first established in Chicago on October 12, 1924, under the name of "Free Society of Teutonia". In 1926 the name of the organization was changed to "National Socialistic Society of Teutonia", in 1932 to "Friends of the Hitler Movement", in 1933 to "Bund Friends of New Germany" and finally in 1936 to "German-American Bund", which title will hereinafter be used to designate the said organization from the time of its establishment in 1924 to the date hereof.

2. The German-American Bund has since its beginning been directly affiliated with the National Socialist German Workers Party (N.S.D.A.P. or Nazi Party) of Germany and since January 30, 1933 when Adolph Hitler, the leader of that party, became head of the German government has been directly affiliated with the government of the German Reich.

3. In June of 1933 the few official units of the Nazi Party theretofore operating separately in the United States became merged with and were taken over by the German-American Bund.

4. The aims and purposes of the German-American Bund were (a) to act as an arm of the Nazi Party and of the government of Germany in the distribution of Naxi propaganda in the United States; (b) to promote race hatred and class discrimination along Nazi lines in the United States; (c) to band people of German extraction in the United States together and under the "volk" or "blood" theory to teach them that they owe primary allegiance to...