Historical snapshot: A Nazi with a 38/44

[Absalom]

Just sharing a little oddity I came across today:

These pictures show Hans Diebel, a German citizen and presumed Gestapo agent who lived in Los Angeles in the 1930s, ran the "Aryan Book Store" in the "Deutsches Haus" at 634 West 15th Street, and was a leading figure in the Friends of New Germany, later re-named the German American Bund, a Nazi front organization trying to rally German-Americans for Hitler. Under the guise of "fighting Communism", they were scarily successful, at least until Pearl Harbor, and facilitated German and Japanese intelligence operations.

Diebel and others actually organized paramilitary training, wore uniforms modeled after German stormtrooper dress, and plotted to assassinate Jewish movie producers and stars like Samuel Goldwyn and Edward G. Robinson.

These photos show Diebel at an unidentified L.A.-area range in the late 1930s. The gun appears to be a 38/44 Outdoorsman.

(Photo credit: CSU Northridge library)

 

[Texas Star]

Just sharing a little oddity I came across today:

These pictures show Hans Diebel, a German citizen and presumed Gestapo agent who lived in Los Angeles in the 1930s, ran the "Aryan Book Store" in the "Deutsches Haus" at 634 West 15th Street, and was a leading figure in the Friends of New Germany, later re-named the German American Bund, a Nazi front organization trying to rally German-Americans for Hitler. Under the guise of "fighting Communism", they were scarily successful, at least until Pearl Harbor, and facilitated German and Japanese intelligence operations.

Diebel and others actually organized paramilitary training, wore uniforms modeled after German stormtrooper dress, and plotted to assassinate Jewish movie producers and stars like Samuel Goldwyn and Edward G. Robinson.

These photos show Diebel at an unidentified L.A.-area range in the late 1930s. The gun appears to be a 38/44 Outdoorsman.

(Photo credit: CSU Northridge library)

Nice catch, Absalom.

Was he interned after Pearl Harbor?

 

[Art Doc]

Could it possibly be a 357?

 

[younggun22]

Could it possibly be a 357?

The barrel doesn't appear to have a rib but the pictures aren't the best.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[S&WsRsweet]

Great history lesson .There are always interesting things on this forum. Thanks Absalom . Man you guys are not only S&W educated most of you seem to be very well read in many areas.

 

[glowe]

Could it possibly be a 357?

. . . or a 44 TL?

 

[Targets Guy]

werly interesting

 

[PALADIN85020]

Hermann Goering, German Luftwaffe head, turned over a S&W M&P model of 1905 4th change on his arrest for war crimes after Germany's surrender. It had a 4-inch barrel, and was reported as having been made in 1934. Here is a picture of it, together with its holster.

John

 

[ParadiseRoad]

Hermann Goering, German Luftwaffe head, turned over a S&W M&P model of 1905 4th change on his arrest for war crimes after Germany's surrender. It had a 4-inch barrel, and was reported as having been made in 1938. Here is a picture of it, together with its holster.

John

...suppose it still said "Made in USA" on the flip side?...

 

[THE PILGRIM]

The pro German folks were very active in LA early in WWII.
They built, or at least partially built a 'HQ' , operating base, location.

The Quad: The story behind the remains of a Nazi property in the hills of LA | Daily Bruin

 

[Absalom]

....

Was he interned after Pearl Harbor?

Diebel was arrested in December 1941 and held as an enemy alien. In 1942 he became one of the defendants in what became known as the "Great Sedition Trial", which however ended in a mistrial in 1944. After that he disappears from the record. I haven't yet been able to find out what happened to him and where and when he died.

 

[Absalom]

Hermann Goering, German Luftwaffe head, turned over a S&W M&P model of 1905 4th change on his arrest for war crimes after Germany's surrender. It had a 4-inch barrel, and was reported as having been made in 1938. Here is a picture of it, together with its holster.

John

Hermann Göring's M&P, serial number 642357, is in the museum at West Point. It was shipped in 1934 to the Peters Arms Company, an importer in Hamburg.

How Göring acquired it has never been established. Given his extensive interest in hunting, he spent a lot of time around guns and with people who were into guns. Anything from mail order to a Berlin gun shop to a gift from an admirer (or sycophant) is a possibility.

 

[HardToHandle]

A colleague has a good story about a significant amount of Los Angeles water that still travels today through Swastika-marked pipes. The 1930s steel pipe was imported from Germany and so marked. The easily seen swastikas have been removed but less obvious markings can still be found if you know where to look.

I sometimes wonder where I would have been in the clash of ideologies in the 1930s - left or right. The Spanish and Chinese Civil Wars were raging. In my grandfather's neighborhood the Guard was manning machine gun posts nearly every section and foreclosure agents were being literally tarred-and-feathered. There were active Soviet espionage networks throughout the New Deal agencies and right wing coups being planned. McArthur was seen as enough of a threat that he was "promoted" to the Philippines as a sort of exile. And that was just the prelude of the horror to come.

I don't care for the tenor of these present times, but history tells us it could be much worse. Who knew Nazis were found of Smith and Wesson's?

 

[6518John]

Hermann Göring's M&P, serial number 642357, is in the museum at West Point. It was shipped in 1934 to the Peters Arms Company, an importer in Hamburg.

How Göring acquired it has never been established. Given his extensive interest in hunting, he spent a lot of time around guns and with people who were into guns. Anything from mail order to a Berlin gun shop to a gift from an admirer (or sycophant) is a possibility.

I have known about Goring's M&P but always felt it was sort of an aberration—way to plain jane for a man that carried a jewel encrusted baton.

Edit—Now this screams Herman Goering to me!

 

[Jack Flash]

Goes to show you they are just tools.

 

[Igiveup]

My neighbor has an old Griswold natural gas two burner stove that has the German swastika marked on the two brass valves that turn on the burners. Now I understand that Germany supplied a lot of that type stuff.

 

[m75rlg]

There was lots of support for the Nazies in the Republican Party. Charles Linbergh was an important leader/spokesman/supporter. In fact, a number of Republican lawmakers had planned a large ralley in support of isolationism and pro Nazi policy for the afternoon of December 7, 1941. After word of Pearl Harbor that support evaporated quickly and the Nation became unified.

 

[Waveski]

Absalom - fascinating stuff, thank you.

m75rlg - "...a number of Republican lawmakers had planned a large ralley in support of isolationism and pro Nazi policy for the afternoon of December 7, 1941." That's quite a coincidence. Can you source that story?

 

[wetdog1911]

I have known about Goring's M&P but always felt it was sort of an aberration—way to plain jane for a man that carried a jewel encrusted baton.

Edit—Now this screams Herman Goering to me!

That was his BBQ gun.

Rob

 

[kwill1911]

There was lots of support for the Nazies in the Republican Party. Charles Linbergh was an important leader/spokesman/supporter. In fact, a number of Republican lawmakers had planned a large ralley in support of isolationism and pro Nazi policy for the afternoon of December 7, 1941. After word of Pearl Harbor that support evaporated quickly and the Nation became unified.

Sorry to Absalom for the thread drift but I would like to see a citation or two in support of your statement that lots of Republicans supported the Nazis. Yes, Lindbergh did but I don't think the Nazi support was correlated to American political parties. There was an American Bund party that held rallies and most of the members were German immigrants or descendants of same.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/hist...madison-square-garden-rally-violence-erupted/