The German Element in America

Senator Lundeen

Ernest Lundeen was a Minnesota Senator during the late 1930s. During his time in office, Lundeen expressed extreme opposition to the United States joining WWII. This was an isolationist point-of-view, which he became one of the largest voices of. This was to keep the United States from providing military aid and joining the war against Germany. He expressed these views on the radio, to constituents, and in the senate itself.

In 1940, on Labor Day, Lundeen was to give a speech in Minnesota titled "The German Element in America". This speech was roughly 100 pages and praised not only German Americans, but Nazi Germany as well. The speech was to push the United States to not join WWII and to promote appreciation for Germany. It did so by trying to convince listeners that the United States had more in common with Germany than with the Allies.

The Man Behind the Speech

George Sylvester Viereck was a German agent, paid by Adolf Hitler, to spread Nazi propaganda in the United States, specifically into the U.S. Government. Viereck and Senator Lundeen had formed a close relationship. This relationship was at risk of being exposed through a newspaper titled "P.M.". In a P.M. report, Viereck had been revealed to be working with sitting United States congressional members to spread Nazi propaganda. While Senator Lundeen was not deliberately named in this report, the nature of their relationship was revealed in detail to the public.

"Witch-Hunt"

Lundeen received a letter from Viereck on August 14, 1940, telling him to not worry about being exposed by the media. That it was "a witch hunt". The letter also detailed the "German American" speech that was in the works, being ghost written by George Viereck. This was "The German Element in America" speech that Lundeen was to give weeks later.

Trip 19

"The German Element in America" speech was never given, as Ernest Lundeen died in a plane crash, come to be known as "Trip 19". The typed speech was discovered yards away, in the remains of the plane crash. The reason for this crash has never been confirmed and there has been much speculation on the cause. What is known, however, is that, out of twenty-five passengers, three were U.S. Justice Department members or FBI agents.

American Journalist, Drew Pearson, published a report two weeks after Lundeen's death titled "G-MEN [FBI agents] WERE SHADOWING LATE SENATOR". In this article, Pearson detailed the "Nazi activities" that Lundeen was involved in. He suggested that the Justice Department members on the Trip 19 flight were no coincidence. They were on that flight because of Lundeen and his Nazi alliance.