The Rally at the Garden
The Nazi rallies held in Charlottesville,
North Carolina in 2017 horrified the nation. White men marched on the city,
carrying tiki torches, chanting Nazi slogans, spreading their hateful rhetoric
of white supremacy.
Nothing like that had ever happened in my
lifetime. Never in the history of the United States had the Nazis had such a
rally, on such a national platform.
Or so I thought. I saw a movie recently
which reveals this to be entirely untrue.
I normally post movie reviews on my movie blog, "Flick Picks"
Yet this movie demands to be known.
“A
Night at the Garden” is archival footage from an event at Madison Square Garden
in New York City, held on February 20, 1939.
An early scene of the film shows the
marquee of the Garden, which reads “Pro American Rally.” It was, in
actuality,
a Nazi rally.
There were over 20,000 people in
attendance that night. They were there to support the “German American Bund”, a
pro-Nazi organization.
source: https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/2/20/18230052/night-at-garden-oscars-2019-madison-square-bund-anniversary-interview
That night, seats on the main floor of
the Garden faced the stage, which had a banner of George Washington on display,
flanked by Nazi banners.
The film shows great numbers of young
boys and girls marching in uniform; to anyone who has seen footage from Germany
in World War II, these American children in uniform bear a strong resemblance
to Hitler Youth.
Those in attendance that night recited the Pledge of Allegiance, (which is a pledge of allegiance to the United
States), sang the national anthem, and performed the Nazi salute.
At one point in the film, a man rushed
the stage, in an attempt to stop a speaker at the podium; the man was promptly
tackled, beaten, and kicked off the stage, his pants in tatters.
“A Night at the Garden” is only seven
minutes long; yet, watching it, I was chilled to the bone. It is chilling to see such hatred on display. It's horrifying to know that this Nazi rally happened on U.S. soil.
Without this archival film footage, no one would know that this event took place. Most alive today were not alive in 1939, and those who were, most likely, were not present at this rally at the Garden. Without this footage, this event would have been lost to history. This film is the proof that documentation matters.
I cannot recommend the film highly
enough. Take seven minutes out of your day and watch the film. It will shock
you, anger you, and urge you to take action. To watch the film in its entirety, click the link below.
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Hate is alive and well in the United
States, emanating from the White House, from the lips and actions of the
current “President.”
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We need to learn from our history. Hate must not have a national platform. We cannot let hatred, in any of its forms, win.
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