Hitler in Los Angeles : how Jews foiled Nazi plots against Hollywood and America

The chilling, little-known story of the rise of Nazism in Los Angeles, and the Jewish leaders and spies they recruited who stopped it. No American city was more important to the Nazis than Los Angeles, home to Hollywood, the greatest propaganda machine in the world. The Nazis plotted to kill the city's Jews and to sabotage the nation's military installations: plans existed for hanging twenty prominent Hollywood figures such as Al Jolson, Charlie Chaplin, and Samuel Goldwyn; for driving through Boyle Heights and machine-gunning as many Jews as possible; and for blowing up defense installations and seizing munitions from National Guard armories along the Pacific Coast. U.S. law enforcement agencies were not paying close attention--preferring to monitor Reds rather than Nazis--and only Leon Lewis and his daring ring of spies stood in the way. From 1933 until the end of World War II, attorney Leon Lewis, the man Nazis would come to call "the most dangerous Jew in Los Angeles," ran a spy operation comprised of military veterans and their wives who infiltrated every Nazi and fascist group in Los Angeles. Often rising to leadership positions, this daring ring of spies uncovered and foiled the Nazi's disturbing plans for death and destruction. Featuring a large cast of Nazis, undercover agents, and colorful supporting players, Hitler in Los Angeles, by acclaimed historian Steven J. Ross, tells the story of Lewis's daring spy network in a time when hate groups had moved from the margins to the mainstream. Reveals The The Little Known Story Of The Los Angeles Spy Operation, Organized To Stop The Rise Of Nazis From Killing The City's Jews And Sabotaging The Nation's Military Installations. Map Of Nazi And Fascist Los Angeles -- Prologue -- Creating A Spy Network, 1933-1934. The Most Dangerous Jew In Los Angeles ; The Spying Begins ; Plots Revealed, Spies Uncovered ; Going For Help ; A Bitter Lesson: The German-american Alliance Trial -- The Nazi And Fascist Attack On Hollywood, 1933-1935. The Moguls And The Nazis ; Inside The Fascist Front ; Huac Comes To Town ; The Most Charming Nazi In Los Angeles -- New Threats, New Spies, 1935-1939. Spy And Divide ; The Plots To Kill The Jews ; Nazi Versus Nazi ; Silver Shirts, Nazis, And Movie Stars ; Slaughter The Hollywood Jews ; The Most Hated Nazi In Hollywood ; The Three Most Dangerous Enemies List ; The Race Is On -- Espionage, Sabotage, And The Coming Of War, 1938-1941. Closing In ; Sabotage, Secret Agents, And Fifth Columnists ; Darkening Skies, New Dangers ; Pearl Harbor Roundup -- Epilogue: Vigilant Till War's End And Beyond -- Guide To Spies, Nazis, And Fascists. Steven J. Ross. Includes Bibliographical References. Reveals the little known story of a private Los Angeles spy operation organized by attorney Leon Lewis--which included Neil Ness, Joseph Roos, and Charles Slocombe--to stop the rise of Nazis from killing the city's Jews and sabotaging the nation's military installations. Also discusses Nazi threats and their influence on Hollywood film content and the sometimes conflicted role of German consul Georg Gyssling, and also Los Angeles's anti-Semitic political movements Leon Lewis never imagined he would ask the German-born son of a Bavarian general to spy on hi fellow countrymen.