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Before WWII, Jewish mobsters kept Nazis at bay in the US — with their fists

JL;DR SUMMARY Michael Benson's book, "Gangsters Vs. Nazis: How Jewish Mobsters Battled Nazis in Wartime America," explores how Jewish mobsters, led by figures like Meyer Lansky, took action against Nazi sympathizers in the U.S. during the late 1930s. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

NazismJewish ResistanceRabbi Stephen Wise1930s AmericaMeyer LanskyJewish MobstersGerman American BundMichael BensonNathan Perlman

Places mentioned

New York City, New York, United States
"Members of the German-American Bund parading through the streets of New York City in 1938."
Chicago, Illinois, United States
"intimidate and fight the the German American Bund and other Nazi organizations from New York to Chicago to Minnesota and even Los Angeles."
Minnesota, United States
"intimidate and fight the the German American Bund and other Nazi organizations from New York to Chicago to Minnesota and even Los Angeles."
Los Angeles, California, United States
"intimidate and fight the the German American Bund and other Nazi organizations from New York to Chicago to Minnesota and even Los Angeles."
Rochester, New York, United States
"growing up near Rochester, New York."
Manhattan, New York, United States
"big one in the Bunds home turf of Yorkville in Manhattan "
Williamsburg, New York, United States
"Jewish plumber from Williamsburg named Isadore Greenbaum, who jumped onstage, pulled the plug on Kuhns microphone in the middle of his speech, and was roughed up by Kuhns bodyguards."
Yorkville, New York, United States
"There are a series of brawls a big one in the Bunds home turf of Yorkville in Manhattan "
New York, United States
"he went to Hofstra University in New York, which he described as 80% Jewish."

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Cairo Item ID 83339
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Retrieved 2026-05-26 05:31:12 UTC
Curated 2026-05-26 08:30:59 UTC