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Today I learned that a ship of Nazis spent a week in Portland in 1936. The town, for the most part, greeted it with open arms. Those who organized an anti-fascist protest were arrested and remained in prison for the duration of the ship's stay. https://www.ohs.org/blog/the-first-time-nazis-marched-in-portland.cfm
July 25, 1940 edition of the Nyssa Gate City Journal. (Nyssa is a tiny town on the Idaho/Oregon border.)
For those tempted to say "but how much did the people of Oregon really know about what was happening under the banner of the swastika in the mid-1930s, here's an article from the [Salem] Oregon Statesman, 27 April 1933.
![For those tempted to say "but how much did the people of Oregon really know about what was happening under the banner of the swastika in the mid-1930s, here's an article from the [Salem] Oregon Statesman, 27 April 1933.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ea2hVyKUwAAE8wS.png "For those tempted to say \"but how much did the people of Oregon really know about what was happening under the banner of the swastika in the mid-1930s, here's an article from the [Salem] Oregon Statesman, 27 April 1933.")
![For those tempted to say "but how much did the people of Oregon really know about what was happening under the banner of the swastika in the mid-1930s, here's an article from the [Salem] Oregon Statesman, 27 April 1933.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ea2hW04UYAEmqi2.png "For those tempted to say \"but how much did the people of Oregon really know about what was happening under the banner of the swastika in the mid-1930s, here's an article from the [Salem] Oregon Statesman, 27 April 1933.")
4 October 1933. [Salem] Oregon Statesman.
There was an organization of "Silver Shirt" fascists organizing in Salem, Or to persecute Jews like their idols in Germany were doing.
![4 October 1933. [Salem] Oregon Statesman. There was an organization of "Silver Shirt" fascists organizing in Salem, Or to persecute Jews like their idols in Germany were doing.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ea2lK2ZUwAA7jzp.png "4 October 1933. [Salem] Oregon Statesman. There was an organization of \"Silver Shirt\" fascists organizing in Salem, Or to persecute Jews like their idols in Germany were doing.")
There was an organization of "Silver Shirt" fascists organizing in Salem, Or to persecute Jews like their idols in Germany were doing.
5 August 1934. [Salem] Oregon Statesman. A report from LA about fascist "Silver Shirts," including many members of the US Marines and the California National Guard are prepping for revolutionary violence, and to expel Jews from public office.
![5 August 1934. [Salem] Oregon Statesman. A report from LA about fascist "Silver Shirts," including many members of the US Marines and the California National Guard are prepping for revolutionary violence, and to expel Jews from public office.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ea2mbL-U0AAzPUK.png "5 August 1934. [Salem] Oregon Statesman. A report from LA about fascist \"Silver Shirts,\" including many members of the US Marines and the California National Guard are prepping for revolutionary violence, and to expel Jews from public office.")
![5 August 1934. [Salem] Oregon Statesman. A report from LA about fascist "Silver Shirts," including many members of the US Marines and the California National Guard are prepping for revolutionary violence, and to expel Jews from public office.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ea2mcPEUYAA57Jj.png "5 August 1934. [Salem] Oregon Statesman. A report from LA about fascist \"Silver Shirts,\" including many members of the US Marines and the California National Guard are prepping for revolutionary violence, and to expel Jews from public office.")
When the Nazi warship, the Emden, docked in Portland in January 1936, the German naval attache traveled from DC to meet up with it. He stayed at the Benson Hotel. That hotel still exists. Quirky detail: its current owner is Gordon Sondland.
Also, the Nazi sailors played a friendly soccer match against a group of Portland locals. They played it at Multnomah Stadium, which is the current home of the Portland Timbers and Thorns.
Last summer the fanbase of the Portland Timbers fought a successful battle against the MLS, securing the right to display anti-fascist symbols at matches. https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/08/31/there-is-an-anti-fascist-rebellion-brewing-pacific-northwest-soccer-is-center-it/
The Nazi sailors of the Emden were hosted at multiple events held at Portland's Turn Verein, a gym/bar associated with people of German descent. In 1933, someone made a silent film about that place called "Grunts and Groans." You can't make this up.
I can not stress to you how weird and wonderful this 1933 homemade film is.
I would be remiss if I did not point out that a group of people did turnout to protest the ship's arrival. They were arrested for parading without a permit. The Oregonian had little sympathy for these protestors, but at least they preserved their names for posterity.
Thanks to @realbradadkins for pointing out that one of these Portland protesters would go on to fight with the Lincoln Brigades in Spain in 1937. https://alba-valb.org/volunteers/earl-clyde-steward/
When I googled the address Earl lived at in Portland, here's what Google street view showed me. This is just too good to be true.
Today, across the street from where Earl lived, is a Workers Cooperative Repair Shop for bikes.
The past is never entirely past.
Returning to this thread to include this paragraph describing how Oregon's governor Charles Martin (a conservative Democrat) understood the situation in 1936. Some of his rhetoric might sound a bit familiar.
Paragraph is from Gary Murrell, "Hunting Reds in Oregon, 1935-1939." Oregon Historical Quarterly, Vol. 100, No. 4 (Winter, 1999), pp. 374-401
And also, here's a report of a Portland Bund meeting from January 1939, 3 years after this organization had welcomed the Nazi ship to Portland. This gives you a flavor of what these folks believed. The end of page 1 is where the dark stuff starts.
The person who infiltrated the group and took down this report was the Antifa of their day. Here's the link to the original. https://content.libraries.wsu.edu/digital/collection/wsuvan1/id/932/rec/16
