Introduction
This list of resources related to our co-founder, Hamilton Fish III, in the years just prior to the U.S. entry into World War II, is generated to provide further information that adds to the commentary on Fish in Rachel Maddow’s podcast, Ultra, released in the fall of 2022.
There are vast numbers of books written about the time period in question. Scholars and journalists debate to this day who bore responsibility for what. Our Library has created a collection of some of the nonfiction literature for this era.
Resources listed that are available online include news reports from the 1930s and 1940s as well as books, articles, letters, speeches, and YouTube footage.
Two scholars wrote History PhD dissertations about Hamilton Fish III: Dr. Richard Hanks in 1971 and Dr. Anthony Troncone in 1993. These are both extremely thorough and painstakingly researched and documented. The links to the PDFs are included below.
Hanks, Richard Kay. Hamilton Fish and American Isolationism, 1920-1944.
University of California, Riverside. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 1971. 7130373.
Dr. Hanks died in 2018.
DFPL Collection
This is a recommendation of some useful pages in Dr. Hank’s work.
Troncone, Anthony. Hamilton Fish Sr. and the Politics of American Nationalism, 1912-1945.
Rutgers The State University of New Jersey – New Brunswick. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 1993. 9401926.
Dr. Troncone is a retired history professor at Dominican University.
DFPL Collection
This is a recommendation of some useful pages in Dr. Troncone’s work.
Hamilton Fish III is a footnote in most books about the period, which is why the dissertations above are valuable in providing a longer look at his career, beliefs, and actions. His own recollections are in his Memoir of an American Patriot. The most critical comments about Fish appear in O. John Rogge’s The Official German Report.
Cole, Wayne S. America First – The Battle Against Intervention 1940-1941. University of Wisconsin Press, 1953; republished 2018.
Extremely detailed account of the America First Committee (AFC), formed in 1940 and disbanded in December 1941, based on records of the AFC. Mentions Hamilton Fish III as a speaker for America First; he was not an actual member (p. 79) and says AFC convinced him to sponsor a referendum in his district on going to war (p. 55-56). Mention of Hill and Viereck and unused franked envelopes being taken to America First headquarters (pp. 222-227).
Available as ebook for purchase and at no cost on the Internet Archive.
Conant, Jennet The Irregulars: Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring in Wartime Washington. Simon & Schuster Paperbacks. 2009.
Account of the British Security Coordination (BSC) covert operation in the U.S. to which Roald Dahl was recruited. Hamilton Fish mentioned as one of their targets for misinformation (p. 79).
On order for the DFPL Collection.
Devine, Robert A. The Illusion of Neutrality, University of Chicago Press, 1962, republished in 2015.
Excellent scholarly analysis of the U.S. foreign policy experience with, and approach to, neutrality, starting with Woodrow Wilson’s failed efforts in 1917 to achieve “collective security” through the League of Nations. U.S. joined 1929 Kellogg-Briand Pact; antiwar congressmen proposed different types of arms embargoes. Focuses on Fish’s role as fighter for neutrality. Describes Fish’s 1931 resolution to embargo arms to all belligerents in times of war, as well as a multilateral treaty banning the export of arms to any foreign nation, i.e. ending the international arms trade; bill died from opposition by munitions companies (pp. 27-30).
DFPL Collection
Devine, Robert A. The Reluctant Belligerent: American Entry Into World War II. McGraw-Hill 1965; Second Edition Lume Publications 2015.
Shorter overview of U.S. foreign policy between 1933 and 1941. Explains Neutrality Acts, Kellogg-Briand Pact, arms embargoes, Plan B for Japan. Hamilton Fish mentioned as one of the isolationists espousing unilateralism, the belief that the U.S. should go it alone in world affairs (p. 17).
Available for purchase online.
Dunn, Susan 1940: FDR, Willkie, Lindbergh, Hitler—the Election amid the Storm. Yale University Press, 2013.
Excellent account of fraught period of 1939-1941; relates Roosevelt’s transformation from isolationist to interventionist; challenges to FDR’s reelection; emphasizes FDR’s skill as a politician and leader; Wendell Wilkie’s positive contributions after losing the 1940 election; Lindbergh’s descent into anti-Semitism, role of Hans Thomsen in manipulating Viereck. Fish’s isolationist positions noted (pp 215-216); also Hill distribution of mail and relationship with Viereck (p. 324).
DFPL Collection
Dunn, Susan A Blueprint for War: FDR and the Hundred Days That Mobilized America (The Henry L. Stimson Lectures Series). Yale University Press, 2018.
Shorter version of 1940 book above.
Available from DFPL as e-book
Fish, Hamilton. Memoir of an American Patriot. Regnery Publishing, 1991.
Fish’s own account of his actions. Account of his service in World War I; letters to his father; consistent antiwar position. Chapter 21: “Speaking Out for the Jews.” Chapter 22: “Vendetta” addresses 1938-1941 period.
DFPL Collection
(Note: Fish wrote a total of nine books including titles on Lafayette, Communism, Nuclear Proliferation, and FDR. All are in the DFPL Collection.)
Frye, Alton. Nazi Germany and the American Hemisphere 1933-1941. Yale University Press, 1967.
Scholarly and dense portrayal of the extent of German propaganda in the Western Hemisphere starting after WW I, including the role of Hans Thomsen, German Charge d’affaires in D.C. in employing George Viereck and Prescott Dennett. Fish’s office staff involvement (p. 160).
DFPL Collection
Gallagher, Charles R. Nazis of Copley Square: The Forgotten Story of the Christian Front. Harvard University Press, 2021.
Account of the plot of Father Coughlin and his followers to gather arms and plot a takeover of the Federal government. No mention of Hamilton Fish III.
DFPL Collection
Gurock, Jeffrey, ed. America, American Jews, and the Holocaust. Part of a series entitled American Jewish History. Taylor & Francis, 2013.
Describes the first voice in Congress condemning Hitler’s treatment of the Jews on May 24, 1933 as coming from Congressman Hamilton Fish (p. 216).
Available for purchase online.
Hart, Bradley. Hitler’s American Friends: The Third Reich’s Supporters in the United States. Thomas Dunne Books. 2018.
Well-written book with an extensive bibliography. Main focus is on American corporations collaborating with Germany during WWII. Chapter 4 covers Hamilton Fish III.
On order for DFPL Collection
Hoke, Henry. Black Mail. Literary Licensing, LLC 1944 reprinted 2011. This link is to the PDF.
Short book detailing the franked mail that was arranged by George Hill. Includes titles of Fish speeches and other congressmen that were distributed.
DFPL Collection
Johnson, Niel M. George Sylvester Viereck, German American Propagandist. University of Illinois Press, 1972.
Biography of a poet and journalist, George Vierek, who became a pro-German propagandist employed by the German government, and was ultimately sent to prison for failing to properly register as a foreign agent. Vierek was also tried for sedition. He is described differently in different sources, as either a German nationalist who was not particularly anti-Semitic, to a propaganda mastermind. Describes Viereck’s influence on Hamilton Fish III; says Fish and other congressmen had no direct ties to Germany (p. 221).
DFPL Collection
Mahl, Thomas A. Desperate Deception: British Covert Operations in the United States 1939-1944. Potomac Books, 1997.
Carefully researched and documented investigation of British covert operations in the U.S. by history professor at Case Western Reserve University. Chapter 6 ( pp. 119-126; 136) is entitled “The Destruction of Hamilton Fish” and details the ways in which undercover British agents Sanford Griffith and Christopher Emmet worked with journalists including Drew Pearson to defeat isolationist Fish in the elections of 1940, 1942, and 1944.
Available online at no cost from the Internet Archive
Rogge, O. John. The Official German Report: Nazi Penetration 1924-1942; Pan-Arabism 1939-Today. New York, Thomas Yoseloff Publishers. 1961.
Rogge was the second prosecutor in the 1944 sedition case brought against Nazi agents in the U.S. and then dismissed. He traveled to Germany after the war, examined German documents and spoke to some officials. Offers his take on how Viereck influenced Fish (p.170) and other Congressmen. Chapter 6 is on Viereck, (pp. 130-172). Lists speeches sent with franked mail; only one speech sent and franked by Fish entitled “No Convoys No War!” (pp. 160-163).
Rare book; available through Interlibrary Loan
Ross, Steven J. Hitler in Los Angeles: How Jews Foiled Nazi Plots Against Hollywood and America. Bloomsbury Publishing 2017.
Tells the story of the vast spy operation Germany had in California (because of location of aircraft and destroyer factories) and two Jewish Americans, Leon Lewis and Joseph Roos, who developed a counter-spy network, with agent, Sylvia Comfort. No mention of Hamilton Fish III.
DFPL Collection
Schiffrin, Andre, ed. Dr. Seuss & Co. Go to War: The World War II Editorial Cartoons of America’s Leading Comic Artists. The New Press, 2009.
Contains cartoons about Hamilton Fish III’s isolationism.
On order for DFPL Collection.
Smith, Geoffrey S. To Save A Nation: American ‘Extremism,’ the New Deal, and the Coming of World War II. First published by Basic Books, 1972; reissued 1992 by Elephant Paperback.
Smith is a Canadian professor. Discusses how far-right “thugs” and fascists discredited more mainstream antiwar voices.
DFPL Collection
United States Government. Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression.
The transcripts of the trials at Nuremberg after WW II were placed into eleven volumes. These are available on the Internet Archive. This is the link to Supplement A, and an interview with Herbert Von Stempel about German propaganda and Viereck (pp. 549-564). “Viereck tried to give me the impression that he had good relations with a number of senators and congressmen—Lundeen, Hamilton Fish, Senator Holt, and Stephen Day—and maybe more, but I do not remember all the names.” Only mention of Fish.
Available online at no cost from the Internet Archive.
West, Nigel, ed. British Security Coordination: the Secret History of British Intelligence in the Americas 1940-45. London, St. Ermin’s Press. 1998. Compilation of notes and reports by William Stephenson on British spying in the U.S. before and during WWII. Describes how the British fabricated news polls and placed slanted news stories with friendly columnists, including Drew Pearson and Walter Winchell. They also started the Fight for Freedom Committee (FFF), which carried out misinformation campaign operations especially targeting Hamilton Fish III (pp. 74-76).
DFPL Collection
Young, Nancy Beck. Why We Fight: Congress and the Politics of World War II. Book contains a few references to Fish as an “anti-restrictionist” on immigration, supporting a liberal refugee policy; includes his efforts to pass anti-lynching legislation.
Available through Interlibrary loan.
Fish, Hamilton “Will An Arms Embargo Keep the US Out of War?”
Speech by Hamilton Fish III, 1939. Uses some of FDR’s own arguments for not supplying arms to parties in global conflicts.
Fish, Hamilton. Letter from The National Committee to Keep America Out of Foreign Wars. 1939. Argues against lifting the arms embargo preventing the US from selling arms to belligerent nations. An example of what might have been mailed to constituents.
National Committee to Keep America Out of Foreign Wars Contribution Slip
Letter From Henry Stimson Sec. of War to Hamilton Fish III regarding Black troops. February 19, 1944
Letter From Israeli Ambassador Noshe Arad praising Fish’s support of Israel and the Jewish people upon Fish’s birthday in 1988.
The New York Times
The Times has many, many articles about Hamilton Fish III, mostly short. These are some that are useful, but there are many more. Listed in chronological order.
November 2, 1930 – Describes Hamilton Fish, Jr. speaking at a Zionist rally in support of the Jewish Homeland established by the Balfour Declaration; he had sponsored that legislation in Congress in 1926.
May 25, 1933 – Describes a resolution from Fish asking FDR to raise the issue of Hitler’s treatment of Jews.
November 16, 1933 – Fish accused of meeting with Nazis regarding the anti-Bolshevik book “Communism in Germany;” Fish denies charge of meeting but had signed endorsement of book along with many others.
January 31, 1938 – Fish speaks at anti-Nazi rally at Carnegie Hall.
October 3, 1938 – Article reports on the 1938 German Day rally in Madison Square Garden at which Hamilton Fish III spoke. The headline is “German Day Rally Splits With Nazis.”
August 13, 1939 – Describes Fish’s arrival in Berlin after meeting with the British and French foreign ministers, on his way to the conference in Norway.
August 14, 1939 – Article reports that Fish met with Ribbentrop.
August 16, 1939 – Reported from Norway where Fish has arrived for conference, describes Fish’s brief meeting with Ribbentrop and Fish’s unsuccessful proposal for peace talks.
August 18, 1939 – Oslo Conference rejects Fish’s peace proposal. Fish: ”I am isolationist as regards war but non-isolationist as regards peace.”
August 20, 1939 – Oslo conference approves peace proposal; also recommends haven in Africa Jewish refugee proposal from Congressman Fish.
October 10, 1939 – Article includes Fish’s defense of the Ribbentrop plane ride when challenged by a Democratic opponent.
April 4, 1941 – Brief article reporting that Fish said if the President “puts us into war despite pledges” he should be impeached.
June 1, 1941 – Article on the use of propaganda by both Americans and Germans – no Fish content.
July 3, 1941 – Photograph of Colonel Fish going to Fort Bragg for service, joining with a Black engineering regiment.
December 9, 1941 – Article covers House vote in support of FDR’s declaration of war. Subhead says: “Fish is Among those Pledging Unity.”
January 8, 1942 – Jury selected for George Hill trial for perjury. Focus on speeches by Senator Lundeen that were written by Viereck.
January 9, 1942 – Brief article on George Hill’s trial for perjury; lists some of the items in mail bags, including speeches by Senators Wheeler, Clark, and Nye.
January 12, 1942 – “Say Hill Ordered Mail Bags Moved.” Part of Hill trial for perjury.
February 20, 1942 – Article describes George Hill testifying that Fish introduced Viereck to Hill.
February 21, 1942 – Article contains Fish’s testimony at trial – denies knowing Viereck was a German agent.
August 7, 1942 – Article describes a personal financial transaction Fish had with General Rafael Trujillo of the Dominican Republic and efforts to relocate Jewish refugees.
August 9, 1942 – Op-ed article on Fish’s reelection chances by James C. Hagerty. Fish wrote a letter to the NYT in response.
August 9, 1942 – Analysis of Fish’s likely victory in primary.
August 10, 1942 – Article describes Wendell Wilkie urging voters to defeat Fish.
August 15, 1942 – Describes a coalition of Democrats and Republicans trying to defeat Fish in 1942, including Mrs. Vanderbilt Webb and Montgomery B. Angell from Garrison.
November 3, 1942 – Article describes speech by Democratic opponent accusing Fish of collaboration with Viereck.
January 4, 1944 – US brings charges under 1940 Sedition Act/Smith Act. Named Viereck, Silver Shirts, German-American Bund, Father Coughlin. Congressmen not named.
May 27, 1956 – Article describes the release of wartime documents that appear to tie Fish to a Republican isolationist ad possibly paid for with German dollars. Fish said his committee had paid for the ad itself, not with German money.
August 1, 1957 – Similar article to 1956.
April 6, 1977 – “Hamilton Fish: A Congressional Saga.” Profile by Anna Quindlen of Hamilton Fishes III, IV, and V (age 25). Regarding HF III, “His new bride – his third – wants to build him a library-museum in his birthplace of Garrison, NY with some of her substantial money.”
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Still publishing today, in the pre-war years the JTA had short reports on news items first appearing in other publications that were of Jewish interest. .
November 2, 1930 – Describes Hamilton Fish, Jr. speaking at a Zionist rally in support of the Jewish Homeland established by the Balfour Declaration; he had sponsored that legislation in Congress in 1926.
May 25, 1933 – Describes a resolution from Fish asking FDR to raise the issue of Hitler’s treatment of Jews.
November 16, 1933 – Fish accused of meeting with Nazis regarding the anti-Bolshevik book “Communism in Germany;” Fish denies charge of meeting but had signed endorsement of book along with many others.
January 31, 1938 – Fish speaks at anti-Nazi rally at Carnegie Hall.
October 3, 1938 – Article reports on the 1938 German Day rally in Madison Square Garden at which Hamilton Fish III spoke. The headline is “German Day Rally Splits With Nazis.”
August 13, 1939 – Describes Fish’s arrival in Berlin after meeting with the British and French foreign ministers, on his way to the conference in Norway.
August 14, 1939 – Article reports that Fish met with Ribbentrop.
August 16, 1939 – Reported from Norway where Fish has arrived for conference, describes Fish’s brief meeting with Ribbentrop and Fish’s unsuccessful proposal for peace talks.
August 18, 1939 – Oslo Conference rejects Fish’s peace proposal. Fish: ”I am isolationist as regards war but non-isolationist as regards peace.”
August 20, 1939 – Oslo conference approves peace proposal; also recommends haven in Africa Jewish refugee proposal from Congressman Fish.
October 10, 1939 – Article includes Fish’s defense of the Ribbentrop plane ride when challenged by a Democratic opponent.
April 4, 1941 – Brief article reporting that Fish said if the President “puts us into war despite pledges” he should be impeached.
June 1, 1941 – Article on the use of propaganda by both Americans and Germans – no Fish content.
July 3, 1941 – Photograph of Colonel Fish going to Fort Bragg for service, joining with a Black engineering regiment.
December 9, 1941 – Article covers House vote in support of FDR’s declaration of war. Subhead says: “Fish is Among those Pledging Unity.”
January 8, 1942 – Jury selected for George Hill trial for perjury. Focus on speeches by Senator Lundeen that were written by Viereck.
January 9, 1942 – Brief article on George Hill’s trial for perjury; lists some of the items in mail bags, including speeches by Senators Wheeler, Clark, and Nye.
January 12, 1942 – “Say Hill Ordered Mail Bags Moved.” Part of Hill trial for perjury.
February 20, 1942 – Article describes George Hill testifying that Fish introduced Viereck to Hill.
February 21, 1942 – Article contains Fish’s testimony at trial – denies knowing Viereck was a German agent.
August 7, 1942 – Article describes a personal financial transaction Fish had with General Rafael Trujillo of the Dominican Republic and efforts to relocate Jewish refugees.
August 9, 1942 – Op-ed article on Fish’s reelection chances by James C. Hagerty. Fish wrote a letter to the NYT in response.
August 9, 1942 – Analysis of Fish’s likely victory in primary.
August 10, 1942 – Article describes Wendell Wilkie urging voters to defeat Fish.
August 15, 1942 – Describes a coalition of Democrats and Republicans trying to defeat Fish in 1942, including Mrs. Vanderbilt Webb and Montgomery B. Angell from Garrison.
November 3, 1942 – Article describes speech by Democratic opponent accusing Fish of collaboration with Viereck.
January 4, 1944 – US brings charges under 1940 Sedition Act/Smith Act. Named Viereck, Silver Shirts, German-American Bund, Father Coughlin. Congressmen not named.
May 27, 1956 – Article describes the release of wartime documents that appear to tie Fish to a Republican isolationist ad possibly paid for with German dollars. Fish said his committee had paid for the ad itself, not with German money.
August 1, 1957 – Similar article to 1956.
April 6, 1977 – “Hamilton Fish: A Congressional Saga.” Profile by Anna Quindlen of Hamilton Fishes III, IV, and V (age 25). Regarding HF III, “His new bride – his third – wants to build him a library-museum in his birthplace of Garrison, NY with some of her substantial money.”
Chicago Tribute
These articles require a paid subscription.
September 22, 1941 – “Don’t Enter War on a Fake Issue, Fish Warns US.” Statement of isolationist goals.
July 30, 1942 – “A Hard Man to Smear.” Editorial defending Fish, citing his progressive legislative record and wartime service.
March 3, 1943 – “Asks for Inquiry into Handling of Vierick Case.”
Sept. 23, 1943 – “Legion Leaders Admit Muddle in Fish Attack.” Confusion around the condemnation of Fish at American Legion convention.
May 3, 1944 – “Legion Group Acts to Retract Rep. Fish Smear.” The American Legion had condemned Fish for the Viereck incident; an investigation led them to reverse their conclusion. A neighboring small article says the GOP renominates Fish for his seat in 1944.
Videos
YouTube – Hamilton Fish III Speech Proposing Alternative Lend-Lease 1941
Fish voted in favor of Lend-Lease when it came before Congress.
YouTube – Hamilton Fish III Interview with Jessie Grey 1976
Based on Stimson’s war memoirs, accuses FDR of goading Japan into war with US so that US could enter war against Germany. Refers to Hitler as a bloody murderer. Regarding Hitler and Stalin: “Let those two gangsters fight each other to the death.”
Articles
Goodall, Alex ‘Red Herrings? The Fish Committee and Anti-communism in the Early Depression Years’
This is a long article from a University College London academic about Fish’s anti-communist committee investigation in the early 1930s. Worth reading by way of background. He is described as objecting to anti-Semitic remarks at his hearings. This is the final conclusion: “Fish’s efforts were uniquely hampered by bad timing. However, they also highlight many of the difficulties experienced by conservative anti-communists hoping to work with liberals who may notionally agree with their basic hostility toward revolutionary radicalism but disagree profoundly with the reasons why and the implications they draw from it. As a result, many figures – including Fish himself – have preferred to drift rightwards, rather than to the center, in search of allies who shared not only their antipathy to Communism but many of their prescriptions for defeating it. In Fish’s case, this led to a systematic shift during the rest of the decade towards an implicit defense of Nazism as the only force on the global stage capable of restraining Soviet Russia. While by the onset of World War Two his committee was already disappearing from memory, this new course would ultimately leave his name entirely blackened by history.”
Usdin, Steve. When a Foreign Government Interfered in a U.S. Election – To Reelect FDR. Politico Magazine, Politico.com, January 16, 2017.
“The BSC’s work on Willkie’s behalf was an exception. For the most part, it focused not on promoting candidates, but rather on defeating elected officials who opposed American intervention in the war. Among those opponents was Rep. Hamilton Stuyvesant Fish III, a Republican and leading isolationist. By picking a high-profile target, the campaign against Fish was intended to “put the fear of God into every isolationist senator and congressman in the country,” according to a letter a BSC agent sent in fall 1940.” Article details some of the tactics used against Fish.
Description of Fight for Freedom, Spartacus Education.
Interventionist committee set up in 1940 with the help of the British Secret Service (BSC).
Desmond-Fish Public Library. The 369th Infantry Regiment and Hamilton Fish
Introductory slide show.
TAPS. Hamilton Fish and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier