When Bare-Knuckled Jewish Brawlers Bludgeoned the Nazis
"One New Yorker wasn’t having any of it. Nathan David Perlman was a judge and former congressman. And one night over cocktails, he said that what these Nazis needed was a 'good old whipping.'”
By Michael Golden
In just a few hours, it will be International Holocaust Remembrance Day. On the occasions when I write about this holiday, or about Yom Hashoah, I usually convey a personal story about one or more of the eternally inspiring survivors I’ve met.
But my traditional route took a detour this week after watching Peter Yost’s excellent new documentary, Nazi Town, USA, about the German American Bund. As I watched the film, one of its subplots sent me right down the rabbit hole: a contingent of Jewish-Americans in the 1930s who took matters into their own hands — literally.
During the Great Depression, Americans were scared and angry — and democracy and capitalism were both on the brink. Fascism was actually being considered as an alternative.
Antisemitism ran rampant during that decade: KKK membership topped 5 million, Father Coughlin screamed publicly that American decline was caused by Jews — even FDR’s historic domestic program was nicknamed “The Jew Deal” by antisemites (because Jews “controlled” the media; yes, even 100 years ago).
The ground was fertile for a more formal and public type of Nazism to take root. It came in the form of the German American Bund, and its predecessor, the Friends of New Germany.
Picture a huge hall in New York City decked out with a prominent mural of George Washington, American flags, and swastikas. Both groups paraded the streets, fanning their vile hatred at Blacks, Catholics and Jews; the trifecta of Christian White Nationalism.
But one New Yorker wasn’t having it. Nathan David Perlman was a judge and former member of Congress. And one night over cocktails, he said that what these Nazis needed was a “good old whipping.” The cocktail wore off, but not the thought. The next day, Perlman called Meyer Lansky, the infamous Jewish gangster and partner of “Bugsy” Siegel. The judge asked:
“You got some boys who might want to punch a Nazi?”
Author Michael Benson documents all of this in his book, Gangsters vs. Nazis: How Jewish Mobsters Battled Nazis in Wartime America. Lansky’s answer to the judge?
“I do, judge. Respectfully, you understand we can do better than punch? I know just the crew in Brownsville. The boys in the press call them ‘Murder, Inc.’”
Perlman instructed Lansky not to kill anyone, but to leave them with a permanent lesson.
For Hitler’s 49th birthday, the New York Nazis set about marching from Carl Schulz Park to the Yorkville Casino. But when they got there, they found Lansky and his group, including Mendy “the choker” Weiss, “Buggsy” Goldstein, contract killer Harry “Pep” Strauss, and Jacob Drucker — also known as the “ice pick man.”
Lansky’s crew broke into three small groups and attacked the fascists from three levels of the casino. More than 3,000 Nazis were there. About 15 face-to-face fights ensued. Lansky described it later to an Israeli journalist:
“We attacked then in the hall and threw some of them out the windows. Most of the Nazis panicked and ran out. We chased them and beat them up, and some of them were out of action for months. Yes, it was violence. We wanted to show them that Jews would not always sit back and accept insults.”
It was the real-life, Jewish version of Chazz Palminteri’s famous line from A Bronx Tale after he locks his bar door on a biker gang: “Now yous can’t leave.” At least, not for a while.
Lansky’s childhood friend Lucky Luciano had actually offered his help before the attack. Lansky told him this was a job for Jews.
Judge Perlman offered to pay Lansky for the work, which he would continue. The mobster refused the cash, saying: “I am a Jew, and I feel for the Jews in Europe who are suffering.”
Perlman didn’t stop at New York. He reached out to Jake Guzik in Chicago, who recruited some guys to address the ugliness. One of them was Jacob Rubenstein, later known as “Jack Ruby.”
Detroit, Los Angeles, Buffalo, Cleveland…and so it went. In each city, the White Nationalists got smacked, then cowered, then weaseled away.
In New York, many of the beaten German Bund skulked over the state line to Newark. They scheduled meetings and posted flyers saying “the streets would run with Jewish blood.” They had not counted on running into the “Anti-Nazi Minutemen of America.”
Yost’s documentary picks up the Minutemen story. We learn that a third of professional boxers in the 1930s were Jews; proud ones who wore Stars of David on their trunks in the ring. Many of the Minutemen were boxers, including their commander, Nat Arno, who recruited Max “Puddy” Hinkes, Harry “The Dropper” Levine, and a cast of other jabbers.
One night, the Minutemen showed up at a Bund meeting. Hinkes recalled what happened next:
“Arno and I went upstairs and threw stink bombs into the room where the creeps were. As they came out of the room, running from the horrible odor of the stink bombs and running down the steps to escape into the street, our boys were waiting with bats and iron bars.”
There were no meetings of the German American Bund in the area after that. And the organization would soon fall apart. But it could have turned out differently in the US. And we now know what was possible.
One might wonder whether I’m using the Holocaust and the history of persecution of the Jewish people as the moral authority to sanction extra-legal violence against Nazis who were “just talking.” Even kid-gloving organized criminals. Perhaps. But there are tons of folks out there who know their history — Jews and non-Jews — who’ll agree with me.
For those who disagree, I would say this: there will always be legal and institutional debates about what the First Amendment allows a person to utter in the public square. But if you’re someone who intentionally and vocally promotes the eradication of an entire people — be prepared. Get your guard up. Life isn’t a courtroom. And even if it was, you’ve crossed the line of yelling “fire in a crowded theater” — by a continental mile.
And if you happen to be directly targeting a people who’ve already suffered through — and survived — the horrors of a genuine genocide: buckle up. There’s no tapping out.
On this International Holocaust Remembrance Day, may we pay tribute to every sweet soul lost, to the warriors who survived — and to those who have stood up again and again throughout our history to confront a pointlessly empty hatred.
Michael Golden is the Editor-in-Chief of JEWDICIOUS.
From unpacking history and politics to navigating the nuances of family and personal relationships to finding the human angle on sports and entertainment — plus our unsparing take on what’s happening in the Jewish world — the canvas at JEWDICIOUS is limitless! JOIN US!!
