- Description
- The collection consists of a typed manuscript copy of an article authored by Dr. Fred Linnenbuerger, a German immigrant living in Ashley, North Dakota, chronicling his trip to Germany in summer 1939, and copies of an investigation file opened on Linnenbuerger by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (F.B.I.) after the article’s publication. The article, titled “Treatise: My Trip to Germany,” was published by the Dakota Free Press in November 1939, and describes Linnenbuerger’s trip, sponsored by the German Teachers’ Association to several cities and towns in Germany, as well as the Buchenwald concentration camp. His account expresses support for Germany and the Nazi Party, and downplays the severity of Buchenwald. The FBI investigation file contains copies of documents related to a wartime investigation into Linnenbuerger after the publication of his article.
- Date
-
inclusive:
1939-1945
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of the grandchildren of Arthur G. Linnenbrogger
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum collection, gift of Daryl Smith
- Collection Creator
- Fred Linnenbuerger
- Biography
-
Dr. Fred Linnenbuerger (1873-1967) was born Friedrich Linnenbuerger on April 20, 1873 in Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany to Hanna Friedrike Fohrmann (1876-1936) and Friedrich Wilhelm Linnenbuerger. Fritz immigrated to the United States from Germany in 1896 and settled in Iowa. In 1900, he married Amalie Mathilde Anna Bernhardt. They had five children. In 1933, Fritz married Paulina Schenk (1882-1955). He later lived in Ashley, North Dakota where he worked as a chiropractor. He also was a frequent contributor to the Dakota Free Press newspaper.
In July 1939 Linnenbuerger was one of 65 German-Americans who were invited by the German Teachers’ Association to tour Germany. Some of the attendees were members of the German American Bund, and the tour was likely organized by a Nazi-affiliated organization for propaganda purposes. The tour spanned multiple cities and towns in Germany, and also included a visit to Buchenwald concentration camp. Linnenbuerger published an account of his tour in the Dakota Free Press in November 1939. His article expressed support for Germany and the Nazi Party, and downplayed the severity of Buchenwald. In 1940, an investigation on Linnenburger was opened by the Federal Bureau of Investigations based on his participation on the tour, and possible connections to America First and the German American Bund. The investigation was closed in 1945.
