Lois de Lafayette Washburn (born c. 1894) was an American fascist and the founder of anti-Semitic groups in Chicago and Tacoma, Washington. She signed her letters "T.N.T.".
Lois de Lafayette Washburn | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1894 |
Early life edit
She claimed to be a descendant of General Lafayette,[1] the French aide to George Washington.
Political career edit
She founded anti-Semitic groups in Chicago and Tacoma, Washington.[2] She also acted as the executive secretary of Donald Shea's National Gentile League.[3]
In 1936 she founded the Crusaders for Economic Liberty in Chicago with George W. Christians.[3] She also helped establish the American Gentile Protective Association of Chicago.[4]
In a letter to a friend she observed that, "First it is necessary to drag these brigand Jews by the hair of the head … and place them before a firing squad, since death is the penalty for high treason. Then we will proceed to set up William Dudley Pelley's Christian Commonwealth".[4]
While on trial with seditionists in 1944 during the Brown Scare, she gave a Nazi salute from the court steps.[5][6] She appeared at one hearing in her nightie, claiming the jail guards had deliberately stolen her clothes. She made political statements and laughed at inappropriate moments.[4]
Selected publications edit
- "Yankee Minute Men" (pamphlet)
References edit
- ^ Carlson, John Roy. (1943) Under Cover: My Four Years in the Nazi Underworld of America. New York: Dutton. pp. 361.
- ^ Yellin, Emily (2010-05-11). Our Mothers' War: American Women at Home and at the Front During World War II. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4391-0358-6.
- ^ a b Jeansonne, Glen. (1996). Women of the Far Right: The Mothers' Movement and World War II. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 154. ISBN 978-0-226-39589-0.
- ^ a b c Berger, Knute. "The enduring legacy of a small-time fascist from Puget Sound". Crosscut. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
- ^ Belknap, Michal R. (1994). American Political Trials. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-275-94437-7.
- ^ "[Lois de Lafayette Washburn gives a stiff-armed salute as she and Howard Victor Broenstrupp leave Federal District Court April 17th, in Washington, D.C.]". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2020-01-24.
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