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Hitler in Los Angeles: A Conversation with Author Steve Ross
Hitler in Los Angeles: A Conversation with Author Steve Ross

Thu, Jun 15

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Barnes & Noble

Hitler in Los Angeles: A Conversation with Author Steve Ross

In collaboration with Barnes & Noble, join us for a conversation about the chilling, little-known story of the rise of Nazism in Los Angeles and the Jewish leaders and spies they recruited who stopped it.

Time & Location

Jun 15, 2023, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Barnes & Noble, 189 The Grove Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90036, USA

About

No American city was more important to the Nazis than Los Angeles, home to Hollywood, the greatest propaganda machine in the world. The Nazis plotted to kill the city’s Jews and to sabotage the nation’s military installations: plans existed for hanging twenty prominent Hollywood figures such as Al Jolson, Charlie Chaplin, and Samuel Goldwyn; for driving through Boyle Heights and machine-gunning as many Jews as possible; and for blowing up defense installations and seizing munitions from National Guard armories along the Pacific Coast.

U.S. law enforcement agencies were not paying close attention--preferring to monitor Reds rather than Nazis--and only Leon Lewis and his daring ring of spies stood in the way. From 1933 until the end of World War II, attorney Leon Lewis, the man Nazis would come to call "the most dangerous Jew in Los Angeles," ran a spy operation comprised of military veterans and their wives who infiltrated every Nazi and fascist group in Los Angeles. Often rising to leadership positions, this daring ring of spies uncovered and foiled the Nazi’s disturbing plans for death and destruction.

Featuring a large cast of Nazis, undercover agents, and colorful supporting players, Hitler in Los Angeles, tells the story of Lewis’s daring spy network in a time when hate groups had moved from the margins to the mainstream.

Steven J. Ross is Distinguished Professor of History and Director of the University of Southern California’s Casden Institute for the Study of the Jewish Role in American Life. His most recent book, Hitler in Los Angeles: How Jews Foiled Nazi Plots Against Hollywood and America was named a Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History for 2018 and was on the Los Angeles Times Bestseller List for 23 weeks. It has also been made into a documentary for French television, Leon Lewis, the Man Who Defeated the Nazis in Hollywood (English title). Ross’s current book, The Secret War Against Hate: American Resistance to White Supremacy After 1945, will be published by Bloomsbury Press.  Steve will be join in conversation by award winning journalist Tom Teicholz.

A book signing will follow the program.

Please RSVP HERE

A percentage of books purchased in June (including Hitler in Los Angeles) at Barnes & Noble at The Grove will benefit Holocaust Museum LA. 

Can't attend? Visit bn.com/bookfairs to support us online from 06/01/23 to 06/30/23 by entering Bookfair ID 12650289 at checkout.

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