In May 1940, the United States had not yet declared war on Germany. However, some American citizens in Pittsburgh did something earth-shattering: the arrest of war criminal Adolf Hitler for a million-dollar bounty! The campaign was initiated by Sariel Harden Church, president of the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh. Under his influence, the men and women of the 50 anti-Nazi groups jointly pledged that "anyone who can catch Hitler unscathed and send him to the United States Federal Court for trial will be given a direct reward of one million dollars to the captors." ”
▲ The war criminal who pulled all of Europe into death and terror - Adolf Hitler.
However, Church's deadline for the "million-dollar bounty" is a little too short: only one month. If this money is put into the present, it is equivalent to 100 million yuan. Although no one received the reward, this "reward for Hitler" attracted the attention of the media. According to Church, the reason why he came up with such an "unrealistic" idea was completely deliberate. Their group members discussed this bill for 2-3 months at the Decena Club in downtown Pittsburgh! On May 1, 1940, Church wrote in an article published in The New York Times, "I believe this plan will be popular because it prefers to be captured alive rather than assassinated." "I have received news that Hitler will launch a massive offensive in the West. This has resulted in the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives. The local churches and citizens of Pittsburgh were also very supportive of this activity, and they agreed that capturing Hitler before the bloody conflict occurred was undoubtedly the best option to save more lives. ”
The "conflict" in Church's mouth was the "yellow plan" implemented by the German army against the Low Countries and France since May 10, 1940. More than 150,000 Germans, 360,000 French soldiers, and a significant number of British soldiers were killed or wounded in the battle.
Hitler, who was planning the "Berlin, the capital of Greater Germania", together with the Minister of Military Industry Speer.
However, as soon as Church's article came out, opposition followed. On May 2, Time Magazine's card table followed up with an article, reprimanding and mocking Church for "daydreaming" and "whimsical". A group of people from Blowing Rock, North Carolina, submitted an article to The New York Times asking to withdraw Church's "stupid, unrealistic remarks": "In 1917, some of our politicians preached that the Kaiser was going to hang the Kaiser in the street. Now, on the same 'just' grounds, they want to hang Hitler, and I ask, what does this have to do with us? In fact, just a few years before the United States officially entered the war, American citizens were seriously divided over whether to intervene in the war in Europe. The famous pilot Charles Lindbergh was the de facto leader of "isolationism". Similarly, many politicians are strenuously opposed to U.S. meddling in the war in Europe. In their eyes, how do Europeans fight and how does it have to do with North America, which is far away from the ocean?
Lindbergh (1902-1974), a descendant of Swedish immigrants, was born in Detroit, Michigan. He was awarded the Otello Prize in 1927 after flying the single-engine aircraft, the Spirit of St. Louis, for its transatlantic feat. Before the outbreak of World War II, he even publicly supported some of the Nazi atrocities, arguing that "racism is the truth" and that "the United States should strictly observe neutrality." ”
▲ The United States Congress during World War II. Before the outbreak of Pearl Harbor, Lindbergh and others had repeatedly made speeches on stage, trying to exclude the United States from the anti-fascist war with "isolationism" as the main theme. In addition, Lindbergh has repeatedly preached the issue of "Jewish American descent" in Congress, arguing that they should be responsible for the aviation accidents that have occurred in succession.
Isolationists believe that the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans are the best barriers against the invasion of Europe and Asia by the United States. As a result of the blockade, some of the events that took place in Europe and Asia (such as the War of Resistance Against Japan, etc.) were not known to ordinary American citizens. At the same time, the lack of means of transportation has led most U.S. citizens to travel to both locations. In the eyes of the Americans, what happened in these two "foreign lands" has nothing to do with the Americans. Against this backdrop, the citizens of Pittsburgh bravely stepped forward and even offered a bounty for the "capture of Hitler," not in "letting American citizens take sides," but in an attempt to show isolationists the corruption and degeneration of the Nazi hierarchy, while making more Americans aware of the nature of the Nazis. Of course, Hitler was neither caught nor killed by assassination. On April 30, 1945, the demon who single-handedly provoked the troubles of Europe ended his life of evil in the rumbling Berlin bunker with a pistol and highly toxic drugs.
▲ The burning Pearl Harbor is the best proof of the face-slapping isolationists.
▲ Regarding the mystery of Hitler's life and death, presumably the answer given by the official is the closest to the truth.
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