In 1930s Germany, standing up to Hitler meant death. Bomb squads also combed the arena in response to a threat received a week earlier, boasting of a series of time activated devices to explode during the event. Bernstein observes that "only three years ago Fritz Kuhn had been nothing . The purpose was to be in the presence of Hitler and to personally witness Nazism in practice. So much so, that TheWashington Post presented Chairman Dies with the Americanism Award of 1938., The height of the German-American Bunds popularity was marked by the February 1939 rally at Madison Square Garden. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Rita and twin grandsons, Jason and Bradley Kuhn. // ]]>, //