No silly. That’s not a reference to the first single by the Dead Kennedys, released in 1979. As if you even know who the Dead Kennedys are. They’re a punk band named after John and Bobby. Never mind. No I am instead referring to what would have been Hitler’s new world headquarters in Los Angeles had Germany won the war. See in the 30s Nazi sympathizers in the US were so confident of Der Fuhrer’s inevitable victory that they spent millions of dollars building a luxury compound from which he would run the United States.

Hitler U.S. HQ: The ruins of the compound from where American Nazis hoped their leader would one day rule the world lies tucked away in the Los Angeles hills

See, after the Great Depression, some in America began to follow Fascism. One of the groups that arose was called the Silver Shirts. With the help of a sympathetic mining fortune heiress and at the urging of Hitler’s secret US agent, the Silver Shirts raised $4 million ($66 million today) to build the compound. The 55-acre Ranch was equipped with a diesel power plant, a 375,000 gallon concrete water tank, a giant meat locker, 22 bedrooms and a bomb shelter. There were plans to add five libraries, a swimming pool, several dining rooms and a gymnasium. The Siver Shirts used it as a hangout until Pearl Harbor came along and they all got arrested. Afterward it was home to an artist colony and to the novelist Henry Miller. Now it stands ruined and covered in graffiti and is soon going to be bulldozed and turned into a picnic area for hikers.

Pretty kooky right? But kind of par for the course given that this takes place in LA. Luckily Hitler lost the war and the Jews were free to continue controlling Hollywood and providing us with much beloved entertainment. Apparently Steven Spielberg himself lives close by – imagine a world with no Raiders of the Lost Ark, where every film looked like something produced by Leni Riefenstahl. Oy.

You can read more and see current photos of the property at the Daily Mail.

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About the author

ck

Founder and Publisher of Jewlicious, David Abitbol lives in Jerusalem with his wife, newborn daughter and toddler son. Blogging as "ck" he's been blocked on twitter by the right and the left, so he's doing something right.

2 Comments

  • ck, I get it. I’m wearing my Doc Martens and dropkicking everyone in my office.

  • thanks for the dk reference. i’m an old timer at 47 years old and have some dk records in deep storage!