This week, we’re unpacking some key themes from Amazon Prime’s series Hunters. The show is a brutal espionage thriller about an eclectic team of Americans with one goal: killing Nazis secretly living in the United States.
Set in New York during the 1970s, Hunters claims to be “inspired by true events.” But, in Hollywood, we all know that “inspired by” can be pretty far from the truth. In this instance, truth is stranger than fiction.
After World War II, there were German Nazis living in America and they were involved in some uber top level military work, including the space program. There were also vigilantes who fought against the Nazis. But did a sleeper cell of Nazis plot to overthrow the American government and are any of the Hunters based on real people? Watch and find out!
Video Sources
- American Nazis in the 1930s—The German American Bund – The Atlantic
- Operation Paperclip – Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments
- Operation Paperclip: The Secret Intelligence Program to Bring Nazi Scientists to America – CIA
- Simon Wiesenthal – Jewish Virtual Library
- The Nazi Science That Fed the Apollo 11 Moon Landing – Time
- The night thousands of Nazis packed Madison Square Garden for a rally — and violence erupted – The Washington Post
- Wernher von Braun, the SS, and Concentration Camp Labor: Questions of Moral, Political, and Criminal Responsibility – Michael J. Neufeld
- What was Operation Paperclip? – History
- When Nazis Filled Madison Square Garden – Politico Magazine
- Why the U.S. Government Brought Nazi Scientists to America After World War II – Smithsonian Magazine
