The Minuteman: The Forgotten Legacy of Nat Arno and the Fight Against Newark's Nazis

by Greg Donahue, Jonathan Davis (Narrator)

Join writer and documentary producer Greg Donahue as he explores the history of domestic Nazis on the brink of World War II and the Jewish mobsters who stood up to them in this gripping, true-life audiobook.

In the early 1930’s, pro-Nazi groups popped up across America, attempting to drum up support among recent immigrants for the fascist movement back in Europe. By 1939, a massive rally of some 20,000 homegrown Nazi supporters was held in New York City’s Madison Square Garden. While across the Hudson River in Newark, New Jersey, the town’s large German population stepped up Nazi recruitment activity. Pro-fascist groups staged parades, screened anti-Semitic films, and organized boycotts of Jewish businesses and politicians throughout the city. Complicating matters, Newark was also the epicenter of the Jewish mob.

Abner ‘Longie’ Zwillman, known as the "Al Capone of New Jersey," had made a fortune in gambling, bootlegging, racketeering, and controlled the city’s ports and police force. Not surprisingly, this powerful Jewish gangster took exception to the Nazi’s anti-Semitic platform. In response, Zwillman helped organize a group of ex-boxers, factory workers, and students to defend the city’s Jewish interests. The group dubbed themselves the Minutemen—ready at a moment’s notice—and took to breaking up Nazi gatherings using an intimidating combination of stink bombs, baseball bats, brass knuckles, and pure chutzpah.

Greg Donahue’s The Minuteman tells the story of one of Newark’s native sons—ex-prizefighter and longtime Zwillman enforcer Sidney Abramowitz, a.k.a. Nat Arno—who took over leadership of the Minutemen in 1934 and made it his personal business to put an end to what he saw as the homegrown Nazi movement’s "anti-American" activities. For six years, Arno and his crew of vigilantes battled Newark’s Nazis at every turn. The Minuteman is a story of the ethics of violence in the face of fascism—a forgotten legacy that is as relevant now as it was nearly a hundred years ago.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Biography, Historical, War, Crime

2 pages, Audible Audio

First published January 2, 2020

Reviews

[Alan (the Lone Librarian) Teder · Rating 3 out of 5]

February 17, 2023 Update Reinstating a 2020 review which had been deleted by the NABers (Not A Bookers) during their anti-Audible campaign. I discovered the review was missing while reviewing the recent book Gangsters vs. Nazis: How Jewish Mobsters Battled Nazis in Wartime America (2022).

Minutemen vs American Nazis in 1930's in Newark, N.J.
Review of the Audible Original audiobook (Jan. 2020)

The most shocking element here isn't that there were American Jewish vigilantes in 1930's America prepared to fight Nazis, but that there was such a large American Nazi organisation that they could fill Madison Square Garden with a capacity of 20,000+ in 1939.

The lead Minuteman Nat Arno aka Sidney Nathaniel Abramowitz seems to have been an obscure character in this history previously and even his New Jersey boxing history biography seems to be incorrect on various points. i.e. he couldn't have been working undercover for a non-existent 1930's OSS (which wasn't formed until 1942). Greg Donahue has done an excellent job in collecting this history and the narration by Jonathan Davis was well done.

The Minuteman was one of the free Audible Original audiobooks for members in January 2020. It is available to everyone for a standard price.

Trivia and Link
The February 20, 1939 German American Bund rally at Madison Square Garden was documented in a recent 7 minute short film "A Night at the Garden" (2017) dir. Marshall Curry, which can be seen on Vimeo.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting look into a group of Jewish men who tried to stem the rising anti-Semitism in their New Jersey community. I listened attentively but felt myself losing interest as the rhythm of the narrative became more robotic and textbook like. However, the overall content was highly interesting.


Goodreads review published 30/09/20

[Heather Venard · Rating 3 out of 5]

really more of a 2.5. The subject is fascinating - even being from New Jersey, I had no idea about the rise of anti-semitism in Newark and this militia, basically, that rose to subvert it. However the telling of this really felt more like a extended article rather than a true story. There's so much more I wanted to know.

[Helga Cohen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Greg Donahue explores the forgotten history of domestic Nazi’s on the brink of World War II and the Jewish mobsters who stood up to them in the US in the 1930’s.

Pro Nazi groups attempted to gain support among recent immigrants of the fascist movement in Europe. The movement grew to more than 20,000 in 1939 at a massive rally at Madison Square Garden in NY. They staged parades, organized boycotts of Jewish businesses and politicians and screened antisemitic films.
In Newark, NJ, ex prize fighter, Sidney Abramowitz-Nat Arno, took over leadership of the Minutemen in 1934. For six years, they battled Newark’s Nazi’s. Arno made it his business to put an end to the Nazi movement and “anti-American activities”.

This was a fascinating story of one form of violence against fascism by a very committed group of men.

[- The Polybrary - · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audio Notes: Listened at 1.2x speed. The narrator has a very nice, interesting voice. He adds slight accents for different direct character quotations, nothing over the top. Would definitely listen to something narrated by Jonathan Davis again!

I'd never heard of Nat Arno. Or of the Newark Nazis. Or had any idea that there was a large Nazi movement in the United States before World War 2. Not sure if my memory is just lacking, or my history education, or possibly (probably) both.

The Minuteman is a quick dive into the world of the Jewish mob in New Jersey in the 1930s, the unrest that brewed there and in other cities with both large German and Jewish populations, and a look at the life of Nat Arno, a Jewish boxer turned gangster, and his often violent fight against the rising Nazi movement in his home state. While his methods can't exactly be condoned - even if he tried to avoid outright killing anyone, he was unapologetically violent in breaking up Nazi meetings and demonstrations - his dogged defense of his own people and culture and early recognition of what the Nazi groups were heading towards certainly played a large part in events of those years leading up to America's involvement in the war.

The author compares the Minutemen to modern day Antifa, not an exact correspondence but some of the methods and attitudes are implied to be the same. There are a ton of reviews on Audible that are absolutely OUTRAGED at this comparison. It seems like neither group is one that an entirely logical, law-abiding citizen would want to emulate, and both were/are organizations that take aim at groups that spew hate and bigotry about one group of people or another. I don't have much more knowledge of Antifa than I do of the Minutemen, so I'll leave it at that. Just the level of pearl-clutching outrage in the reviews because of the comparison seems a bit overblown.

[Amy Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating account, marred by a tendency to waffle between praising "Arno" and going for a more balanced "you decide" approach. I prefer the latter, but noticed several instances that were very clearly presenting him as an unvarnished hero. So, yes, he's absolutely more of a hero than the Nazi-sympathizers he fought against, but he was still a violent enforcer.

Recommended anyway, because there is some very interesting history here.

Audible Originals Scoreboard: good (ish)
Good: 6
Mediocre: 2
Bad: 2

[Genna · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was so interesting to hear about this group of men. I had no idea that this was even taking place in America during this time period. It's definitely something you're not learning in school. In school, the focus was on the war in Europe and Pearl Harbor during WWII. Glad to hear there were groups fighting for Justice on this side of the world to make a mark on history!

[Brian Cohen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story, four stars only because it’s so short. Perhaps worth noting in times like these that there were tens of thousands of American nazis during WWII, including thousands of kids that went to nazi youth camps across the country. A lot of those kids are probably still alive today.

[Kelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Minuteman was the true story of Nat Arno, a Jewish boxer and street tough from New Jersey, who led violent clashes against anti-Nazis. His group, called The Minutemen, was a pretty successful in providing a counterbalance to pro-German groups. This was a part of the 1930’s American history that I knew little about, so it was interesting from that perspective. It was a short book so an easy listen. Not the greatest historiography, but it was decent enough. The narration by Jonathan Davis was good and portrayed the New Jersey image well that was needed for this book.

[Guy's Girl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shocking

This story was kind of shocking to listen to. Not because of the violence but because I have never heard of Nazi groups being in the US. It’s terrifying to think, if groups like the Minutemen would not have fought back, what would have happened.

[Raven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great snippet of little know history. I listened to the audible release while cleaning the house.

[Casey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty crazy how much traction the Nazi's had here in the states as WWII was brewing.

[Rebecca (booksandbreggs) · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting story that I'd never heard before. 3/5 stars.

[Faith Burnside · Rating 4 out of 5]

A worthwhile read in today's world.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

First of all, YES

Prejudicial violence against bigots is the one time prejudicial violence is warranted. Fascist want to end your free speech, and should be denied their own. And, as this book shows, the Nazi you see today carving swastikas next door is the Nazi you’ll be in a war against later on. KNEECAP THEM NOW

Now…
This book is interesting but not satisfyingly researched.

This is understandable as it is documenting illegal behavior and street brawls. If documentary evidence existed, it would point to the incompetence of the anti-Nazi forces. (You don’t take notes on a criminal conspiracy.) And so second hand stories and interviews with aged individuals are all that is left.

But, there is a frustrating habit of setting up a situation and then withholding the actual outcome. It grated against my reading every time it happened and I wish the incomplete nature of the information had been more set up and included as part of the narrative. (Did Arno win the match after he drank the milkshakes? We’re never told.)

I’m glad to have read it, but that friction made me unlikely to read other works by this author.

[Michael Sump · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting little book about a piece of history that I didn’t know and hadn’t heard about. After Hitler came to power in Germany, there was a concerted effort by the Germans to rally German-American communities to support him and his anti-Semitic philosophy. Lead by the Jewish mob, a force called the Minutemen was organized to oppose them with threats, intimidation, and violence. This conflict was pronounced in Newark where both communities were strong. A little know minor boxer and low-level mobster, named Nat Arno, was asked to head up this effort. This is his story of the 6-7 years of street battles against American Nazis in the days before WWII.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

3-3.5 stars.
Another short Audible Original.
Super interesting story about a little known Jewish uprising in America before and during World War II. Brutal. But seriously - I was rooting for them.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trump supporters beware: you probably won’t like this telling of a mostly forgotten moment in history. This was a short Audible Original, recently available as a free selection. Some right-wingers have written disparaging remarks, prefacing their comments that they disapprove of the author comparing the Jewish anti-Nazi efforts of the 1930s to today’s Antifa. Well, what these listeners (who I doubt listened to the entire recording), are really worried about is that accounts like this one may inspire people today to further stand up to their agenda of hate and racism. And it must burn some of those listeners to hear about this rare time in history when the Jews actually refused to be pushed around.

Now as far as the story itself is concerned, it is a quick overview of about two decades in the life of Nat Arno, the leader of the Minutemen, a group of anti-Nazi Jews in the 1934 who stood up to the Nazi movement in New Jersey. Arno, who begins as a boxer and moves on as muscle for mobsters during prohibition, is no choirboy. His group’s tactics were usually violent and he embraced that violence. The author also paints the American Nazis as deserving whatever brutality came their way.

At this present moment with the George Floyd protests, this is an especially timely listen. The author points out that not all Jews approved of Arno’s style of violence. In fact, that violence probably wouldn’t be tolerated today. But it does give the message that people have stood up to racism in the past and can do so today.

[Lindsay Luke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short Audible Original about a Jewish boxer/tough guy who was a leader in "The Minutemen", a group of Jews who confronted American Nazis in Newark, NJ before WWII. Sidney Abramowitz wanted to box. His parents were against it, so he took the name Nat Arno. He was modestly successful, but more importantly, he was noticed by local Jewish gangsters who hired him for protection as they ran liquor and gambling businesses.
As the Nazis became more popular and powerful in Germany through the 1930s, some Americans also embraced Nazism. Jews in Newark were concerned about this. One of the local gang bosses thought something should be done, but didn't want to be the public face of it. He enlisted Arno and organized the minutemen for the purpose of fighting the American Nazis literally and figuratively. The book details a few of their skirmishes.
As the war heated up in Europe, American Nazis fell from favor, some even going to Germany to embrace their cause there. Eventually, Nat got in trouble with the law and was "encouraged" to join the Army. Although disappointed that the Army gave him no credit or even kudos for his battles with NJ Nazis, he did OK in the war. He even saw some of his old NJ enemies who had joined the German Army!
After the war, he tried to keep on living the tough guy life, but was eventually "persuaded" to move to CA by one of the Jewish bosses. He lived there until he passed away in 1973.
I listened to this again after reading American Pastoral. Some of the actual history of Jews in Newark in that era shed additional light on Roth's alternative history.

[Blake · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting slice of history, sadly abbreviated like many of the Audible exclusives. There's also an inconsistency to the tone - sometimes Arno is a folk hero, sometimes a morally ambiguous figure who relished in violence. Obviously, he benefits from being on the right side of history, but the idea that mob justice is vindicated if you're doing it for the rights reasons is a dangerous one. The Nazis thought they were doing the right thing, too, and creating an exception for violence within social relative morality opens the door for exploitation by the wrong person.

Consider when Arno demands money from a fellow Jew, a neighbor of his, and when it isn't given right away, he lifts the man by the collar and steals the money from his wallet. Is that okay? Is that justifiable? Could the burgeoning Nazism of the day have been defeated by someone who wasn't a thug? These are questions worth asking, but the author doesn't have the time or the interest. Instead, Arno is mostly glorified, since Nazism is evil. But evil though it is, opposing it doesn't mean all your actions become forgivable.

In the end, it was worth hearing about, but I'd like to read about this in a more detail, either in a book that approaches the subject with objectivity, or with a subjectivity that has more time to ponder and explore moral compromises made in the pursuit of noble goals.

[Steve Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

This may be the first audio only audiobook I've read on Goodreads. As far as I can tell, there is no print version. There ought to be, but the audio version was pretty good.

The book outlines the life of Jewish mobster and professional boxer Nat Arno, who organized protests and riots in response to the frighteningly large pro-Nazi movement in the United States in the mid-to late 1930's. Arno and his recruits harassed and fought Nazi sympathizers in the streets...and then when war broke out, Arno joined the Army and fought the Nazis in Europe. He got shot five times, but lived to return to the states.

One disgruntled reviewer on Audible took exception to the author stating that Arno's and his men were precursors to our modern day ANTIFA. I'd have to agree with the author. They were. ANTIFA stands for "Anti Fascist", and that's exactly what Arno and his Minutemen were, and overt fascism is alive and well here in the United States.

It's a good "book" for being so brief. It's a concise and informative piece of history.

[Matthew Whittington · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The Minuteman” is one of those rare works of history that doesn’t just inform, it astonishes. Greg Donahue brings to light a little known but remarkable chapter of American history, when ordinary citizens took an extraordinary stand against the creeping influence of Nazism on U.S. soil. I was genuinely floored to learn that the resistance inspired by one man became so strong that Germany itself felt compelled to warn its nationals in the state not to join local Nazi organizations or risk losing their own passports home to Germany.

Donahue’s storytelling is vivid and humane, showing that courage isn’t always found on distant battlefields; sometimes it’s right in our own neighborhoods. This book is a testament to how conviction, community, and a refusal to back down can shift the course of history. A powerful reminder that knowing your worth, and standing firm on it against injustice can echo far beyond your time.

[Ashley Louise Hartlaub · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would Give this story A 2.5 to 3 rating. However I can't exactly decide. I'm not sure what I was expecting when I 1st started listening to this novel via audible. It was interesting to hear About How the jews were fighting against the Nazis in the US and Not Europe before WW2 began. However, I wish that The book would have gone into more detail about what fascism Is and what it truly means, as it is such a broad topic and I feel central to the story, and no background information is given.I also could not get engaged with this story and had difficulty remembering it as a result. I also felt like there was an underlying message that being violent is the only way to solve problems with others and that bothered me a bit. With everything going on in the world right now, I don't think other readers would appreciate this message either.

[Gwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is definitely not something I ever heard about in Hebrew school, or Hebrew high school, or adult learning. At a moment when we were asking who steps up to protect themselves, and why others join in (or not), this story about Nat Arno, a Jewish boxer turned mob enforcer, is fascinating. Arno is part of a vanguard of (mob-financed) people who oppose the growing German Fascist movement in Newark, NJ in the 1930s. This group fought back against what they perceived as an attack on themselves, even as they did not yet clearly know all that would unfold in Germany. These Jewish men were ruthless as they recruited "voluntary" donations from local Jewish businesses and demonstrated (or threw punches and more), but they also worked to protect their families, and their community.
Thanks to Greg Donahue for uncovering and sharing this forgotten history.

[Kevin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am extremely ambivalent about this book. On one hand it relates the interesting history of a group of Jewish men (gangsters and local toughs) called the Minutemen, who stood up the the Nazi Bundt in New Jersey in the 1930's. But on the other hand, the author equates the Minutemen with modern day Antifa. This was such a disgusting conflation it tarnished my enjoyment of the book. While their tactics may be similar, antisemitism too often rears its ugly head at Antifa actions. Antifa is much more closely aligned with the Brown Shirts of the 1920's who used violence and coercion to support the will of their political party in the early days of the rise of Nazism. I strongly believe if the Minutemen were alive today they would be fighting against Antifa. So to to draw a parallel between the two was disconcerting.

[Drick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short biography features the exploits of Nat Arno, who as a teenager was both a boxer and a member of the Jewish Mafia in Newark, NJ. In 1933 when the New Germany, a Nazi organization sympathetic to Hitler began to grow and make noise, Arno formed the Minutemen, an anti-fascist predominately Jewish group that routinely disrupted neo-Nazi meetings with firebombs and other disruptive devices. Operating outside the law the Minutemen were successful in calling attention to the rise of Nazism in pre-war America. Arno joined the army and fought in World War II, and eventually settled down in California.

While not equating the Minutemen with Antifa today, the author does draw parallels to the Minuteman and contemporary nit-fascist movements.

[Gregory Eakins · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Minuteman is the story of the Jewish gangster Nat Arno and his gang of Jewish anti-anti-Semites who worked to stop Nazi sympathizers in the New York and New Jersey area.

The story itself is surprising, as I did not know that there was a large support for the German anti-Semitic cause during WWII in the United States. The way it is told, however, leaves a lot to be desired.

The tone and flow of this short story is wildly inconsistent. At times, Nat is a do-no-wrong boxing badass, but then at other times he's doing the morally questionable things that gangsters do. It's hard to follow and does not create a cohesive narrative.

The story is worth a visit, but someone needs to do it more justice than this short take managed.

[Rick Verde · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having been raised in Elizabeth New Jersey my whole life, I found this book interesting because I didn’t know the history of the my neighboring city.

I was pretty ignorant to how much traction the nazi movement gained here in the US leading up to WWII. So in that way I found this story fairly interesting as Ill definitely dig into that a bit further.

Overall however I found myself disengaged in the story. On one hand Arno and The Minutemen stood up against the evils of naziism and anti semitism, which I applaud.

But on another hand, is violence ever really the answer. I do like how the author sums it up in the end as we either seem him as a thug or a hero. Because That’s certainly the two perspectives.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short summary of a part of 1930s US history which is mostly forgotten -- the pro-German and anti-semitic violence, along with Jewish mafia violence, of the immediate prewar period. This book was about a local mafia/gangster and former boxer who basically engaged in illegal violence, largely opposed by the mainstream Jewish community, against German-American organizations which were often either thinly veiled or unveiled fronts for pro-Nazi organization (which were ironically disclaimed and disavowed by Hitler).

What's amazing is how thoroughly all of this has been scrubbed from mainstream history during and immediately after WW2 by all parties; it was to no one's benefit to show that pre-war, the US wasn't uniformly anti-Nazi.

[Karla · Rating 3 out of 5]

The audiobook is about one Minuteman in particular, Nat Arno. This Nat Arno is not to be confused with the other man of the same name who fled the Nazis and came to the United States by way of Cuba during WWII. It is quite a short biography of his life, dealing mostly with his connections to the Jewish mafia and anti-Nazi movement in New Jersey. It is a portrait of American history of which I was entirely unaware. It shows not only that there were those who favored Hitler's ideologies on American soil, but that there was also a counter movement to curb it. It also provides an interesting sketch into the argument of freedom of speech juxtaposed with the protection of citizens.