The Secret War Against Hate

American Resistance to Antisemitism and White Supremacy

By: Steven J. Ross

Narrated by: John Moraitis

Bloomsbury presents The Secret War Against Hate by Steven J. Ross, read by John Moraitis

From the author of Pulitzer Prize finalist Hitler in Los Angeles, the definitive story of the intrepid activists and spies who fought against a resurgent movement of hate in America—a book that "should be read by every American who wants to know how courageous men and women can resist hatred." (Kirkus Reviews, starred review)

Americans today like to believe that the end of World War II brought a new era of tolerance in the United States. But antisemitism and racism went up—not down—after the war’s end. Violence broke out in cities across the country, and the number of organized hate groups more than doubled from 1940 to 1946. In this shocking account of a resurgence of White Supremacy in America, celebrated historian Steven J. Ross reveals how four key leaders—Emory Burke, J. B. Stoner, James Madole, and George Lincoln Rockwell—worked together to “finish the job Hitler had begun,” launching deadly attacks on Jews and African Americans and building a network of terrorists across the U.S. In response to this “war of hate,” three men—Arnold Forster of the Anti-­Defamation League, George Mintzer of the American Jewish Committee, and James Sheldon of the Non-­Sectarian Anti­-Nazi League—along with dozens of men and women, launched a multipronged effort: They infiltrated, monitored, and undermined these hate groups, putting their own safety on the line and scoring important victories that, today, have been all but forgotten.

Tracing the extraordinary work of these unsung heroes, The Secret War Against Hate provides a groundbreaking reconsideration of the legacy of the “Good War,” and essential reading on how America today can beat hate once again and build a just and united nation.©2026 Steven J. Ross (P)2026 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Critic reviews

Richly researched, impressively annotated, burningly bright . . . this book takes readers through familiar times and places with fresh research and a vivid narrative style . . . Personality and media strode hand in hand then, much as now, and Ross alerts us to the deep and ugly history behind today’s trolls and truants . . . This book should be read by every American who wants to know how courageous men and women can resist hatred.

Well-researched and at times shocking . . . Ross weaves the timelines of these figures together in an easy-to-follow way, showing how they gained power but also highlighting the people and organizations who actively fought against them in public and in spy rings, who each had their own motivations for resisting fascism. Readers will get sucked into the story and want to know what happens next . . . An excellent ‘hidden history’ book that gives additional context to modern political movements.

Ross’s work is utterly immersive in its sweeping, decades-long tracing of how some Americans have resisted the contagion of hate . . . [The Secret War Against Hate is] vital for any citizen concerned with polarized politics and civic abuses . . . an indispensable manual for safeguarding the future by understanding threats from the past.

At a time of renewed interest in America's previous fights with fascism, no one has done more than Steven J. Ross to unearth the epic conflicts and characters at the heart of that history. In The Secret War Against Hate, Ross has found a startling new chapter of our history, surfacing villains worthy of any Hollywood horror franchise, and intrepid heroes whose exploits could be written into a national anthem. This book will be taught and read for decades; the more we learn from it, the stronger we will be for the fights ahead, and for the fights already at hand. A brilliant history, a brilliant story. Bravo

Ross has written an engrossing, informative, and timely history of the hate groups that energized the far right in the early postwar decades, the anti-hate organizations that infiltrated them, and the spies who gathered information from (and fomented dissent among) those who hate.

Well-researched and very well-written . . . [Ross] has clearly done his homework to write this compelling and often frightening book. Every American owes it to themselves to be aware of this dark part of our history to avoid repeating it.

Fascinating . . . Ross observes that movements and leaders come and go, but ideas persist. Even ideas as thoroughly debunked as white supremacy, or that America was always intended to be a country for whites alone, remain as emotionally and politically charged today as they were immediately after World War II.

[An] absorbing study of the brave Americans who fought homegrown Nazism . . . A captivating read.

Hard but important history.

This book sheds light on an ugly but important history that has played out, mostly in the shadows. Of the U.S. for slots a century. It took them that long to take hold of the White House, which they have succeeded in doing. Now, hie do we rise up and undo the damage that has been done. That is a hard question that I hope most Americans will ask themselves.

Scary story with some amazing heroes

I enjoyed learning about the history of antisemitism and racial animus dating back to the return of soldiers from World War II, some of them were disillusioned by their inability to get ahead. Interspersed were stories of brave Jewish spies inside these organizations.

I disliked the narration because the narrator had an odd gait to his speech, often pausing in the middle of sentences where no pause was necessary. I found it really annoying, even when I played it back at a high rate of speed.

A Frightening Story Every American Needs To Hear

I have written numerous audio book reviews but I have rarely said this about a book – this is the most important, informative, frightening, must read of our times. If you are serious about understanding how the underbelly of America poisons the entire way our country operates, read this.
If you want to know the truth about why Trump rose by being a racist and how his destructive tenure has fed the worst instincts of twisted White Racists, read this.
If you think the destruction of the years spent making our country fair to everyone was wrong, then do not read this.
If you want to know why Trump erasing black, Hispanic, and other minorities from national monuments, museums, and daily life is wrong, read this.
Having said all that I introduce Steven J. Ross, a Distinguished Professor of History at the USC, who has written this powerful, important non-fiction book, "The Secret War Against Hate: American Resistance to Antisemitism and White Supremacy."
it is the true, rarely told story of how domestic neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups have existed since the end of World War 2 and have worked tirelessly for over 80 years to destroy democracy and cripple our Republic, in order to give white Christians the power to bully and boss everyone else into submission.
It is also the extraordinary saga of real life heroes, citizens who went undercover to sabotage groups determined to sabotage the American values of free speech, the right to choose their own religion – or none at all – and to elect liars and tricky greedy self-righteous bad guys who will say anything to get their way.
The book follows Ross’s brilliant 2018 Pulitzer Prize finalist, "Hitler in Los Angeles," about Nazi and fascist threats in the 1930s. and 1940s.
His powerful and important new book, carefully researched and factually accurate, starts with an idea that seems almost impossible to grasp. At the end of WW2 there were Americans, including former servicemen and women, who came home and decided it was wrong that while they were away African Americans, Latinos, women, Jews and other minorities and immigrants who they considered second class human beings had been allowed to prosper. They set out to take back the white Christian values of the south and west, and spread them to every state. They had no problem using the most foul methods to spread their sick views. They felt free to tell the biggest lies, break laws and murder people for their skin color, religion and political views.
Worst of all, they have to an extent that is frightening succeeded.
It is hard to believe anyone would praise Hitler for killing Jews, for treating Slavs, Latinos, anyone but white Christians as unfit to live, but it really happened and continues today.
Over the years many of these groups rose and fell, but the poison of a few never was spit out of the body politic. In fact, in the 21st century the racist, anti-democratic, egotistical nut jobs just got smarter about how to use modern media tools, how to package their vile trash to seem more palatable to the masses, who wanted to blame for their own failures, how they took over the government (mostly under Republicans) to blame others for their financial woes and broken lives.
So even after the Civil Rights fight, after the election of President Obama, after the battles against authoritarian villains in Russia, North Korea, Hungary, and elsewhere, they secretly worked to undermine all the progress made in generations.
For Jews who had seen Hitler’s murdering ways, who finally after WW2 started to be able to attend all universities, who found new opportunities in business, who saw the rise of Israel and its success against the Arab attacks, it all seemed to come apart at the seams.
Enter Trump. A man who was not only a racist, but a vile greedy grifter willing to lie and cheat and ignore the Constitution, who seemed to be an agent of Russia sent to destroy the America we celebrated for over 200 years; and the result we saw on TV news in marches in Virginia and Alabma, in the destruction of voting rights in the South, of the rise of a class of billionaires willing to trample on everyone else. The result is we face the worst crisis in modern American history.
What Professor Ross has done is provide a blueprint to how this happened, why it has never gone away, why under Trump it has gotten a lot worse.
Want the bitter truth, Listen to this book.
Want to really save the America we all love, read this book.
Want to know how poison is making our entire nation sick, listen to this book - and then support the good guys, ignore the fake media claims, join with others who want America for all, and most importantly vote in the midterms and every election before it is too late.

Swatsticka?

I have 5 hours left til the end-but I’m ready to bail because of the mispronunciations. Kind of distracting.
Does anyone listen to this performance before it’s released?
Not the first time I’ve been unimpressed with the quality of narration here.

the research is impeccable. The information captivating. Our history is so much more then anything we have been taught.

I like TRUTH. I love learning our complete HISTORY from all sides , including the influences around the world.