Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism

Content Warning: All chapters of the source material contain mentions of antisemitism and antisemitic violence, including direct quotes of antisemitic comments and antisemitic slurs. Some chapters mention racism against Black people, especially Chapter 3, which also includes a photograph of a lynching. This guide summarizes the events of the book without reproducing racial slurs or outdated terms to describe race.

The Prologue opens by describing the plot of The House of the Vampire, a 1907 work of gay vampire fiction written by German-born George Sylvester Viereck. In this “voluptuous, pretentious, deeply stupid romp,” a male vampire seduces young, talented men and steals their artistic talent (xvii). Despite the poor reception of this book, Viereck achieved literary notoriety by his mid-twenties. In addition, he became an outspoken advocate for Germany as World War I began. When a German U-boat torpedoed the Lusitania in 1915, drowning hundreds of civilians, Viereck defended Germany, saying the country’s actions were justified.

Weeks after this incident, Viereck accidentally left a briefcase behind on a Manhattan train. The contents of the briefcase, later examined by US officials, revealed an extensive, well-funded German propaganda scheme to deter the US from entering the world war.