ABSTRACT
The Minutemen were from Newark's Third Ward and possessed the means to stand up to the Nazis–a group of boxers and a tightly controlled criminal enterprise that relied on violence. Starting in 1934, what had previously been spontaneous responses to Nazi provocations, evolved into a well–organized operation, employing public relations as well as violence. Abner Zwillman was Newark's most powerful Prohibition era bootlegger. After repeal, although active in several legitimate businesses, he was the dominant crime boss in the city and its suburbs. Zwillman identified with the poverty and discrimination Eastern European immigrants suffered. Newspaper reporters, as well as police, politicians, and informed citizens knew that after the repeal of Prohibition, Zwillman continued to operate his criminal network throughout northern New Jersey under the cover of his legitimate businesses. The event's purpose was to protest the anti-German boycott and to sponsor a counter boycott against Jewish businesses.
