Free Society of Teutonia

The Free Society of Teutonia was a German American organization that was associated with a strong support for Nazism.

The Society was formed in 1924 by four German immigrants, including Nazi Party members Fritz and Peter Gissibl and their brother Andrew. The group's initial base was Chicago and from there it set about recruiting ethnic Germans who supported German nationalist aims. Initially functioning as a club, the Society soon raised a group of militants based on the SA and, with membership increasing, became leading critics of Jews, Communism and the Treaty of Versailles. Alongside this however it retained a social function, with Society meetings frequently ending up in heavy beer drinking sessions.

The group changed its name to the Nationalistic Society of Teutonia in 1926, at which point Peter Gissibil was advising members to also seek Nazi Party membership. The group gained a strong, if fairly small following, and was able to established units in Milwaukee, St. Louis, Missouri, Detroit, New York City, Cincinnati and Newark, New Jersey The group's treasurer was Fritz Gissibil, who was also the main Nazi Party representative in the United States and who regularly collected money for the Nazis through the Society. A "thank you" letter from Adolf Hitler to the Society would cause a stir during the Second World War when the Gissibil brothers were brought to trial following an FBI investigation.

With the group having accepted Hitler as its titular leader and members having adopted the Nazi salute the Society underwent another name change in October 1932 when it became the Friends of the Hitler Movement. Under orders of Heinz Spanknobel the Society was dissolved in March 1933 and became the basis of a successor movement, the Friends of New Germany. This in turn formed the basis of the German American Bund in 1936, the latter name being chosen to emphasise the group's American credentials after press criticism that the Society was unpatriotic.