Welcome to The Graham Plan, a serialized historical thriller that weaves together fact and fiction against the backdrop of 1936 New York. I chose to anchor my story in this consequential year because its tensions and uncertainties resonate powerfully with our world today.
Let’s set the scene. After making good on his Depression-era losses, the last thing fictional Ben Graham expects is a grave new challenge. A threat that obliterates his hard-won sense of safety and demands profound inner change.
So, what’s the story about?
In 1936 New York, as fascism casts a long shadow, the lone-wolf investor named Benjamin Graham—loosely based on the real man—must join forces with unlikely allies to stop pro-Hitler fanatics plotting to overtake America.
But Hitler hasn’t even invaded Poland yet.
True, but Hitler plans and prepares for war. He defies the Treaty of Versailles to form an air force (the Luftwaffe), an army, and a navy. He takes absolute control of Germany and its military, merging the roles of president and chancellor to become “Fuhrer.” He declares the swastika as the national flag. He passes the Nuremberg Laws that deprive Jews of German citizenship and forbid marriage between Jews and Germans. No one knows that the Holocaust is on the horizon, but Hitler already scapegoats Jews as a means of consolidating his power.
Were there really pro-Hitler fanatics in New York?
Yes. In 1936, many German-American immigrants idolize Hitler. They see him as the strong, visionary leader Germany needs to overcome the shame of defeat and economic depression that followed World War I. Some Americans join pro-Hitler organizations like the German-American Bund. In February 1939, more than 20,000 Americans pack Madison Square Garden for a pro-Nazi Bund rally. Above the stage, a massive, thirty-foot portrait of George Washington—whom organizers twistedly dubbed “America’s First Fascist”—hangs flanked by giant swastika banners. Inside the arena, the crowd repeatedly raises Nazi salutes and chants “Heil Hitler,” a chilling display of the very real fascist threat rising on American soil.
In The Graham Plan, the German-American Bund spawns a rivalry for the job of “American Fuhrer.” How does fictional Ben Graham, a Jewish immigrant, get mixed up with these antisemitic Nazi sympathizers?
Stay tuned for future episodes to find out. Our fictional Ben Graham hero will face dangers the real Graham never imagined. He’ll cross paths with colorful historical figures and witness some of the era’s pivotal events.
The Louis–Schmeling Upset
One such moment: the live radio broadcast of the electrifying 1936 bout between Joe Louis and Max Schmeling at Yankee Stadium—a fight seen as a symbolic contest between Nazi Germany and American Democracy.
When the American, Harlem’s Joe Louis, suffers a shocking defeat, Ben will be pulled into a dangerous new reality—one where emboldened pro-Hitler forces are on the rise, and stopping these hate-mongering villains may cost him his life.
Yet the greatest danger lies in our hero’s fatal flaw: the armor that keeps others at bay. To prevail, he must risk letting it crack. His brilliance—formidable as it is—won’t be enough.
He must discover a rarer kind of strength, one forged by earning the trust of people divided by race, class, faith, and circumstance, if he hopes to save something greater than any one of them.
What’s at stake?
The hope that we live in a world where decency, tolerance, and respect for the dignity of every person can endure. Our love for America—and our resolve to become and remain the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Why am I, the author of BeyondBenGraham.com/blog, taking a break from biography to dive into drama?
Because some truths—like the need to band together to stop American fascism—are best expressed in fiction.
We have reached a scary moment when people who don’t remember twentieth century totalitarian horrors are moving toward authoritarianism. Some embrace racism, misogyny, and antisemitism. People are struggling, and that impels them to blame or even demonize others while finding fault with our imperfect but precious democracy.
By revisiting 1936, I hope to make the lessons—and horrors—of that era vivid once again. Just as the hero of The Graham Plan must unite people from different backgrounds and competing interests to confront an authoritarian threat, we face a similar challenge today. We, too, can build common cause with unlikely allies to improve the lives of our fellow citizens and safeguard the freedom to vote, choose our leaders, and chart a future grounded in compassion and opportunity for all.
I often think of something Warren Buffett, the most famous student of Benjamin Graham, told me: In his view, the real Ben Graham was defined not only by his extraordinary intellect, but by extraordinary kindness and generosity. Those values—embodied by both Graham and Buffett—are precisely what our troubled world needs today.
I very much hope, dear readers, that you’ll come along on this reading journey, into the beating heart of a threat that existed in 1936 and, in different forms, exists today.
I haven’t written this story in advance. Like Charles Dickens, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and other authors who published fiction in serial form, I’ll be bringing you each episode as it comes to life. In weaving this story from rough twine, I accept its inevitable flaws: tangles, gaps, and the occasional dropped thread.
Some of you received an email announcing One: Lush Life before the episode was actually live. I apologize for the confusion. It was sent prematurely, and the true beginning of the story—One: Lush Life—will appear very soon.
Thank you for your patience. I hope you’ll find both meaning and delight in immersing yourself in the glittering underworld of 1936 New York. Knowing you’re out there, waiting for each new installment, inspires me to craft a tale worthy of your time and attention.
The Author, BeyondBenGraham.com, June 2026
History
One of my early readers suggested including historical notes at the end of each episode. Because The Graham Plan blends fiction with history—imagined characters alongside real people and events—these notes offer a glimpse into the research behind the story.
The German-American Bund Rally at Madison Square Garden (February 20, 1939)
Three years after The Graham Plan begins, the German-American Bund held a rally at Madison Square Garden to celebrate George Washington’s birthday. More than 20,000 supporters packed the arena beneath swastikas and a towering portrait of George Washington. Many attendees wore Nazi armbands, gave Hitler salutes, and applauded antisemitic speeches calling for the restoration of America to “true Americans” while warning of alleged “Jewish domination of Christian America.” Outside, thousands of demonstrators protested as New York City deployed a record 1,700 police officers to maintain order. As Academy Award–nominated documentarian Marshall Curry, whose seven-minute short documentary A Night at the Garden consists entirely of archival footage from the rally, later observed, “It all felt eerily familiar, given today’s political situation.”
Why describe an event that took place in 1939 to introduce a story set entirely in 1936?
Because it tells readers what the characters cannot yet know. The Madison Square Garden rally did not appear out of nowhere. It was the culmination of forces already gathering in 1936. Before America entered World War II, pro-Hitler organizations attracted thousands of supporters across the United States, including New York. The threat Ben Graham and his unlikely coalition of New Yorkers confront in these pages is not imagined—it is drawn from the historical record.
© 2026. All rights reserved. No part of this story may be reproduced or distributed in any form without prior written permission from the author.