Charlotte Observer: Wave flag or be labeled ‘Hitler-lover’

“By late 1940 North Carolinians began to prepare for a war that was rapidly closing in on them. Charlotteans responded with a dramatic increase in patriotic fervor and reverence for the American flag….The Charlotte Observer attacked those who failed to display the proper zeal for their country: ‘Anybody who fails to contribute is in a fair way to be thought of as a Nazi-sympathizer, Hitler-lover or just a plain tight-wad and cheapskate.’ ”

— From “Home Front: North Carolina during World War II” by Julian M. Pleasants (2017)