The American Bund, a thriving pro-German, pro-Nazi organization in the decades leading up to the Second World War is determined to create an Aryan-first society subjugating people of color, trade unions, Communists, and Jews. When America declares war on Germany, the American Bund as a visible organization disappears, but the loyal Bund members do not. The Exchange highlights the friendship between two college students—James O'Malley, an Irishman, and Ulysses Higgins, a black man determined to make his way in the world—who are harassed and threatened by the local Bund and decide to make a change. With timelines alternating between World War II and a modern-day college student learning about his family history, “The Exchange” explores exactly what it means to be a soldier, and more importantly, what it means to be human.
