By the outbreak of World War II, the Nazi party's foreign countries organization (NSDAP/AO) sought to organize German citizens abroad, and managed to enroll between 3% and 9% of the German citizens in the American countries. Though disappointed by low participation, NSDAP/AO by public activities of uniformed members managed to be perceived more influential than it actually was. False American media reports also contributed to this public misperception of Germans in the Americas.