Philip Rubenstein
America’s Red Scare, Part 3: The Bomb, the Rosenbergs, HUAC, the Blacklist
Summary
This lecture continues the topic of the American Red Scare series with a focus on Ethel and Julius Rosenberg. Exploring the events leading up to the Rosenbergs’ execution in 1953, the emphasis is on the slow progression of the Red Scare in the US. The formation of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in 1938 is a lead-up to the controversial role in investigating communist subversion. During this time, the political climate shifted toward conservatism, leading to increased intolerance, witch hunts, and silenced dissenting voices. The Jewish community’s experiences, fueled by antisemitism and economic challenges, played a role in some Jews joining the Communist Party.
Philip Rubenstein
Philip Rubenstein was director of the Parliamentary War Crimes Group, which, in the mid-to-late 1980s, campaigned to bring Nazi war criminals living in the UK to justice. Philip was also the founder-director of the Holocaust Educational Trust and played a role in getting the study of the Shoah onto the national school’s curriculum in the UK. These days, he works with family businesses, advising on governance and continuity from one generation to the next.
Yes, undoubtedly. The fact that so many immigrated over such a period of time was definitely a contributor, certainly in the 1920s, not only Jews but Italians and Slavs who came across as well. The anti-foreigner feeling in the US in the early 1920s was extraordinary, and the immigration laws that were passed at the time were absolutely punitive.
Absolutely. The story is so much richer than anything I’ve just had the opportunity to say. Next week, we’ll be looking at McCarthy, McCarthyism, a lot more on Roy Cohn and also on naming names. When you’re asked to name names, what you do? And it’s fascinating how so many people responded in such different ways and what it did to their reputations over the next 40 years.