Vials - Haunted by Hitler: liberals, the left, and the fight against fascism in the United States

Copyright 2014 by Christopher Vials

All rights reserved

Printed in the United States of America

ISBN 978-1-62534-130-3 (paperback); 129-7 (hardcover)

Designed by Jack Harrison

Set in Adobe Minion Pro

Printed and bound by Sheridan Books, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Vials, Chris.

Haunted by Hitler : liberals, the left, and the fight against fascism in the United States /
Christopher Vials.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-62534-130-3 (pbk. : alk. paper)

ISBN 978-1-62534-129-7 (hardcover : alk. paper)

1. FascismUnited StatesHistory20th century. 2. National socialism.

3. United StatesPolitics and government19451989. I. Title.

E743.5.V53 2014

335.6097309'04dc23

2014021802

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

For my parents, Judy and Peter Vials

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Haunted by Hitler has been inspired by the antifascist writers, artists, and organizers who, for almost a century now, have struggled to ensure that we all have the space to keep writing and thinking. Some of them were kind enough to share their time and their stories with me, including Avram Finkelstein, Charles Kreloff, and another who, owing to experiences during the McCarthy period, still does not want to be named. I am deeply indebted to Brian Halley at the University of Massachusetts Press, whose confidence in this project, editorial guidance, savvy advice, and endless patience allowed me to acknowledge these peoples contributions to democracy with far more precision than I originally envisioned. I am also honored by scholars of the American left who encouraged this project at various stages, including Paula Rabinowitz, Julia Mickenberg, Benjamin Balthaser, Bill Mullen, Cheryl Higashida, Aaron Lecklider, Rachel Rubin, Rachel Peterson, Jim Smethurst, and Mary Helen Washington. A very special thanks goes to Alan Wald and Judy Smith, whose generous letters of support enabled me to acquire the time and funding I needed to complete this manuscript. Alans singular mentorship and guidance have, throughout the whole process, been priceless. The Humanities Institute at the University of Connecticut (UCHI), the James and Sylvia Thayer Research Fellowship at the UCLA Library Special Collections, and the UConn Research Foundation provided generous funds for my research. It is not an exaggeration to say that I could not have completed this book without the time allowed by the Fellowship at the UCHI, which also came with the lively encouragement and thoughtful advice of my peers at the Institute.

Several journals and edited collections provided a home for material on antifascism that could not fit into the manuscript, and I am deeply thankful for the sharp editorial work of a number of individuals whose feedback on these pieces also informed the larger arguments of this book: above all, Joseph Ramsey, Robbie Lieberman, Derek Royal, Andrew Lawson, and Dianne Feeley. This project would not have been possible without the archivists at the Bancroft Library at UC-Berkeley, the Special Collections at Stanford University, the Peace Collection at Swarthmore College, the New York Public Library, the San Francisco Public Library, the Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Archives at NYU, the UCLA Special Collections, the Babbidge Library and Thomas J. Dodd Research Center at UConn, and the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR). Marc Mamigonian at NAASR deserves singular praise for his support. Beyond the archives, the generous hospitality of my friends Todd Evans and Dielly Diaz made my extended research trip to the Bay Area much richer than I thought possible; the same is true for Charles Schlund and Rita Kampalath during my trip to Los Angeles. I also am grateful to audiences at annual conferences of the American Studies Association, the Asian American Studies Association, and the Modern Language Association for their highly informative feedback.

Closer to home, Betty Heiss, David Markowitz, Jim Duffy, Daniel Weiner, and the audience at the Center for Learning in Retirement shared wonderful insights on mid-twentieth-century America which helped shape this book. I would especially like to thank the members of the Americanist Writing Group (the ARG) at UConn for their intricate feedback on so many chapters of the manuscript: Martha Cutter, Kate Capshaw Smith, Shawn Salvant, and Sharon Harris. Conversations, intellectual stimulation, and emotional support from other stellar colleagues at UConn were invaluable: special thanks here go to Bob Hasenfratz, Clare Kingoo, Alexis Boylan, Jason Oliver Chang, Mark Over-myer-Velasquez, Gaye Tuchman, Brendan Kane, Gregory Semenza, Alenda Chang, Kathleen Tonry, Clare Eby, Matt McKenzie, Jeffrey Ogbar, Micki McElya, Albert Hap Fairbanks, Charles Mahoney, Margaret Breen, Wayne Franklin, Anna Mae Duane, Dwight Codr, Tom Long, Heather Turcotte, Tom Deans, Brenda Murphy, Delia Aguilar, and E. San Juan Jr. I learned a great deal from graduate students, most notably Karen Renner, Patrick Lawrence, and Joseph Darda. The insights of my dear friends Mary Gallucci and Jerry Phillips guided this book from the very beginning: Jerrys expansive erudition, shared on long dog walks through the woods, was more precious than he realizes.

Finally, I am indebted to my parents, Judy and Pete Vials, whose love and support have always been foundational and whose observations of American society shaped my thinking in this book profoundly. My in-laws, Charles and Ginko Schlund, provided wonderful encouragement and personal insights on the subject of war. My sister, Jan Sheehy, encouraged my writing from a very early stage, and without her love and mentorship I might not even be writing these words. Last but certainly not least is my wife, Cathy Schlund-Vials, a tireless advocate, sharp editor, and inspirational scholar who continually reminds me why our relationships to the past matter.

ABBREVIATIONS

INTRODUCTION

Antifascism and the United States

The problem is that we have this eventGermany, Hitler, the Holocaustwhich we have made into THE standard of absolute Evilwell and good, as standards of Evil go, its not badbut then everyone gets frantic as soon as you try to use the standard,