Immersed In Red

by Mike Shotwell

  A few other comedians could also penetrate Orville’s and my mother’s humorless personalities, such as Mort Saul, or Victor Borge sliding off his piano stool. These confirmed leftists were hilarious, bright, and right on target. The Smothers Brothers were considered very profound when they launched into their anti-US foreign-policy routines.

  Even the seemingly innocuous world of ballet contained political overtones. Orville believed that Russian male ballet dancers were the epitome of masculinity, who exemplified the superiority of Russian art; they were real men. American male ballet dancers were “fairies”; aberrant products of Western decadence. How would he have described, I wonder, the world-renowned dancers Rudolf Nureyev or Alexander Godunov?

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  CHAPTER 9

  HOUSE AND SENATE INVESTIGATIONS OF THE 40s AND 50s

  The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUAA) began investigations into suspected Nazi infiltration of the government in 1938. The committee was bipartisan, however, the leading members were Democrats. From mid-1949 and into the 1970s, the committee became better known for investigating alleged disloyalty and subversive activities on the part of private citizens, public employees, and those organizations suspected of having communist ties. The hearings focused on communist infiltration into many aspects of American life, from labor unions to government and beyond. The basis for the hearings was the fact that it was illegal to advocate, either publicly or privately, the overthrow of the government by revolutionary violence. The House was performing its due diligence in its role of protecting the country.

  The House investigations are often confused with the Senate hearings involving Sen. Joseph McCarthy, which began in 1950. Both committees were involved in investigating allegations of communist infiltration into various government departments, the military, and other areas of the society. Many of McCarthy’s accusations during the Senate hearings allegedly lacked clear evidence at the time, and his rather bombastic personality contributed to public distrust. In fact, his image became that of a paranoid, clownish bufoon who saw communists under the bedsheets, inspired by the Daily Worker and other sources of communist propaganda. The oft-used term “red scare” became inextricably linked with McCarthy’s name, defining the era. Ironically, since the release of the Soviet NKVD and KGB documents, much of what McCarthy suspected turned out to be accurate. This new information has been largely ignored by modern journalists and academics, but is readily available today.

  The American public had no difficulty with, or objection to, the original government inquiries of the HCUAA, leading up to WWII. The target was clear, with Hitler and his followers voicing goals that were repugnant and commonly derided by the American public. But when the investigations later focused on communists and an equally brutal regime, the tables turned. Soviet disinformation, a willing press, and behind-the-scenes efforts by the left, succeeded in making the anti-communists the target, and placing the American justice system on trial. The communist community even rearranged the acronym for the Democratic-controlled HCUAA, to read “HUAC” to describe the committee members and supporters as the “Un-Americans,” and turning criticism away from themselves. The tactic was quite successful, and the sentiment endures today, however unfairly.

  Having acknowledged his deep involvement with pro-Soviet work during his interviews, Orville admitted he was “scared stiff” at the thought of being called to testify before the House Committee. Nevertheless, he was proud of his friends who not only invoked the Fifth Amendment, but also refrained from implicating others on the witness stand. It is an interesting aside that Orville mentioned in his interviews that he kept records, but that some of them had been burned. As Orville never experienced any of his homes being burned down, I assume he destroyed any incriminating evidence he had (reports, notes, letters, accounts of meetings, etc.) that might implicate him or others in Communist Party or other subversive activities.

  To understand what forces lay behind the activities of the American Communist Party and allied groups at this time, and why the government felt the pressing need to engage in these hearings, it is useful to see what the official communist documents guiding these activities contained; the “instruction manual,” so to speak.

  In 1935, J. Peters, head of communist underground activities in the US, authored the Communist Party’s Manual of Organisation, which included certain obligations to the party that members were required to fullfill. Section 1. Fundamentals of the Party Program, used words from a Lenin pamphlet that stated, “for revolution it is essential, first, that a majority of the workers … should fully understand the neccessity for revolution and be ready to sacrifice their lives for it [emphasis added].”

  The document also states in the same section, “socialism can be won only through revolution.” Another quote in Section 1 states, “The Communist Party is armed with the teachings of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin. These teachings are a powerful weapon in the hands of the communist Party.”

  The section entitled The Role and Aim of the Communist Party, also in Section I, states,

  The Communist Party of the U.S.A. leads the working class in the fight for the revolutionary overthrow of capitalism, for the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat, for the establishment of a Socialist Soviet Republic in the United States, for the complete abolition of classes, for the establishment of socialism, the first stage of the classless communist society [emphasis added].

  Section 4. Party Membership and Cadres – What Are The Conditions For Membership In The Communist Party? The oath states,

  I now take my place in the ranks of the Communist Party, the Party of the working class … I pledge myself to rally the masses to defend the Soviet Union, the land of victorious socialism … I pledge myself to remain at all times a vigilant and firm defender of the Leninist line of the Party, the only line that insures the triumph of Soviet Power in the United States [emphasis added].

  In a section entitled Who are the Professional Revolutionists, the document states, “A professional revolutionist is a highly developed comrade … who gives his whole life to the fight for the interests of his own class … From these comrades, the Party demands everything. They accept Party assignments - the matter of family associations and other personal problems are considered, but are not decisive. If the class struggle demands it, he will leave his family for months, even years. Nothing can shake him.”

  Clearly, the methodolgy and focus of Soviet communism, as enacted by the policies of the Comintern in Soviet Russia, was the exportation of communism, with Moscow at the center, leading to political domination of the world. The United States of America was the primary target, being the embodiment of western, capitalist culture.

  Earl Browder, head of the Communist Party of the US between 1932 to 1945, stated in 1934, “We arm ourselves with the political weapons forged by the victorious Communist Party of the Soviet Union, with the mighty sword of Marxism-Leninism, and are strengthened and inspired by the victories of socialist construction won under its Bolshevik leadership headed by Stalin.” He also stated, “Our World Communist Party, the Communist International, provides us the guarantee not only of our victory in America, but of the victory of the proletariat throughout the world.”

  William Z. Foster, longtime head of CPUSA, spoke openly of CPUSA’s goal of creating a “Soviet America,” the topic of his 1932 book of the same name. Sen. Hamilton Fish, questioning Foster in 1930, asked, “If they [Communist Party members] had to choose between the red flag and the American flag, I take it from you that you would choose the red flag, is that correct?” Foster’s answer was succinct. “The workers of this country and the workers of every country have only one flag and that is the red flag … the red flag is the flag of the revolutionary class, and we are part of the revolutionary class.”

  Beginning in 1940, the legislature passed various laws aimed at countering the Communist Party’s subversive activities in the US which were becoming difficult to ignore. The Voorhi
s Act of 1940 was passed (18 USC. § 2386), which required “registration with the Attorney General of any organization or political subdivision thereof,” whose purpose was the overthrow of the government by the use of force and violence. Another 1940 law passed was The Alien Registration Act (known as the Smith Act) which was designed primarily as a safeguard against sabotage or espionage by aliens, and also prescribed penalties for advocating or promoting overthrow of the government by force. The Internal Security Act (McCarran Act of 1950) was another law passed by the legislature that required all “communist-action” and “communist-front” organizations and their members to register with the Justice Department and give full information of their activities, meetings, sponsored broadcasts and sources of financial support. Communist-action organizations were described as those which were “substantially directed, dominated, or controlled by the foreign government or foreign organization controlling the world communist movement.” These acts were declared constitutional by the US Supreme Court in 1951 and, along with later similar legislation, became the basis of the prosecution of members and former members of the American communist movement that threatened the nation.

  The revelations of the HCUAA hearings, the fiery trials of the leading members of the Communist Party, the espionage cases of Alger Hiss, the Hollywood Ten, and the Rosenbergs, all contributed to even greater concern from the general public. The result was the enactment of the Internal Security Act of 1950 which stated “the Communist Party should be outlawed.” Another provision stated that anyone who “knowingly and willfully becomes or remains a member of the Communist Party shall be subject to the provisional penalties of the law.” In addition there were the Immunity Laws which provided a method of compelling reluctant witnesses to testify before committees and grand juries, and would limit witnesses’ rights to sanctuary under the Fifth Amemndment; this was a powerful tool at the time. Another law enacted was the Communist Control Act of 1954 which was signed into law by President Dwight Eisenhower on August 24, 1954, which finally outlawed the Communist Party of the United States and criminalized membership. It was also aimed at reducing the danger of sabotage of vital industries as well as facilitating prosecution of subversive individuals. Much of this law was directed at Labor Unions that had come under communist domination.

  During early trials, particularly involving eleven leading communists in 1947, the first Amendment (free speech) was employed for defense, but was unsuccessful. By the 50s, accused communists began to cloak themselves with the Fifth Amendment (protection against self-incrimination originally designed to counteract torture in English common law). The main obstacle in the use of the Fifth for the communists was the so-called waiver rule. For those who waived their Fifth Amendment rights in deciding to cooperate with authorities, the Supreme Court did not allow its use in order to avoid testifying against others. This could result in a contempt of Congress charge, and a jail term. During this era, a presumption of guilt by those invoking the Fifth Amendment was difficult to avoid, which had far-reaching impact on the careers of reluctant witnesses and their associates; an unfortunate but understandable consequence.

  Another important issue with the American public in the 40s and 50s was whether American communists would side with the US or maintain their allegiance to the Soviet Union in case of conflict. Paul Kengor, in a paper entitled “Who’s Un-American? Citizenship and the HUAC, Battle of the 1940s and 1950s,” reports that Earl Browder, during his testimony in 1944 before the House Committee, declared that he would attempt to plunge this country into a civil war in the event of an armed conflict with the Soviet Union. Records of those hearings indicate that Browder’s comments were echoed by hundreds who could be cited from official Communist Party sources.

  When the communists invited Paul Robeson, by then a luminary in the leftist world, to the communist-organized Paris Peace Conference in April, 1949, he sang and then gave a speech which dealt, in part, with this same issue. The French press quoted Robeson saying, “We don’t want any hysterical stupidity about our participating in a war against anybody no matter whom. We are determined to fight for peace. We do not wish to fight the Soviet Union.” The Associated Press included this quote: “It is unthinkable that American Negroes would go to war on behalf of those who have oppressed us for generations against the Soviet Union which in one generation has lifted our people to full human dignity.” In 1956, testifying before the HCUAA, Robeson claimed a lapse in memory as to whether his Peace Conference oratory even happened. “I don’t remember,” he answered multiple times. He did, however, make clear statements as to where his loyalties lay. “I am truly happy that I am able to travel from time to time to the USSR – the country I love above all. I always have been, I am now and will always be a loyal friend of the Soviet Union.”

  Kengor reminds us that while the issue of whether the communist ranks would refuse to fight continued to be of concern, the Cold War intensified; the USSR took over Eastern Europe, further expanding their “sphere of influence.” The regime murdered and jailed untold numbers of their citizens, exploded their first atom bomb, blockaded Berlin, and converted the Buchenwald death camp into a Soviet concentration camp. The loyalty of Americans to their country was a serious concern.

  After the war, former communists, some deeply involved in subversive cells and espionage groups, were exposed in a dizzying array, while still others voluntarily came forward. Two of the most important people in the latter group, were former communists Whittaker Chambers and Elizabeth Bentley both of whom had been intimitely involved in the underground apparatus of Soviet espionage. Chambers presented conclusive evidence of the traitorous acts of the leftist icon, Alger Hiss, a high-ranking government official in Roosevelt’s administration, and a secret communist. Hiss was convicted of perjury. (More on Whittaker Chambers later).

  Not surprisingly, the left mounted a well-orchestrated effort to denounce not only Chambers and Bentley, but also Joseph McCarthy, pro-American Hollywood personalities, government workers, and others who pointed fingers at the communists. The play, The Crucible, written in 1952 by Arthur Miller (who later married Marilyn Monroe), was wildly popular with the left, as it not-sosubtly linked the events of Salem, Massachusetts in the 1600s with the House and Senate hearings, further adding to their fictitious narrative.

  A later defense used by witnesses called before the HCUAA was that the Communist Party no longer was pursuing the violent overthrow of capitalism and the US government, but simply promoting a new peaceful transformation to their idealistic socialist society. In the beginning, this was an incredible argument to pursue … particularly after the decades of militaristic propaganda and expansionist actions of the Soviets in their world-wide quest for communist domination. Nevertheless, this was the new gospel being preached from on high. In 1957, the day Khrushchev gave his famous “Peaceful Co-existence” speech (shortly after the Soviets brutally extinguished the Hungarian revolution in 1956), Earl Browder, twelve years after his removal as head of CPUSA, gave an interview to Mike Wallace in which he outlined his new vision for America. His solution was a unique American form of communism, as opposed to the Russian variety which was developed to convert a backward country, but was not necessary in the US. The new system would be called “Democratic Socialism,” a la 2016 presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders. Nevertheless, this new approach was similarly a product of Marxist dialectical methodology; thesis, antithesis and synthesis, American style. This line of thinking is closely aligned with the Cultural Marxist movement that was rooted in the Frankfort School in Germany and flowered in the US in the 60s, under Herbert Marcuse and other radical philosophers in the universities of America.

  The Hollywood Ten, a group of prominent Hollywood screen writers and directors, was one of the high-priority targets of the House investigations, and deserves to be discussed in further detail. They refused to answer whether they had ever been members of the Communist Party and were therefore all found guilty of contempt, serving one-year prison
sentences. Orville’s interviews contain mention of meeting three members of this group, John Howard Lawson, Dalton Trumbo and Lester Cole, during fund raising events for leftist causes.

  Later, during their hearings, both my mother and Orville attended rallies and fund raising events for their defense costs. They and other blacklisted writers were influential in subtle ways in the ongoing quest to promote communist ideals in film, while also working to squelch scripts that portrayed religion, capitalism, or America in a favorable light. During the HCUAA hearings in 1951, John Charles Moffitt, a former member of the Anti-Nazi League, a communist front organization, quoted conversations with Lawson, who was the Hollywood Division head of the Communist Party USA, and also the first president of the Writer’s Guild of America. He described a statement Lawson made:

  As writers do not try to write an entire communist picture … as the producers will quickly identify it and it will be killed at the front office … as a writer try to get 5 minutes of the Communist doctrine, 5 minutes of the party line in every script that you write [emphasis added].

  All of this was in line with Lenin’s statement, “of all the arts, for us the most important is cinema.” Grigory Zinoviev, head of the Soviet Comintern, ordered that motion pictures “must become a mighty weapon of communist propaganda.”