Leon Josephson: Difference between revisions

| codename2 birth_date = {{Birth date |1898|6|17}}

| codename4 death_date = February 1966 (aged 68)

| religionspouse = Lucy Ellen (Wishart)

'''Leon Josephson''' (1898–1966June 17, 1898 – February 1966) was a 20th-centuryan American, [[Communist Party USA|Communist]] labor lawyer for [[International Labor Defense]] and a Soviet spy,. bestHe known forreceived a 1947 [[Contempt of Congress]] citation from [[House Un-American Activities Committee]].<ref name=WrongRight>{{cite book| first1 = Barney| last1 = Josephson| authorlink1 = Barney Josephson| first2 = Terry| last2 = Trilling-Josephson| title = Cafe Society: The Wrong Place for the Right People| publisher = University of Illinois Press

Leon Josephson was born oninto Junea 17,Jewish family in 1898, onein ofeither six[[Kuldīga|Goldingen]]<ref childrenname="passport"/> or [[Liepāja|Libau]]<ref name="nat"/> in [[Latvia]], [[Russian Empire]]. He had four elder siblings: Ethel, David, Louis, and Lillie,. Leon,His andfamily [[Barneyemigrated Josephson|Barney]].from HisLibau Jewishin parents1900 hadand immigratedsettled fromin [[Liepāja|LibauTrenton, New Jersey]], where another brother, [[LatviaBarney Josephson|Barney]], was born in 19001902. His father, Joseph, a cobbler, died shortly after the birth of Barney,'s the only child born in the Statesbirth. His mother, Bertha Hirschfield, was a seamstress. Leon attended Trenton High School and graduated from [[New York University Law School]] in 1919.<ref name=WrongRight /><ref name=NYTobit /><ref name=LAobit /><ref name=HUAC1947 />

Josephson and his brother Louis became lawyers. In 1921, Josephson was admitted to the New Jersey state bar. In 1923, he traveled to the Soviet Union. In 1927, he went tovisited Berlin. He practiced law in Trenton from 1926 to 1934.<ref name=NYTobit /><ref name=LAobit /><ref name=HUAC1947 />

| accessdate = 8 January 2018| isbn = 0300084625
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In 1929, Josephson was a lawyer for [[International Labor Defense]] (ILD). In 1929, he served on the defense team (along with [[Arthur Garfield Hays]] of the [[Sacco and Vanzetti]] case and Dr. [[John Randolph Neal]] of the [[Scopes Trial]]) for strikersunion organizers in [[Loray Mill strike]] in [[Gastonia, North Carolina]] charged with conspiracy in the strike-related killing of a police chief. Co-defendant He[[Fred traveledBeal]] was later to Europecharge forthat ILDJosephson's defense strategy of sticking to the facts (a sequence of events in 1929,which 1930,strikers were attacked and 1931.a Inlabor 1932,protester hewas traveledshot and killed) and of not playing into the prosecution's attempt to place the Sovietdefendants' communist beliefs on trial was deliberately sabotaged by the party intent on creating further Unionmartyrs.<ref>{{Cite namejournal|last=WrongRightHOWIE|first=SAM|date=1996|title=Review /><refof name=HUAC1947Gastonia 1929: The Story of the Loray Mill Strike|url=https:/><ref/www.jstor.org/stable/40933777|journal=Appalachian nameJournal|volume=HaynesKlehr23|issue=3|pages=(326–331) />329|issn=0090-3779|jstor=40933777}}</ref>

| pages = [https://archive.org/details/gastonia1929stor0000salm/page/200 200] (fn 16)

| accessdate = 8 January 2018| isbn = 0300001827
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| accessdate = 8 January 2018}}</ref>| isbn = 9781608460632

At some point, Josephson joinedhad begun working for the Soviet undergroundsecret services. One of his codenames or covers was "Bernard A. Hirschfield."<ref name=UKarchives>

On August 31, 1934 (according to athe 1947 HUAC report–seereport – see below), Josephson signed his name "Bernard A. Hirschfield," witnessed by [[Harry Kwiet]] (with whom he had associated in 1929 during the Gastonia trial), on a passport application for one "Samuel Liptzen" with a photo of [[Gerhart Eisler]] (identified in 1946 by former Communist and ''[[Daily Worker]]'' editor [[Louis F. Budenz]] as a "mastermind" Soviet spy).<ref name="HUAC1947" />

By 1935, Josephson was reporting to [[Alexander Ulanovsky]], recently ''[[Resident spy|rezident]]'' or Soviet station chief in New York and whose network members included [[Whittaker Chambers]]). Ulanovsky had resurfaced in [[Copenhagen]] to head Soviet espionage ring that collected military information on [[Nazi Germany]]. The Danish police arrested Ulanovsky and two Americans, Leon Josephson and [[George Mink]], following a search of their hotel room which turned up codes, money, and multiple passports.<ref name=HUAC1947 /><ref name=Romerstein>

| url = https://booksarchive.google.comorg/details/books?id=WIkNAAAAIAAJwitnesscham00cham

| pagesurl-access = 50–51registration

| accessdate = 8 January 2018| isbn = 9780895269157
}}</ref>).<ref name=HaynesKlehr /><ref name=Volodarsky>

| accessdate = 10 January 2018| isbn = 9780199656585
}}</ref><ref name=Haynes>

| title = American Communism and Anticommunism: A Historian's Bibliography and Guide to the Literature

| publisher = John Earl Haynes: Historical Writings

[[File:Billie Holiday 0001 original.jpg|thumb|right|[[Billie Holiday]] (circa 1947) at the [[List of jazz venues in the United States#New York|Downbeat]] club, New York (February 1947). Holiday debuted "[[Strange Fruit]]" at [[Café Society]] in 1939]]

In December 1938, Leon borrowed $6,000 so his brother Barney could open [[Café Society]] in a basement room on Sheridan Square, [[West Village]], [[New York City]].<ref name=WrongRight /><ref name=NYTobit /> [[Billie Holiday]] sang in Café Society's opening show in 1938 and performed there for the next nine months. Josephson set down certain rules around the performance of "[[Strange Fruit]]" at the club: it would close Holiday's set; the waiters would stop serving just before it; the room would be in darkness except for a spotlight on Holiday's face; and there would be no encore.<ref name=NYTobit /><ref name=LAobit />

Few nightclubs permitted blacks and whites to mix in the audience. Even the famousThe [[Cotton Club]] in Harlem was segregated, admitting only occasional black celebrities to sit at obscure tables and limiting black customers to the back of the room behind the pillars and partitions. Clubs south of Harlem, like the Kit Kat Club, did not let African- Americans in at all. Segregation in the States was relentless: as Josephson told [[Reuters]] in 1984, "The only way they'd let [[Duke Ellington]]'s mother in was if she was playing in the band."<ref name=NYTobit /><ref name=LAobit />

On February 2, 1947, Josephson failed to appear under subpoena. He would have appeared with [[Gerhart Eisler]], [[Ruth Fischer]] (Eisler's sister), Wiliam Nowell, [[Louis F. Budenz]], and others. On that date, the [[House Un-American Activities Committee]] (HUAC) produced evidence that Josephson had forged his name as "Bernard A. Hirshfield" for a "Samuel Liptzen" on a passport application dated August 31, 1934, which bore a photo of Gerhart Eisler. On February 5, Josephson sent a telegram to HUAC chairman U.S. Rep. [[J. Parnell Thomas]] that advised, "Unable appear before your committee February 6th, due inadequate notice of less than 48 hours. Counsel advises me such short notice unreasonable and that

On March 5, 1947, several witnesses appeared before HUAC. First came the real '''Samuel Liptzen''', accompanied by labor lawyer Edward Kuntz as counsel: both were sworn in. Liptzen was born on March 13, 1893, in [[Lipsk]], Russia (now Liepinė, Lithuania). In April 1909. he emigrated to the United States. On March 13, 1917, he became an American citizen. In 1920 or 1921, Liptzen joinedbecame thea Party member. He had been a tailor and a member of the [[Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America]]. Then he worked in the fur industry until he became sick from dye. Between 1926 and 1928, he traveled twice to Canada (and again in the summer of 1945). In 1928 or 1929, he ran for the New York City Assembly. In 1935, he lived in Los Angeles (while ill). For two or three years, he had worked in the offices of the ''Morning Freiheit'' (''[[Morgen Freiheit]]'', a [[Yiddish language]] newspaper affiliated with the [[Communist Party USA]] and with offices in the same building as the ''[[Daily Worker]]'', founded by [[Moissaye Olgin]] in 1922). (Liptzen called it a "left-wing" and "progressive" newspaper.) He claimed he had been unable to appear on February 6, 1947, as required by subpoena because of the illness of "the missus with whom I have the rooms," named Mrs. Annie Halland (Holland). He also stated that he had never applied for a passport – despite a passport application in his name dated August 31, 1934. Liptzen swore on the spot,: "It isn't my signature ... absolutely not," nor his photo, nor a photo of anyone he knew. Liptzen could not produce his naturalization papers, nor when he lost them due to robbery, nor exactly where he lived when his home was robbed. Liptzen also denied ever "loaning" anyone his naturalization papers or knowing Josephson or Eisler (including any of his aliases or codenames).<ref name=HUAC1947 />

Attorney '''Edward Kuntz''' was representing both Liptzen and the ''Morning Freiheit''; until a few years before, he had already represented the ''Daily Worker''. Kuntz described building occupants at 35 [[List of numbered streets in Manhattan|East 12th Street]] in New York City: CPUSA national committee on top ninth floor, ''Daily Worker'' editorial offices on eighth, F. & D. Printing Co. on seventh, ''Morning Freiheit'' sixth, CPUSA state on fifth, ''Daily Worker'' business offices on second, and F. & D. Printing Co. presses in the basement. Kuntz explained that he had changed the legal status of the ''Freiheit'' from business to membership corporation and that there were some communists who were corporate members and contributing journalists.

Nixon resumed questioning of Liptzen thereafter, asking him how he had managed not to see Eisler in that building; Liptzen simply denied knowing him or having seen him. HUAC member U.S. Rep. [[Herbert Covington Bonner|Bonner]] resumed questioning of Kuntz to ask him more about the ''Freiheit'' and the owners of the building and corporation therein. Kuntz could tell him little other than the current head of the ''Freiheit'': "Lechovitzky." HUAC member U.S. Rep. [[Richard B. Vail|Vail]] resume questioning of Liptzen regarding his alleged telegram to decline appearance. Liptzen confirmed that he wrote humorous pieces for the ''Freiheit'' and had written the book ''In Spite of Tears''. (Vail exclaimed, "You arrived at the age of 17 and you still write in Jewish (Yiddish)?" Vail and Stripling resumed questioning of Kuntz, who admitted that for some years up to the early 1940s he had headed the staff of [[International Labor Defense]] (which had a peak of 250–300 volunteer labor lawyers) and was chairman of the legal committee when ILD dissolved but denied knowing Josephson there. (In 1946 the ILD merged with the [[National Federation for Constitutional Liberties]] or NFCL and [[National Negro Congress]] or NNC to form the [[Civil Rights Congress]] or CRC).) When asked by Stripling whether he was sympathetic to communism, Kuntz answered, "Most of it" but denied being a communist. Kuntz, who denied knowing Eisler but admitted he knew Josephson because "I used to be a habitue of Cafe Society." Their joint testimony ended with HUAC's informing Liptzen that he remained under subpoena and was "not excused" but rather subject to recall. (Stripling managed to work in mention that U.S. Rep. [[Vito Marcantonio]] was ILD president.)<ref name=HUAC1947 /><ref>

| urllccn = https://lccn.loc.gov/46023086

| accessdate = 13 January 2018}}</ref><ref>There are 18 entries for "Sem Liptzin" in the Library of Congress as of January 13, 2018.</ref>

That day, '''Josephson''' also appeared under subpoena before the [[House Committee on Un-American Activities]]HUAC. He refused to be sworn in due to the "unconstitutionality of this committee" and refused to answer questions. [[Samuel A. Newburger]] of New York City served as his legal counsel.<ref name=HUAC1947 /><ref name=Justia>

HUAC investigator (and former FBI agent) [[Louis J. Russell]] provided an overview of his life, from birth in Latvia, espionage in the States and Denmark with [[George Mink]] during the 1930s, and efforts to make the false application for Gerhart Eisler's passport in 1934. Russell noted that penniless brother [[Barney Josephson]] had made trips to Europe in the mid-1930s before opening [[Café Society]] in 1938. He also notedobserved that in 1946 Barney was a sponsor of "Spanish Refugee Appeal," a branch of the [[Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee]] (which had paid Eisler funds in 1941 under another false name). Russell then presented 1938 [[Dies Committee]] testimony from [[John P. Frey]], former president of the metal trades department of the [[American Federal of Labor|AFL]] that claimed that Mink had been involved in the Soviet assassination of [[Leon Trotsky]] and proceeded to insert four pages of transcripts into the record that included 1938 testimony by [[Earl Browder]], [[Benjamin Gitlow]], and [[Jay Lovestone]] among others, all about Mink. Russell documented Josephson's Party membership and loyalty to the Soviet Union with quotes from his own writings, e.g., "The new Soviet constitution and electoral law are the most democratic in the world" and his dream of a "Soviet America." HUAC chief investigator [[Robert E. Stripling]] concluded "Mr. Eisler and Mr. Josephson ... are in the higher echelons of the [[Communist International]]." Russell then showed Josephson's connection to two current Federal employees, [[Sol Rabkin]] and [[Milton Fischer]], both of whom had affiliations with known "communist fronts" including the [[National Lawyers Guild]] (Rabkin). Stripling complained that [[Martin Popper]] had called as Josephson's lawyer to ask for extension on appearance in the subpoena, only to later deny he was representing Josephson. (Stripling notedobserved that Popper was long-time executive secretary of the National Lawyers Guild.) Russell then proceeded to provide his report on the real Samual Liptzen. Liptzen had failed to report trips to Mexico and Canada to the FBI. He had failed to report the robbery of his naturalization papers for two years. Finally, Russell found an article in the ''[[The Forward|Jewish Daily Forward]]'' (Yiddish ''Forverts'') dated March 8, 1947, that stated that Liptzen and Josephson are friends and that Liptzen had a long history in the Soviet underground, for which he was expelled from unions and wound up at the ''Freiheit''.<ref name=HUAC1947 /><ref name=NewElectoral>

Alwyn Cole, Treasury examiner, reported that his examination of handwriting on the 1934 passport application revealed that the handwriting of the signature "Bernard A. Hirschfield" belonged to Leon Josephson. Cole did not find the signature "Samuel Liptzen" as confidently belonging to Gerhart Eisler, though he was confident that the real Samuel Liptzen had not signed.<ref name=HUAC1947 />

[[Fred Beal|Fred Erwin Beal]], indicted during the [[Loray Mill strike]] of 1929, testified next. Josephson (with Clarence Miller of the [[National Textile Workers Union]] and [[Juliet Stuart Poyntz]] of the [[International Labor Defense]]) had helped arrange false passports for many of those indicted, including himself, and helped them flee to the Soviet Union. Beal saw Josephson in Moscow several times and knew him to be a [[GPU]] agent. After some years, Beal returned to the States, although he faced possible re-arrest and imprisonment, rather than stay in the USSR. Josephson, [[William Z. Foster]], and other high-level communists persuaded Beal to return to Moscow. He saw [[George Mink]] there several times. Again he left: in 1940, he was serving four years in the [[Raleigh Penitentiary]], where the FBI visited him several times.<ref name=HUAC1947 />

===Espionage=HUAC 4: Rosenberg Caseevidence====

| url = https://booksarchive.google.comorg/details/books?id=qCAVQ_cdomcCspiesrisefallofk00john

| accessdate = 19 March 2017| isbn = 9780300155723
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Josephson married Lucy Wishart in 1945; they had two children.<ref name=WrongRight /><ref name=HUAC1947 /> Josephson died in February 1966 of a "massive heart attack."<ref name=WrongRight />

* [http://credo.library.umass.edu/view/full/mums312-b113-i211 University of Massachusetts Library (Credo)]: [[Civil Rights Congress]] (U.S.) – United States of America v. Leon Josephson dissenting opinion press release (December 12, 1947)

[[Category:American labortrade union leaders]]