Posted on 04/23/2005 6:10:16 PM PDT by Borges
Even after the Soviet archives have been opened and communications to the Rosenbergs discovered, it is still a matter of faith among the left that the Rosenbergs were innocent.
I don't know if you're joking or not but there were figures in the film making community who belonged to various American Front groups that were taking their orders from the Soviet Union.
"But what did Hollywood have to do with communism?"
Read up on Ronald Reagan's fight with the Communist-controlled labor unions:
http://www.ronaldreagan.com/hollywood.html
"There were then forty-three labor unions in the picture business. A few were independents but most were affiliated with the American Federation of Labor. The Screen Actors Guild was one of the latter, as was the International Association of Theatrical and Stage Employees - better known as the stagehands' union or by its initials, IATSE. During the absence of so many of us during the war something new had come into being. Some of the unions had gotten together to organize what they called the "Conference of Studio Unions," also known as CSU. The rump CSU group was run by a man named Herb Sorrell, head of the studio painters' union, who set out with a plan to gain jurisdictional control over a group of workers within an IATSE branch called the Set Erectors. There were only about 350 set erectors in the whole industry but the CSU called a strike demanding that the studios recognize it as their exclusive bargaining agent. The IATSE told its members to cross the CSU picket lines and war broke out. Naturally, actors and actresses came to the officers of the Guild, asking us what they should do. When we held the meeting, it was obvious that the CSU strike was a phony. It wasn't meant to improve the wages and working conditions of its members, but to grab something from another union that was rightfully theirs."
"The gates of the studios soon became a bloody battleground of daily clashes between the people who wanted to work and the strikers and outside agitators brought in to help them. A union of waterfront workers headquartered in San Francisco suspected of having Communist affiliations sent mass pickets to aid the CSU strikers. Homes and cars were bombed and many people were seriously injured on the picket lines; workers trying to drive into a studio would be surrounded by pickets who'd pull open their car door or roll down a window and yank the worker's arm until they broke it, then say, "Go on, go to work, see how much you get done today." In the end, we beat 'em. The strike collapsed in February 1947. The decision by the Guild and several other unions to ignore the picket lines ultimately destroyed not only the strike but the Conference of Studio Unions."
"Later, several members of the Communist Party in Hollywood who had been involved in the attempted takeover went public and described in intimate detail how Moscow was trying to take over the picture business. The California Senate Fact-Finding Committee on Un-American Activities, after a lengthy inquiry, confirmed that the strike was part of a Soviet effort to gain control over Hollywood and the content of its films. Although the principal leader of the strike told Congress that he had never been a Communist, investigators produced evidence that they said proved he was a secret member of the party, and a year later, national leaders of his union concluded he had "willfully and knowingly associated with groups subservient to the Communist Party."
I'm not joking. My History prof (he's a commi) is teaching about this right now. I have to read up on it so I can interject in class. I like the guy- he let's me speak up and I do throw a liberal liner here and there. I think he likes that I actually know what I'm talking about.
Alright but- was it a crime to be a communist in the US? And we're people really black listed for being communists?
Russia was trying to take over the film industry? It sounds a bit far fetche that's all.
By the way- I think it ought to be a crime to be a communist in the US. That's not was we were founded on.
Don't believe the cr*p you hear about the heroism of the Hollywood Ten. The truly brave guys, like Elia Kazan, continue to be reviled. Kazan was roundly booed by Oscar attendees a few years ago. Ever see "On the Waterfront"? That's really about him standing up to the Communists.
Was there really a blacklist? It sounds like the people who spoke out against communism were blacklisted.
Bill
"Russia was trying to take over the film industry? It sounds a bit far fetche that's all."
Not far fetched at all. Control all forms of media. Control education. Reap the benefits years later with a weakened opponent. That was the plan. Post #6 gives a brief synopsis.
It wasn't a crime to be a communist per se. Some of the communist activities (i.e., espionage) were clearly illegal and some were benign (but were sometimes used to fund the illegal activities).
There are a few books out there about the Venona Transcripts that go into great detail. You could also google Venona and get the NSA's website that has some of them online.
Oops. Make that post #5.
And Hiss. Why? Call the shrinks.
A few years ago, PBS (!!!) had an excellent 4-parter, "The Red Files", that included info on the atomic spies, especially Ted Hall and the Cohens.
Transcripts are available here:
http://www.pbs.org/redfiles/
Look at Hollywood now. People get blacklisted for being Republicans.
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