Samuel Dickstein (congressman)
Samuel Dickstein ( born February 5, 1885 in Vilnius, † April 22, 1954 in New York City ) was Democratic Congressman of New York State and then judge at the local Supreme Court. He played a key role in the precursor of the Committee on Un-American Activities, with whose help he just turned fascists and supporters of the Nazis. For reports on the activities of the Congress he was paid by the Soviet NKVD.
Life
Dickstein was born in Lithuania, the eldest child of Rabbi Israel. The family moved in 1887 to New York City. After completing the New York City Law School in 1906, he worked for the law firm Hyman & Gross. In 1911 he was appointed Deputy Attorney General of the State of New York and remained there until 1914. Afterwards, he was a member of the City Council in 1917 and was from 1919 to 1922 member of the New York State Assembly. He suggested the kosherfood law to which also took over other states, as did the New York Sabbath law, which allowed Jews to trade on Sunday, as well as ownership and Mietregulatorien for the East Side of Manhattan. In 1923 he moved as a Democrat to the 68th Congress and was, until his retirement at the end re-elected in 1945 eleven times.
Committee on Un-American machinations
From the 72nd to the 79th Congress ( 1931-1945 ), he was Chairman of the Immigration and Naturalization Committee. In this capacity, he directed his attention to anti-Semitism and the corresponding U.S. literature. He launched a separate investigation into actions of the Nazis and fascist groups in the United States, the results of which he presented in the second session of the 73rd Congress on January 3, 1934. With the so-called " Dickstein Resolution " ( CR # 198) in March 1934, a " Committee for Un-American activities" under John W. McCormack was then established. He moved because of his Jewish roots from the Deputy Chairman.
The rest of 1934 spent the Commission with the hearing of the main sources of the Fascist movement U.S.. Dickstein advocated the extermination of all traces of Nazism in the U.S. and interviewed each person. His penchant for drama and sensation connected with occasionally exaggerated accusations, secured him headlines. He devoted special attention to the German - American Bund.
The second " Committee for Un-American activities" from 1938 appeared his call, under Martin Dies Jr. as a " This Committee " in function. It was later renamed the Committee on Un-American Activities, now focused on communist organizations and was from 1945 a permanent institution.
After 23 years in Congress to Dickstein adopted in 1945 and was until his death a judge at the New York State Supreme Court.
Espionage
After 1990, the KGB archive documents in Moscow showed that Dickstein 1937 to January 1940, received a monthly salary of U.S. $ 1250 there. He himself had demanded a monthly $ 2,500 for information; the NKVD offered $ 500, after which he cut his deal. In the records he was led under the code name " Crook " ( crooks ). When he left the Committee for Un-American machinations, presented the Soviets after money disputes with him the payments and broke off contact. Dickstein had today's equivalent of U.S. $ 133,000 received ( value 1997), reportedly supplied over the years but nothing.