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==Anticommunist and isolationist activities==
==Anticommunist and isolationist activities==
When Dilling returned home to [[Illinois]], she went on tour showing her movies and describing the "workers' paradise" as anything but. From 1932 to 1934 she was associated with [[Edwin Marshall Hadley]] of Chicago, serving as secretary of his anti-Communist organization the Paul Reveres. She broke with him in 1934 over Hadleys anti-Jewish stance, and the organization expired later that year (Ironicaly, Dilling's own views on the Jews were soon to become much more exterme than Hadley's).<ref>Women of the far right: the mothers' movement and World War II By Glen Jeansonne</ref>
When Dilling returned home to [[Illinois]], she went on tour showing her movies and describing the "workers' paradise" as anything but. From 1932 to 1934 she was associated with [[Edwin Marshall Hadley]] of Chicago, serving as secretary of his anti-Communist organization the Paul Reveres. She broke with him in 1934 over Hadleys anti-Jewish stance, and the organization expired later that year (Ironicaly, Dilling's own views on the Jews were soon to become much more exterme than Hadley's).<ref>'Women of the far right: the mothers' movement and World War II- by Glen Jeansonne</ref>


Afer she left Hadley, Dilling threw herself into collecting facts on Communism full time. The result was published as ''The Red Network—A Who's Who of Radicalism for Patriots'' (1934), a self-declared exposé of communist front activity in the U.S., which was widely circulated (100,000 copies are claimed). As an example of her technique, in the entry for [[Albert Einstein]], which links him to various communist organizations, Dilling notes: "married to Russian; his much press-agented [[Theory of relativity|relativity theory]] is supposedly beyond the intelligence of almost everyone except himself." She offers an apologia for the [[Nazi]] confiscation of Einstein's property in [[Germany]], saying it was because he was a Communist. The entry for [[Eleanor Roosevelt]] reads "Socialist sympathizer and associate, [[pacificism|pacifist]]". A [[Protestant]] minister, [[Harry Emerson Fosdick]], was listed because his books were "highly recommended by [[socialism|socialists]] and other [[Political radicalism|radical]]s" <ref>''Preacher at the Riverside'', ''[[The Washington Post]]'', April 14, 1985</ref>
Afer she left Hadley, Dilling threw herself into collecting facts on Communism full time. The result was published as ''The Red Network—A Who's Who of Radicalism for Patriots'' (1934), a self-declared exposé of communist front activity in the U.S., which was widely circulated (100,000 copies are claimed). As an example of her technique, in the entry for [[Albert Einstein]], which links him to various communist organizations, Dilling notes: "married to Russian; his much press-agented [[Theory of relativity|relativity theory]] is supposedly beyond the intelligence of almost everyone except himself." She offers an apologia for the [[Nazi]] confiscation of Einstein's property in [[Germany]], saying it was because he was a Communist. The entry for [[Eleanor Roosevelt]] reads "Socialist sympathizer and associate, [[pacificism|pacifist]]". A [[Protestant]] minister, [[Harry Emerson Fosdick]], was listed because his books were "highly recommended by [[socialism|socialists]] and other [[Political radicalism|radical]]s" <ref>''Preacher at the Riverside'', ''[[The Washington Post]]'', April 14, 1985</ref>

Revision as of 21:16, 16 June 2010

Elizabeth Dilling

Elizabeth Dilling Stokes (April 19, 1894 – May 26, 1966) was an American anti-communist, antisemitic, Nazi-sympathizer, as well as an anti-war activist and writer in the 1930s and 1940s, who stood trial for Sedition in what is now called the Great Sedition Trial of 1944.[1][2][3]

The author of four political books, Dilling claimed that Marxism and "Jewry" were synonymous.[4] She believed that Francisco Franco was a brave Christian.[5] She claimed many prominent figures were Communist sympathizers, including Eleanor Roosevelt, Mahatma Gandhi, Franz Boas and Sigmund Freud.[6]

Early life and family

Dilling was born as Elizabeth Kirkpatrick in Chicago, Illinois. Her father was Dr. L. Kirkpatrick, a physician and surgeon of Virginian, Scots-Irish, Presbyterian ancestry; her mother, Elizabeth Harding, descended from a long line of Anglican bishops. While she was raised Episcopalian, she attended a Catholic girls' school.[7] She then attended the University of Chicago, where she studied music and languages, but did not graduate.

She was a concert harpist after having been a pupil of renowned harp virtuoso, Alberto Salvi. In 1918, she married Albert Dilling, an engineer and lawyer of Norwegian ancestry. In her early life, money was not a problem because of the wealth she inherited from her mother and aunts. Albert also had a good job as the chief engineer of the Chicago Sewarage District. The marriage to Albert produced a son, Kirkpatrick (1920–2003), a lawyer, and a daughter, Elizabeth Jane.[8]

Anticommunist and isolationist activities

When Dilling returned home to Illinois, she went on tour showing her movies and describing the "workers' paradise" as anything but. From 1932 to 1934 she was associated with Edwin Marshall Hadley of Chicago, serving as secretary of his anti-Communist organization the Paul Reveres. She broke with him in 1934 over Hadleys anti-Jewish stance, and the organization expired later that year (Ironicaly, Dilling's own views on the Jews were soon to become much more exterme than Hadley's).[9]

Afer she left Hadley, Dilling threw herself into collecting facts on Communism full time. The result was published as The Red Network—A Who's Who of Radicalism for Patriots (1934), a self-declared exposé of communist front activity in the U.S., which was widely circulated (100,000 copies are claimed). As an example of her technique, in the entry for Albert Einstein, which links him to various communist organizations, Dilling notes: "married to Russian; his much press-agented relativity theory is supposedly beyond the intelligence of almost everyone except himself." She offers an apologia for the Nazi confiscation of Einstein's property in Germany, saying it was because he was a Communist. The entry for Eleanor Roosevelt reads "Socialist sympathizer and associate, pacifist". A Protestant minister, Harry Emerson Fosdick, was listed because his books were "highly recommended by socialists and other radicals" [10]

She then wrote The Roosevelt Red Record and Its Background (1936), condemning the New Deal, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and officials in his administration, claiming they had strong links to Communists. In The Octopus (1940), which she wrote under the pseudonym of Rev. Frank Woodruff Johnson, she attacked the Jewish Anti-Defamation League and linked Jews to communism. It was then that she shifted her emphasis to Jews as causing all the trouble in the world, partly based on her readings of the Talmud.

As debate raged about whether the U.S. should get involved in World War II, she became an activist in two organizations inspired by the antisemitic radio priest Father Charles Coughlin: Mothers' Peace Movement, which she co-founded with Lyrl Clark Van Hyning, and We the Mothers Mobilize for America, based in Chicago. She was also involved with the America First Committee, famously associated with Charles Lindbergh and other prominent isolationists and opponents of the war.

After the Pearl Harbor attack, Dilling was indicted, along with 28 others, which led to the Great Sedition Trial of 1944.[1] The case finally ended in a mistrial after the death of the presiding judge, Edward C. Eicher. The Chicago Tribune editorialized on the trial as "one of the blackest marks on the record of American jurisprudence".[1] The Smith Act under which the prosecution took place was later found to be unconstitutional in several rulings by the Supreme Court.

In the 1950s, she was a frequent contributor to Conde McGinley's paper Common Sense, and her name often joined his in joint-letters to congressmen.

On October 18, 1943 she and Albert were divorced after 25 years of rocky marriage.[11] Her second husband, Jeremiah Stokes (1877–1954), was a lawyer and author. He published the antisemitic The Plot Against Christianity in 1964, which included over 200 pages of photocopies from the Soncino edition of the Talmud, with his wife's underlines added.

Media References

A thinly-disgised version of Dilling named 'Adelaide Tarr Gimmitch' appears in Sinclair Lewis's 1930's novel It Can't Happen Here. The book deals with a hypothetical fascist takeover of the United States in 1936.

References

  1. ^ a b c A Mockery of Justice—The Great Sedition Trial of 1944
  2. ^ Jeansonne, Glen (1996), "Chapter 12", Women of the Far Right: The Mother's Movement and World War II, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, ISBN 0-226-39589-8
  3. ^ Jeansonne, Glen; Luhrseen, David. "Elizabeth Dilling (1894–1966)", in Cook, Bernard A. Women and War: A Historical Encyclopedia from Antiquity to the Present, ABC-CLIO, 2006, ISBN 9781851097708, p. 153.
  4. ^ Jeansonne, Glen (1996), Women of the Far Right: The Mother's Movement and World War II, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, p. 26, ISBN 0-226-39589-8
  5. ^ Jeansonne, Glen (1996), Women of the Far Right: The Mother's Movement and World War II, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, p. 13, ISBN 0-226-39589-8
  6. ^ "Days of Discontent", Journal of Social History, December 22, 2003.
  7. ^ "The Mothers' Movement reveals obscure corner in America's recent past", Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Wisconsin), April 21, 1996.
  8. ^ Jeansonne, Glen (1996), Women of the Far Right: The Mother's Movement and World War II, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, p. 12, ISBN 0-226-39589-8
  9. ^ 'Women of the far right: the mothers' movement and World War II- by Glen Jeansonne
  10. ^ Preacher at the Riverside, The Washington Post, April 14, 1985
  11. ^ Jeansonne, Glen (1996), Women of the Far Right: The Mother's Movement and World War II, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, p. 81, ISBN 0-226-39589-8

Books

  • Dilling, Elizabeth Kirkpatrick (1964). The Plot Against Christianity. Omaha, NE: The Elizabeth Dilling Foundation. p. 497 pp. ISBN 0-93948-245-2.
  • Dilling, Elizabeth Kirkpatrick (1940). The Octopus. Omaha, NE: Privately Printed. p. 256 pp. ISBN 0-89562-094-4.
  • Dilling, Elizabeth Kirkpatrick (1935). The Red Network, A Who's Who And Handbook Of Radicalism For Patriots. Chicago, IL: Ayer Company Publishers. p. 338 pp. ISBN 0-40509-946-0.
  • Dilling, Elizabeth Kirkpatrick (1936). The Roosevelt Red Record and Its Background. Chicago, IL: Privately Printed. p. 439 pp. ASIN B0006ANJE8.
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