American Experience : The Bombing of Wall Street Pretty interesting historical report of the attempts by the Soviets to use American communists as agents in the US as insurgents to attempt the overthrow of the US government like the Bolsheviks did the Russian government. I knew about Emma Goldman,but none of the other names rang a bell. She was deported back to her beloved Communist state,only to have to flee it a few years later after Beria declared her to be an enemy of the state. IIRC,she had to flee to Canada because she would have been arrested if she had returned to America. She lived in NYC before being deported. BTW,this detail wasn't mentioned in the PBS broacast. It is mentioned in the historically accurate Warren Beatty movie "Reds",though.
President Wilson's Attorney General was a man named Palmer,and it was noted that he was a liberal Dim who was oppossed to spying on or arresting Soviet agents in the US. He is the same man that later ordered the "Red Scare" raids,and created a special investigation branch in the Justice Department and appointed a man named Hoover to head it up.
There were a number of interesting things I learned from watching this show. For example,I had no idea the Justice Dept arrested and deported thousands of Communist sympathizers/agents thanks in part to the very thorough records kept by a clerkish Hoover who started doing this while they were still open and public about their identities while taking over labor unions and calling for strikes. I knew about Emma Goldman and that doctor from the wealthy family on the left coast whose name I can't remember right now. He was to become Stalin's personal physician,and IIRC,it was his family that had the statue of Lenin set in the public park (Portland or Seattle,can't remember which) that still stands today. He was at Stalin's side as they were fighting the Czar for control of Russia,during the Red Army (communists) and the White Army (Czarists) War.
All in all,an interesting way to spend an hour and learn a few things. It also reminded me to watch Reds again. LONG movie that is a cross between the typical Hollywood spectacular of the 70's or 80's,and a documentary,where the producer actually interviews elderly American Communists on camera about their roles in overthrowing Stalin,and trying to overthrow America to create a "Workers Paradise" here. I was honestly surprised that Hollywood didn't try to glamorize and sugar coat the American communists to make them historic heroes,but they didn't. It seems to have been pretty accurate depictions of them in the movie,as well as explanations by them for what they said and did. I highly recommend that movie to anyone with an interest in modern history and politics.
Poster Comment:
It really is amazing to compare the activities of the Communist agents and their "progressive" American citizen supporters in the Dim Party of the 1920's. It's like nothing has changed in the last 100 years.
