Max Lowenthal
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Max Lowenthal (1888–1971) was a
Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...
, political figure in all three branches of the federal government in the 1930s and 1940s, during which time he was closely associated with the rising career of
Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
; he served under
Oscar R. Ewing Oscar R. Ewing (March 8, 1889 – January 8, 1980) was a 20th-century American lawyer, social reformer, and politician who was one of the main authors of the Fair Deal program of U.S. President Harry S. Truman. Background Oscar Ross Ewing was ...
on an "unofficial policy group" within the Truman administration (1947–1952).


Background

Mordechai Lowenthal was born on February 26, 1888, in
Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
, Minnesota. In the 1870s, his parents Nathan (Naphtali) Lowenthal and Gertrude (Nahamah) Gitel, Orthodox Jewish, emigrated from Kovno (now
Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...
),
Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
, to Minnesota. At a young age, he started using the more "American" name of Max. He had two older siblings, of whom only one survived childhood. He graduated from North High School in 1905, first in his class. He also attended
Talmud Torah Talmud Torah ( he, תלמוד תורה, lit. 'Study of the Torah') schools were created in the Jewish world, both Ashkenazic and Sephardic, as a form of religious school for boys of modest backgrounds, where they were given an elementary educat ...
, where he learned Hebrew. He received a BA in 1909 from the
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...
and graduated in 1912 from
Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...
, where he began a lifelong friendship with Felix Frankfurter.


Career

Many of Lowenthal's accomplishments are presumed unknown as some are being discovered through historical research. Lowenthal had an incredibly discreet personality and often refused to take credit for his accomplishments. A memo in Lowenthal's FBI file reveals the following chronology (supplemented): * 1907–1909: Reporter at ''
Minneapolis Journal The ''Star Tribune'' is the largest newspaper in Minnesota. It originated as the ''Minneapolis Tribune'' in 1867 and the competing ''Minneapolis Daily Star'' in 1920. During the 1930s and 1940s, Minneapolis's competing newspapers were consolida ...
'' * 1912–1913: Law clerk for Judge Julian Mack at $1,800 per annum * 1913–1914: Law clerk for Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft (AKA
Strong Strong may refer to: Education * The Strong, an educational institution in Rochester, New York, United States * Strong Hall (Lawrence, Kansas), an administrative hall of the University of Kansas * Strong School, New Haven, Connecticut, United Sta ...
& Cadwalader) at $1,800 per annum * 1915: Starts own law firm in New York City * 1917: Clerk or assistant at U.S. Department of State * 1917–1918: Assistant secretary to U.S. President
Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
's Mediation Commission (Morgenthau Mission, recommended by Felix Frankfurter)) * 1918: Informal aid at
U.S. Department of War The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, a ...
* 1918–1919: Assistant chairman for
War Labor Policies Board The War Labor Policies Board (WLPB) (1918-1919) was a temporary agency of the United States Government to support American military actions during the end of World War I; future president Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a member. History F ...
to Felix Frankfurter * 1919–1920: Returns to private practice; defends Sidney Hillman and
Amalgamated Clothing Workers Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACWA) was a United States labor union known for its support for "social unionism" and progressive political causes. Led by Sidney Hillman for its first thirty years, it helped found the Congress of Ind ...
in "landmark injunction case" * 1920–1921: Assistant secretary to Second President's Industrial Congress * 1920–1929: Partners in Szold Branwen iclaw firm and becomes a "very wealthy New York lawyer" in Lowenthal,
Szold Szold is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Benjamin Szold (1829–1902), Hungarian-American rabbi *Henrietta Szold (1860–1945), founder of the Hadassah Women's Organization *Nadia Szold (born 28 September 1984), filmmaker * Rob ...
and Brandwen of 43 Exchange Place, New York City. (FTC commissioner John J. Carson later mistakenly recalled one partner as "Max Bramblin" of "Lowenthal & Bramblin" ) Lowenthal knew
Walter Weyl Walter Edward Weyl (March 11, 1873 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – November 9, 1919 in Woodstock, New York) was a writer and speaker, an intellectual leader of the Progressive movement in the United States. As a strong nationalist, his goal was ...
(father of Ware Group member Nathaniel Weyl), who recommended
Adelaide Hasse Adelaide Rosalie Hasse (September 13, 1868 – July 28, 1953) is listed as one of the "100 most important leaders we had in the 20th century" in the December 1999 edition of ''American Libraries''. She is credited with having developed the Superin ...
as a researcher for the
War Labor Policies Board The War Labor Policies Board (WLPB) (1918-1919) was a temporary agency of the United States Government to support American military actions during the end of World War I; future president Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a member. History F ...
.


Private law practice

Lowenthal ran a private law practice from 1912 to 1932. Cases involved workers rights, defense of right-to-strike legislation and shareholder rights in receivership cases. In the early 1920s, Lowenthal seems to have had a law office in New York City. While Ann Fagan Ginger does not mention him as a mentor of
Carol Weiss King Carol Weiss King (24 August 1895 – 22 January 1952) was a well-known immigration lawyer, key founder of the International Juridical Association, and a founding member of the National Lawyers Guild in the United States. Her left-leanin ...
in her biography of King, Ginger does say that King formed a "loose partnership" with radical attorneys, who included
Joseph Brodsky Iosif Aleksandrovich Brodsky (; russian: link=no, Иосиф Александрович Бродский ; 24 May 1940 – 28 January 1996) was a Russian and American poet and essayist. Born in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg), USSR in 1940, ...
,
Swinburne Hale Swinburne Hale (1884–1937) was an American lawyer, poet, and socialist, best remembered as one of the leading civil rights attorneys of the decade of the 1920s. Hale was a Harvard College classmate of Roger Nash Baldwin and law partner of ...
,
Walter Nelles Walter Nelles (1883–1937) was an American lawyer and law professor. Nelles is best remembered as the co-founder and first chief legal counsel of the National Civil Liberties Bureau and its successor, the American Civil Liberties Union. In this ...
, and Isaac Shorr as well as a long-term association with
Walter Pollak Walter Pollak (1887–1940) was a 20th-century American civil liberties lawyer, who established important precedents while working with other leading radical lawyers in the 1920s and 1930s. His best known cases involved the defense before the Supr ...
(once partner of Benjamin Cardozo, whom she met through her brother-in-law Carl Stern. Nevertheless, newspaper accounts of King (in the 1950s) mention Lowenthal as not only an associate but her employer. The ''
Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely c ...
'' went even further in 1951 in a long article on Carol Weiss King:
Lowenthal is of special interest. A product of Harvard Law, he has been described by a New Deal associate as "self-effacing and ubiquitous." Shuttling between New York and Washington, he has maintained a New York office while holding a variety of Government posts dating back to World War I. On one hand, he has been an assiduous cultivator of high-level friendships, including Presidents Roosevelt and Truman and Supreme Court Justices Felix Frankfurter and
Louis Brandeis Louis Dembitz Brandeis (; November 13, 1856 – October 5, 1941) was an American lawyer and associate justice on the Supreme Court of the United States from 1916 to 1939. Starting in 1890, he helped develop the "right to privacy" concept ...
. On the other, he has been an equally assiduous collector of proteges for whom he has found many Government jobs.
Alger Hiss Alger Hiss (November 11, 1904 – November 15, 1996) was an American government official accused in 1948 of having spied for the Soviet Union in the 1930s. Statutes of limitations had expired for espionage, but he was convicted of perjury in con ...
and
Lee Pressman Lee Pressman (July 1, 1906 – November 20, 1969) was a labor attorney and earlier a US government functionary, publicly alleged in 1948 to have been a spy for Soviet intelligence during the mid-1930s (as a member of the Ware Group), following hi ...
benefited by his friendship, and, for a time, did one
George Shaw Wheeler George Shaw Wheeler (May 22, 1908 – October 18, 1998) (known also as George S. Wheeler) was an American economist and advisor to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, best known for being the first American to defect over the Iron Curtain ...
, a young lawyer who became so carried away by communism that he denounced his United States citizenship to make a new career bebind the
Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The term symbolizes the efforts by the Soviet Union (USSR) to block itself and its s ...
. Back in 1920, at the time of her admission to the New York bar, Carol also was a Lowenthal protégée, and it was in his office that she served her first and only legal clerkship.
Another important protege of Lowenthal's (and his partner Robert Szold) was
Benjamin V. Cohen Benjamin Victor Cohen (September 23, 1894 – August 15, 1983), a member of the administrations of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman, had a public service career that spanned from the early New Deal to after the Vietnam War. Education ...
, later known as one of Felix Frankfurter's Hotdogs in the New Deal. Lowenthal and Cohen both knew Judge
Julian W. Mack Julian William Mack (July 19, 1866 – September 5, 1943) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Commerce Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, the United States Circuit Courts for the Seventh Circuit, ...
, who was one of Cohen's professor at Harvard (and was uncle of Lowenthal's wife). In October 1920, Cohen first worked for Lowenthal on a bankruptcy case involving E.F. Drew & Company. In 1923, Lowenthal was general counsel for the Russian-American Industrial Corporation (RAIC) of 31 Union Square, New York City, launched by the
Amalgamated Clothing Workers Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACWA) was a United States labor union known for its support for "social unionism" and progressive political causes. Led by Sidney Hillman for its first thirty years, it helped found the Congress of Ind ...
union in 1922, following a 1921 visit to the Soviet Union by union president Sidney Hillman. He was also one of the original directors of the Amalgamated Bank of New York, as advertised in the '' Liberator'' magazine. The ad mentions that the bank is owned and operated by the Amalgamated Clothing Workers. It lists chairman
Hyman Blumberg Surname Hyman is the surname of: * Alan Hyman (1910–1999), author and screenwriter * Alexander C. Hyman (Born 1993), American Businessman * Albert Hyman (1893–1972), co-inventor of the artificial pacemaker * Anthony Hyman (disambiguation), se ...
, president R. L. Redheffer, vice president Jacob S. Potofsky, cashier Leroy Peterson, and other directors: Hillman, August Bellanca, Joseph Gold,
Fiorello H. La Guardia Fiorello Henry LaGuardia (; born Fiorello Enrico LaGuardia, ; December 11, 1882September 20, 1947) was an American attorney and politician who represented New York in the House of Representatives and served as the 99th Mayor of New York City from ...
, Abraham Miller,
Joseph Schlossberg Joseph Schlossberg (May 1, 1875 – January 15, 1971) was a Belorussian-born Jewish-American labor activist. Life Schlossberg was born on May 1, 1875 in Koidanovo, Minsk Governorate, Russia, the son of Max Schlossberg and Bessie Feldman. He immig ...
, Murray Weinstein,
Max Zaritzky Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (English Springer Spaniel), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of OBE) * Max (gorilla) ...
, and Peter Monat. The Amalgamated relationship seems to have started with Lowenthal defended Hillman in 1920 in a labor dispute in Rocherester, New York. As late as 1929, Lowenthal still had a close relationship with Amalgamated, as after
Wall Street Crash of 1929 The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange colla ...
he recommended that the bank sell its securities for cash; throughout the
Great Deparession Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...
, the bank held its assets in cash or cash-equivalents. "It was the advice of Max Lowenthal that helped more than anything else to keep our banks open during the Hoover banking collapse," Hillman later noted. Advising Lowenthal in this period was Benjamin V. Cohen.


Government service

During his early days in politics, Lowenthal served as advisor to several United States senators. In 1929, he served as pro bono secretary on U.S. President
Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...
's National Commission on Law Observance and Enforcement (later called the
Wickersham Commission The National Commission on Law Observance and Enforcement (also known unofficially as the Wickersham Commission) was a committee established by the U.S. President, Herbert Hoover, on May 20, 1929. Former attorney general George W. Wickersham (1858 ...
) to investigate gang-related crimes and Prohibition enforcement through July 1930, when he resigned. He assisted Ferdinand Pecora with Senate committee hearings investigating the causes of the
Wall Street Crash of 1929 The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange colla ...
. The hearings launched a major reform of the American financial system. Around 1930, "another job that I was given in connection with the charge that in the Government that men were taking positions in the Government who had private investments," connected (unclearly recounted later by Lowenthal) to his Harvard Law School friend, U.S. Solicitor General Charles Hughes, Jr. (1929–1930), son of 11th Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes, Sr. In 1933–1934, he consulted to the U.S. Senate Banking and Currency Committee. "I can't remember that I had worked for any congressional committee before that, but this I would not want to affirm categorically."


Railroad reorganization

In 1933, Lowenthal began advocating railroad reform by republishing his original ''Harvard Law Review'' argument ''The Railroad Reorganization Act'' in book form along with a second book, ''The Investor Pays'' (1933) (Felix Frankfurter attributed much of the work on ''The Investor Pays'' to Benjamin V. Cohen.) Abuses he cited included: control of receivership and of reorganization by owners prior to acknowledgement of insolvency, inadequate administration of properties prior to reorganization, inadequate regulatory supervision, and conflicts of interest. While making rounds "as agents of the President" with
Tommy Corcoran Thomas William Corcoran (January 4, 1869 – June 25, 1960) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop from to for the Pittsburgh Burghers (1890), Philadelphia Athletics (1891), Brooklyn Gro ...
(one of Felix Frankfurter's "Happy Hotdogs"), Lowenthal told any and all that nothing would happen "without the help of railway labor." On July 5, 1935 Federal Coordinator
Joseph Bartlett Eastman Joseph Bartlett Eastman (June 26, 1882 – 1944) was a member of the Interstate Commerce Commission from 1919 until his death in 1944. Biography Joseph Bartlett Eastman was born in Katonah, New York on June 26, 1882, to John Huse and Lucy (King) ...
wrote to Senator Wheeler (committee chair), with Lowenthal as committee counsel, to recommend 18 railroads (including Van Sweringen Lines,
Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
,
Wabash Railway The Wabash Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. It served a large area, including track in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and Missouri and the province of Ontario. Its primary co ...
, and Delaware & Hudson Company) plus financiers ( J.P. Morgan & Company, and Kuhn, Loeb & Company) for investigation, as reported in the ''New York Times'' and ''Railway Age''. Only in December 1936 did Lowenthal manage to obtain enough subpoenaed documentation to begin actual investigation, according to ''Railway Age''. By 1939, the Senate had introduced a "Lowenthal Bi, ll" to create a special "Railroad Reorganization Court" for bankrupt railroads and downsizing of capitalization and reduction of fixed charges. In April 1939, ICC commissioner Walter M. W. Splawn and committee counsel Lowenthal testified. Lowenthal explained changes in the new
Reorganization Act of 1939 The Reorganization Act of 1939, , codified at , is an American Act of Congress which gave the President of the United States the authority to hire additional confidential staff and reorganize the executive branch (within certain limits) for two y ...
(passed and signed into law on April 3, 1939). Its special court would make for "sounder reorganizations" thanks to judges trained in railroads.


Truman

In 1935, Lowenthal met
Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
, after Truman joined a subcommittee of the U.S. Senate Interstate Commerce Committee, investigating railroads and holding companies (which resulted in U.S. Senate Resolution 71 on February 4, 1935. Senator
Robert F. Wagner Robert Ferdinand Wagner I (June 8, 1877May 4, 1953) was an American politician. He was a Democratic U.S. Senator from New York from 1927 to 1949. Born in Prussia, Wagner migrated with his family to the United States in 1885. After graduating ...
had to withdraw from the subcommittee, and Senator
Burton K. Wheeler Burton Kendall Wheeler (February 27, 1882January 6, 1975) was an attorney and an American politician of the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party in Montana, which he represented as a United States Senate, United State ...
filled his place with Truman. Senators on that subcommittee included: Wheeler (chair), Truman, Alben Barkley, Victor Donahey, Wallace White, and Henrik Shipstead. Heading the legal counselors for that subcommittee was
Telford Taylor Telford Taylor (February 24, 1908 – May 23, 1998) was an American lawyer and professor. Taylor was known for his role as lead counsel in the prosecution of war criminals after World War II, his opposition to McCarthyism in the 1950s, and his o ...
, assisted by Lowenthal and Sidney J. Kaplan (who later headed the Claims Division in the Solicitor General's office of the U.S. Department of Justice during World War II, George Rosier, Lucien Hilmer, and John Davis. According to close Truman's Appointments Secretary
Matthew J. Connelly Matthew J. Connelly (November 19, 1907July 10, 1976) was an American civil servant under Harry S. Truman, who having risen to Executive Secretary to Vice President Truman and then Appointments Secretary to President Truman, was indicted for bribe ...
, "Lowenthal served as counsel for Senator Truman during the hearings on the setting up of the Civil Aeronautics Board." According to daughter Margaret Truman, Truman relied on Lowenthal to keep up pressure on the
Missouri Pacific Railroad The Missouri Pacific Railroad , commonly abbreviated as MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers. In 1967, the railroad ...
and
Alleghany Corporation Alleghany Corporation is an American investment holding company originally created by the railroad entrepreneurs Oris and Mantis Van Sweringen as a holding company for their railroad interests. It was incorporated in 1929 and reincorporated ...
over the "Alleghany-Missouri Pacific matter." Lowenthal later recollected, "Until we went into World War II, I may have been doing some work for the Interstate Commerce Committee. I was for a number of years, in that category which was referred to as dollar-a-year men, but, when we went into the war, I had a talk with Senator Wheeler and suggested that probably I ought to be available on some wartime work, and Chairman Wheeler thought that was right." Thus, Lowenthal did not serve with Truman on the so-called "
Truman Committee The Truman Committee, formally known as the Senate Special Committee to Investigate the National Defense Program, was a United States Congressional investigative body, headed by Senator Harry S. Truman. The bipartisan special committee was form ...
" (1941-1944) (formally, the Senate Special Committee to Investigate the National Defense Program, 1941-1948, from 1948 the
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), stood up in March 1941 as the "Truman Committee," is the oldest subcommittee of the United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (formerly the Committee on Governme ...
or "PSI," and current the "
United States Senate Homeland Security Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), stood up in March 1941 as the "Truman Committee," is the oldest subcommittee of the United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (formerly the Committee on Governme ...
"). "I attended one or two hearings out of interest, but I was completing work for the Interstate Commerce Committee at that time and then I was involved in some work in the war effort which was pretty absorbing -- it was day and night work," he later recalled. From 1944 to 1946, Lowenthal left official government service. In 1944, Lowenthal attended the
1944 Democratic National Convention The 1944 Democratic National Convention was held at the Chicago Stadium in Chicago, Illinois from July 19 to July 21, 1944. The convention resulted in the nomination of President Franklin D. Roosevelt for an unprecedented fourth term. Senator Ha ...
in Chicago. In 1944, Truman wrote to his daughter that Lowenthal,
William M. Boyle William Marshall Boyle Jr. (February 2, 1902 – August 30, 1961) was an American Democratic political activist from Kansas. Chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 1949 to 1951, he was a friend of President Harry S. Truman and is cred ...
, an
Leslie Biffle
"were on my trail... Yes, they are plotting against your dad" along with many others "trying to make him VP against his will." Truman told Lowenthal that FDR had included him on his shortlist of candidates for vice president. Lowenthal went with Truman to meet with Philip Murray, head of the
Congress of Industrial Organizations The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) was a federation of unions that organized workers in industrial unions in the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1955. Originally created in 1935 as a committee within the American Federation of ...
(CIO) union for support. "I think that someone in his organization had been urging another name on Phil Murray, but I believe in time he swung behind Mr. Truman." In Fall 1946, Lowenthal had lunch with Bob Patterson, newly promoted from Assistant Secretary of War to Secretary of War, whom he had known "for many years": Patterson told Lowenthal he was sending him to Berlin for a "war job, or a wartime-produced task... I think that was the last official position I held in government." The job was restitution of property stolen by
Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
. Lowenthal reported to the U.S. High Commissioner of Germany, General
Lucius D. Clay General Lucius Dubignon Clay (April 23, 1898 – April 16, 1978) was a senior officer of the United States Army who was known for his administration of occupied Germany after World War II. He served as the deputy to General of the Army Dwight D ...
. Specifically, Lowenthal spent six weeks in Germany to collect evidence so he could draw up a report. Upon his return to the States, Lowenthal "had a good deal of work" on Nazi-related cases of "heirless" property. In that period, the U.S. Attorney General (
Tom C. Clark Thomas Campbell Clark (September 23, 1899June 13, 1977) was an American lawyer who served as the 59th United States Attorney General from 1945 to 1949 and as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1949 to 1967. Clark ...
at that time) made recommendations that included "relaxing the universal ban on wire tapping"–at which time, Lowenthal "noticed that that was in the list." In 1948, Truman felt (according to Lowenthal in 1967) that the Mundt-Nixon Bill that year was "to punish sedition."


FBI and HUAC investigations

During 1947-1948, the FBI investigated Lowenthal. They used wiretaps, as evidenced in later-FOIA-ed FBI files. FBI files on Lowenthal also include draft versions of his 1948 book on the FBI. In 1950, Lowenthal published a book critical of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
(see Works, below), which led to testimony denying he had "aided and abetted" Communist in government service before the
House Un-American Activities Committee The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloy ...
. The book and negative press helped end a 38-year career in public service. On August 28, 1950,
Lee Pressman Lee Pressman (July 1, 1906 – November 20, 1969) was a labor attorney and earlier a US government functionary, publicly alleged in 1948 to have been a spy for Soviet intelligence during the mid-1930s (as a member of the Ware Group), following hi ...
testified that he had ''not'' recommended Lowenthal for a job at the
War Production Board The War Production Board (WPB) was an agency of the United States government that supervised war production during World War II. President Franklin D. Roosevelt established it in January 1942, with Executive Order 9024. The WPB replaced the Sup ...
. On September 1, 1950, Charles Kramer refused to answer questions as to whether he was acquainted with Lowenthal. That same day, U.S. Representative
George A. Dondero George Anthony Dondero (December 16, 1883 – January 29, 1968) was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan. Background Dondero was born on a farm in Greenfield Township, Michigan, which has since become part of ...
called Lowenthal "menace to the best interests of America." Dondero said that his government career was "replete with incidents where he aided and abetted Communists" starting in 1917. On September 15, 1950, Lowenthal appeared before the
House Un-American Activities Committee The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloy ...
AKA "HUAC" (two of whose members were Mundt and Nixon–of the Mundt-Nixon Bill). Already in August 1950, HUAC had re-subpoenaed four witness who had been part of
Whittaker Chambers Whittaker Chambers (born Jay Vivian Chambers; April 1, 1901 – July 9, 1961) was an American writer-editor, who, after early years as a Communist Party member (1925) and Soviet spy (1932–1938), defected from the Soviet underground (1938), ...
's Ware Group:
Lee Pressman Lee Pressman (July 1, 1906 – November 20, 1969) was a labor attorney and earlier a US government functionary, publicly alleged in 1948 to have been a spy for Soviet intelligence during the mid-1930s (as a member of the Ware Group), following hi ...
,
Nathan Witt Nathan Witt (February 11, 1903 – February 16, 1982), born Nathan Wittowsky, was an American lawyer who is best known as being the Secretary of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) from 1937 to 1940. He resigned from the NLRB after his commun ...
, Charles Kramer and John Abt. The committee had asked both Pressman and Kramer whether they knew Lowenthal; both confirmed. Lowenthal brought former U.S. Senator
Burton K. Wheeler Burton Kendall Wheeler (February 27, 1882January 6, 1975) was an attorney and an American politician of the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party in Montana, which he represented as a United States Senate, United State ...
as counsel. After reviewing his curriculum vitae, the committee tried to link him with known Communist Party members and organizations, some of which he confirmed, others not, all without admitting any wrongdoing. Names mentioned included:
Alger Hiss Alger Hiss (November 11, 1904 – November 15, 1996) was an American government official accused in 1948 of having spied for the Soviet Union in the 1930s. Statutes of limitations had expired for espionage, but he was convicted of perjury in con ...
,
Donald Hiss Donald Hiss (December 15, 1906 – May 18, 1989), also known as "Donie" and "Donnie", was the younger brother of Alger Hiss. Donald Hiss's name was mentioned during the 1948 hearings wherein his more famous and older brother, Alger, was ac ...
,
David Wahl David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
,
Bartley Crum Bartley Crum (November 28, 1900 – December 9, 1959) was an American lawyer who became prominent as a member of the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry, his book on that experience, and for defending targets of HUAC, particularly the Hollywood ...
, Martin Popper, Allan Rosenberg, Lee Pressman, the Russian-American Industrial Corporation, the
Twentieth Century Fund The Century Foundation (established first as The Cooperative League and then the Twentieth Century Fund) is a progressive think tank headquartered in New York City with an office in Washington, D.C. It was founded as a nonprofit public policy r ...
, and the International Juridical Association. On November 19, 1950, the government published Lowenthal's closed-session testimony from September 15, 1950. During testimony, Lowenthal had denied aiding or abetting Communists in government service. Specifically, he denied any involvement in the employment or sponsoring of
George Shaw Wheeler George Shaw Wheeler (May 22, 1908 – October 18, 1998) (known also as George S. Wheeler) was an American economist and advisor to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, best known for being the first American to defect over the Iron Curtain ...
, a former US government employee who had defected to Czechoslovakia in 1947 and publicly requested
political asylum The right of asylum (sometimes called right of political asylum; ) is an ancient juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, like a second country or another enti ...
there in 1950. He noted that Wheeler had been transferred to his division on the
Board of Economic Warfare The Office of Administrator of Export Control (also referred to as the Export Control Administration) was established in the United States by Presidential Proclamation 2413, July 2, 1940, to administer export licensing provisions of the act of July ...
from the
War Production Board The War Production Board (WPB) was an agency of the United States government that supervised war production during World War II. President Franklin D. Roosevelt established it in January 1942, with Executive Order 9024. The WPB replaced the Sup ...
"toward the end of my service with the board" He also said that Wheeler had not worked with him in Germany." He also claimed to have advised
Lee Pressman Lee Pressman (July 1, 1906 – November 20, 1969) was a labor attorney and earlier a US government functionary, publicly alleged in 1948 to have been a spy for Soviet intelligence during the mid-1930s (as a member of the Ware Group), following hi ...
in 1944 against naming
Henry A. Wallace Henry Agard Wallace (October 7, 1888 – November 18, 1965) was an American politician, journalist, farmer, and businessman who served as the 33rd vice president of the United States, the 11th U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, and the 10th U.S. S ...
as Democratic candidate for vice president. On November 27, 1950, Senator
Bourke B. Hickenlooper Bourke Blakemore Hickenlooper (July 21, 1896 – September 4, 1971), was an American politician and member of the Republican Party, first elected to statewide office in Iowa as lieutenant governor, serving from 1939 to 1943 and then as the 29 ...
noted, "In the ''Washington Post'' of November 26, 1950, there are published two reviews of a recent book entitled ''The Federal Bureau of Investigation'', by Max Lowenthal, New Deal mystery man of Washington." The first ("A Lawyer's Indictment in Mood of Prosecutor") was by Rev.
Edmund A. Walsh Fr. Edmund Aloysius Walsh, S.J. (October 10, 1885 – October 31, 1956) was an American Jesuit Catholic priest, author, professor of geopolitics and founder of the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, the first school for inter ...
S.J., of
Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
, which Hickenlooper read into the record. The second by Joseph L. Rauh Jr., a former civil servant, whom Hickenlooper denounced for criticizing the FBI, for chairing the National Committee for Democratic Action, and for affiliations with
Alger Hiss Alger Hiss (November 11, 1904 – November 15, 1996) was an American government official accused in 1948 of having spied for the Soviet Union in the 1930s. Statutes of limitations had expired for espionage, but he was convicted of perjury in con ...
,
Donald Hiss Donald Hiss (December 15, 1906 – May 18, 1989), also known as "Donie" and "Donnie", was the younger brother of Alger Hiss. Donald Hiss's name was mentioned during the 1948 hearings wherein his more famous and older brother, Alger, was ac ...
, Felix Frankfurter, William Remington, and James L. Fly of
Americans for Democratic Action Americans for Democratic Action (ADA) is a liberal American political organization advocating progressive policies. ADA views itself as supporting social and economic justice through lobbying, grassroots organizing, research, and supporting prog ...
. Hickenlooper stated "I have the greatest admiration and respect for the integrity of the director, Mr. J. Edgar Hoover, and his staff personnel" at the FBI.


Unofficial policy group member

During the 1950s, Lowenthal supervised "an operation... conducted... to prepare answers to the charges that Senator
McCarthy McCarthy (also spelled MacCarthy or McCarty) may refer to: * MacCarthy, a Gaelic Irish clan * McCarthy, Alaska, United States * McCarty, Missouri, United States * McCarthy Road, a road in Alaska * McCarthy (band), an indie pop band * Château MacC ...
was making." This followed McCarthy's to the State Department of "a list." Lowenthal was later unable to recall clearly the names of anyone who helped him: Truman Library oral historian Jerry N. Hess suggested that they might have included Herbert N. Maletz,
Lowell Mellett Lowell Mellett (1886 - 1960) was a journalist best known for supervising the series Why We Fight during World War 2. Early life Born in small-town Indiana, Mellett claimed his interest in public affairs came from holding a torch in rallies for ri ...
, and Franklin N. Parks. The White House was supportive: when Lowenthal came to Washington to work, sometimes he would get office space there. In May 1951, White House Appointments Secretary Matthew J. Connelly asked Lowenthal to help General
Harry H. Vaughan Major General Harry Hawkins Vaughan (November 26, 1893 – May 20, 1981) was a senior officer in the United States Army Reserve and a military aide to Harry S. Truman during his time as vice president (1945) and president (1945 to 1953). He was ...
in "setting up testimony", after Vaughan admitted repeated episodes of trading access to the White House for expensive gifts. Later, he also helped Connelly himself (who was convicted of bribery charges in 1956). (When asked whether Lowenthal served on that counter-McCarthy committee, Connelly, however, said, "Not that I recall. He had nothing to do with the White House.") In mid-summer 1951, Truman wrote Lowenthal to thank him for a letter and respond regarding Senator
Joseph McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarthy became the most visi ...
's speech of Jun 14, 1951, attacking George Marshall. They discussed the need for the U.S. government to support international security. "I certainly did appreciate your good letter," Truman ended. In 1952, when Truman announced he would not seek re-election, Vice President Alben Barkley could not secure the presidential nomination from the Democratic Party due to a lack of endorsement from labor leaders. Connelly later recalled:
Hess: Do you recall the difficulty that Mr. Barkley had at the 1952 convention with the labor delegates?
Connelly: I remember it very well because I had Max Lowenthal–I believe you know Max Lowenthal–I had him out there and Max was very close to the labor boys. I had a room at the Mayflower Hotel with two TV sets watching the convention, and I used to get calls from Max, from Chicago, and the day Barkley arrived–unfortunately he had very bad eyes–and he walked through the lobby of the hotel and he didn't recognize the labor boys who were there. So they thought they were snubbed. So I then got Les Biffle on the phone and Les had always been very close to Barkley and he was out there at the convention, as a matter of fact, he was sergeant at arms of the convention, and I told Les what happened. So then they made a strategic mistake, because labor leaders are all prima donnas, and I suggested to Les that Barkley set up a meeting with these fellows and talk to them individually. So instead of that they set up a breakfast the next morning and invited all the labor leaders. Well, they are very jealous of each other. So, all that achieved was one more snubbing for the prima donnas, so they sat on their hands as far as Barkley was concerned.
Lowenthal introduced Truman to U.S. Supreme Justice
Louis Brandeis Louis Dembitz Brandeis (; November 13, 1856 – October 5, 1941) was an American lawyer and associate justice on the Supreme Court of the United States from 1916 to 1939. Starting in 1890, he helped develop the "right to privacy" concept ...
. In 1953, Lowenthal was "member" of the Truman Administration, according to the papers of American evangelist Billy James Hargis (who also lists him among "Alleged Reds" 1950–1954). Lowenthal's best known accomplishment occurred during his term as the chief adviser on
Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
to Clark Clifford, an advisor to President Truman, from 1947-1952. President Truman credited Lowenthal as being the primary force behind the United States recognition of
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
. (Apparently in contrast, Matthew J. Connelly pointed to
David Niles David K. Niles (November 23, 1888 – September 28, 1952; Boston, Massachusetts) was an American political advisor who worked in the White House from 1942 to 1951 for the administrations of Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman. Niles was one ...
, an associate of
Harry Hopkins Harry Lloyd Hopkins (August 17, 1890 – January 29, 1946) was an American statesman, public administrator, and presidential advisor. A trusted deputy to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Hopkins directed New Deal relief programs before servi ...
from the WPA), as "very effective in the problems we had in connection with the recognition of Israel" because of his contacts in the Jewish community: "David Dubinsky, Abraham Feinberg. You name any leader in the Jewish faction, and he had intimate contacts with him." Connelly denoted Lowenthal as one of contacts–"oh, very much so, very much so." When Niles died in 1951, Connelly chose Feinberg to succeed him in that liaison role.)) Historian Michael J. Cohen argues that Clark Clifford relied on Lowenthal for advice on Israel, and Lowenthal in turn on
Benjamin V. Cohen Benjamin Victor Cohen (September 23, 1894 – August 15, 1983), a member of the administrations of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman, had a public service career that spanned from the early New Deal to after the Vietnam War. Education ...
. In the late 1950s, Norman Thomas criticized
Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British mathematician, philosopher, logician, and public intellectual. He had a considerable influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, linguistics, ...
for citing Lowenthal and
Cedric Belfrage Cedric Henning Belfrage (8 November 1904 – 21 June 1990) was an English film critic, journalist, writer and political activist. He is best remembered as a co-founder of the radical US weekly ''National Guardian''. Later Belfrage was referenced ...
as authorities on wrongdoings by the FBI. Russell responded in "The State of Civil Liberties" in '' The New Leader'', published on February 18, 1957. Russell retorted, "You seem to imply that criticisms of the FBI can be ignored if they come from Communists or Fellow-travellers. In particular, you point out that Mr. Lowenthal had a grievance against the FBI. It is, however, an almost invariable fact that protests against injustice originate with those who suffer from them." In which case, Russell recommended that Thomas go buy and read Lowenthal's book. As late as 1967, Lowenthal denied ever even discussing Israel with President Truman and claimed to have only heard of the partition of Palestine through a secondhand source in the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
.


Personal life and death

Lowenthal was married to Eleanor Mack, niece of Judge Julian Mack. They had three children: David (1923), John (1925) and Elizabeth (Betty). His sons were
David Lowenthal David Lowenthal (26 April 1923 – 15 September 2018) was an American historian and geographer, renowned for his work on heritage. He is credited with having made heritage studies a discipline in its own right. Biography David Lowenthal was bor ...
and
John Lowenthal John Lowenthal (1925-2003) was a 20th-century American lawyer, civil servant, law professor, and documentary filmmaker, who defended the name and reputation of family friend Alger Hiss almost all his life. Background John Lowenthal was b ...
. On September 15, 1950, Lowenthal told HUAC that he kept homes at 467 West Central Park in Manhattan and in
New Milford, Connecticut New Milford is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The town is in western Connecticut, north of Danbury, on the banks of the Housatonic River, and it shares its border with the northeastern shore of Candlewood Lake. It is t ...
. During World War II, he resided at 1 West Irving Street,
Chevy Chase, Maryland Chevy Chase () is the name of both a town and an unincorporated census-designated place (Chevy Chase (CDP), Maryland) that straddle the northwest border of Washington, D.C. and Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Several settlements in th ...
. Regarding Truman overall, late in life Lowenthal told Truman Library oral historian Jerry N. Hess:
I was deeply sold on Mr. Truman's usefulness to America. I haven't been a hero worshipper but I have had deep affection for some men in public affairs whom I got to know, and that was certainly true in the case of Mr. Truman.
During the same interview, however, Lowenthal remembered Truman only one staff by name (Victor Messall). Regarding Truman's views on red scares in the United States, Lowenthal commented: He died age 83 on May 18, 1971, at home (444 Central Park West) of heart ailment. Lowenthal was a trustee of the
Twentieth Century Fund The Century Foundation (established first as The Cooperative League and then the Twentieth Century Fund) is a progressive think tank headquartered in New York City with an office in Washington, D.C. It was founded as a nonprofit public policy r ...
from 1924 to 1933.


Recollections about him

Recollections of Lowenthal from Truman Library oral histories are mixed. Some are favorable: * "Disciple of
Louis Brandeis Louis Dembitz Brandeis (; November 13, 1856 – October 5, 1941) was an American lawyer and associate justice on the Supreme Court of the United States from 1916 to 1939. Starting in 1890, he helped develop the "right to privacy" concept ...
": Margaret Truman * "A famous investigator" in 1935: Roswell L. Gilpatric, Deputy Secretary of Defense (1961–64) Others are less favorable: * "(Truman said)... I have two Jewish assistants on my staff, Dave Niles and Max Lowenthal. Whenever I try to talk to them about Palestine they soon burst into tears because they are so emotionally involved in the subject" in 1948: :
Oscar R. Ewing Oscar R. Ewing (March 8, 1889 – January 8, 1980) was a 20th-century American lawyer, social reformer, and politician who was one of the main authors of the Fair Deal program of U.S. President Harry S. Truman. Background Oscar Ross Ewing was ...
, organizer and member of unofficial political policy group during Truman administration (1947–52) * " I know they thought he was a Communist. And I never could figure that out. They came around to me about it. Max was a far-out liberal. He was a very good investigator on the railroads.": Raymond P. Brandt, St. Louis ''Post-Dispatch'' Washington Bureau Chief (1934–1961)
Stephen J. Spingarn Stephen J. Spingarn (September 1, 1908 – August 6, 1984) was a mid-20th-century American lawyer and civil servant in the Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, and (briefly) Dwight D. Eisenhower administrations, including Special Counsel ...
,
Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. The FTC shares jurisdiction ov ...
Commissioner (1950–1953), recalled,
Max Lowenthal was a good friend of the President's from the days in the '30s... They became friends at that time, and he had total access to the White House. During the McCarthy period he was there all the time, almost daily; he used to hang out in Matt Connelly's rear office. I had had an encounter early in my White House career with Max Lowenthal. Clark Clifford told me that Max was worried about an Internal Security bill (of 1950).
However, Spingarn also suspected that Lowenthal (and Connelly) "stuck the knife in me." Phileo Nash told Spingarn it was Connelly, influenced by Lowenthal:
I mentioned that Max Lowenthal had once told Niles, and possibly others that I was a Facist, that was in 1949, because I told Lowenthal I favored wiretapping under proper controls... Nash said it was quite possible that Max Lowenthal was very vindictive, and he mentioned that Max Lowenthal is currently spending much time in Matt's office with L's son.
Spingarn further recalled: After the FBI book came out, Westbrook Pegler, a right‐wing columnist, called Lowenthal "the mysterious New York lawyer, who now appears to have picked Harry Truman for President." In the early 1930s, claimed
Whittaker Chambers Whittaker Chambers (born Jay Vivian Chambers; April 1, 1901 – July 9, 1961) was an American writer-editor, who, after early years as a Communist Party member (1925) and Soviet spy (1932–1938), defected from the Soviet underground (1938), ...
in his 1952 memoir ''Witness'', Lowenthal (Max "Loewenthal" in ''Witness'') was a member of the International Juridical Association (IJA), along with
Carol Weiss King Carol Weiss King (24 August 1895 – 22 January 1952) was a well-known immigration lawyer, key founder of the International Juridical Association, and a founding member of the National Lawyers Guild in the United States. Her left-leanin ...
, Abraham Isserman, and
Lee Pressman Lee Pressman (July 1, 1906 – November 20, 1969) was a labor attorney and earlier a US government functionary, publicly alleged in 1948 to have been a spy for Soviet intelligence during the mid-1930s (as a member of the Ware Group), following hi ...
. In the inaugural issue of the ''Monthly Bulletin'' of the International Juridical Association (May 1932), "Max Lowenthal, member of the New York bar" appears in an article called "Protest Meeting." During his 1950 HUAC testimony, Lowenthal admitted that he had helped organize the " National Lawyers Guild" in the 1930s. He was also a member of the
American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acad ...
and the New York Bar Association. Lowenthal's correspondents included fellow Minnesotan George B. Leonard.


Works

In 1950 he wrote a book about the
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
, in which he dealt with issues he felt were still unresolved "although they were brought to light and discussed by statesmen in 1908 and 1909 when the police force now known as the FBI was created." The ''New York Times'' announced the book a day in advance of its publication on November 21, 1947, with a subtitle that read "Lawyer Says Hoover Policies Set Up Secret Police." In ''New York Times'' Sunday Book Review, Cabell Phillips said the book showed "immense research and careful documentation" and "almost for the first time... it pulled aside the self‐righteous cloak in which the FBI has wrapped itself." Writing for the ''University of Chicago Law Review'' in 1952, however, T. Henry Walnut (member of the Pennsylvania Bar) noted "From Mr. Lowenthal's review of the FBI's political activities they would appear negligible between the years 1924 and 1946, when the Bureau picked up the trail of the Communist. This period, however, was not a political vacuum. It was filled with differences as bitter as any the country has ever known... If Mr. Lowenthal is still looking for evidence as to what can be done through the FBI, under its present centralized direction from Washington, to oppress dissenting individuals and groups, it would be well for him to study the period from December 8, 1941 to the end of 1945
George M. Elsey
Administrative Assistant to the President (1949–1951) felt that "Lowenthal had a passionate dislike of the FBI and J. Edgar Hoover in particular." Asked to read galley proofs for his book on the FBI, he later commented, "The book was so unfair, so grossly biased, so sloppily done in every respect that it couldn't possibly influence anybody about the FBI. Any serious reader would just lay the thing aside in disgust... The President was just tolerant, shrugged his shoulder, tended to laugh it off and say, 'Oh, Max is that way'." Books: * ''The Investor Pays'' (1933) (1936) * ''The Railroad Reorganization Act'' (1933) * Uncredited speeches for Harry S. Truman * ''The Federal Bureau of Investigation'' (1950) (1971) * ''Police methods in crime detection and counter-espionage'' (1951) (paper)


See also

* Felix Frankfurter *
Julian W. Mack Julian William Mack (July 19, 1866 – September 5, 1943) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Commerce Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, the United States Circuit Courts for the Seventh Circuit, ...
*
Carol Weiss King Carol Weiss King (24 August 1895 – 22 January 1952) was a well-known immigration lawyer, key founder of the International Juridical Association, and a founding member of the National Lawyers Guild in the United States. Her left-leanin ...
*
Benjamin V. Cohen Benjamin Victor Cohen (September 23, 1894 – August 15, 1983), a member of the administrations of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman, had a public service career that spanned from the early New Deal to after the Vietnam War. Education ...
* Sidney Hillman *
Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
*
Oscar R. Ewing Oscar R. Ewing (March 8, 1889 – January 8, 1980) was a 20th-century American lawyer, social reformer, and politician who was one of the main authors of the Fair Deal program of U.S. President Harry S. Truman. Background Oscar Ross Ewing was ...
* Robert Szold *
John Lowenthal John Lowenthal (1925-2003) was a 20th-century American lawyer, civil servant, law professor, and documentary filmmaker, who defended the name and reputation of family friend Alger Hiss almost all his life. Background John Lowenthal was b ...
*
David Lowenthal David Lowenthal (26 April 1923 – 15 September 2018) was an American historian and geographer, renowned for his work on heritage. He is credited with having made heritage studies a discipline in its own right. Biography David Lowenthal was bor ...


References


External sources

* * *
Truman Library - Max Lowenthal Papers
* Michael J. Cohen, ''Truman and Israel,'' (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1990.) * Ronald Radosh and Allis Radosh, ''A Safe Haven: Harry S. Truman and the Founding of Israel'' (HarperCollins, 2009)
Library of Congress
Donald S Dawson papers, 1944-1993
Library of Congress
Felix Frankfurter papers, 1846–1966
Library of Congress
Photo of Truman and Lowenthal (October 20, 1937)
Yad Vashem
Max Lowenthal Collection
EHRI Collection of Max Lowenthal

Duke University - Max Lowenthal box
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lowenthal, Max 1888 births 1971 deaths Lawyers from Minneapolis Writers from Minneapolis Harvard Law School alumni Jewish American attorneys People associated with Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent Jewish socialists 20th-century American lawyers University of Minnesota alumni The Century Foundation