Saul Kussiel Padover (April 13, 1905 – February 22, 1981) was a

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

and

political scientist Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

at the

New School for Social Research The New School for Social Research (NSSR) is a graduate-level educational institution that is one of the divisions of The New School in New York City, United States. The university was founded in 1919 as a home for progressive era thinkers. NSS ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

who wrote biographies of philosophers and politicians such as

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

and

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

Early years and education

Padover was born in Rozwadów, then in

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

, but now in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. He emigrated to the United States in 1920. Padover earned a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree from

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

. He completed graduate coursework at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...

New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

and received a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

and in 1932. He later received a Ph.D. from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

Civil Service

Padover worked in the

United States Department of Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the ma ...

, as a political analyst for the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdicti ...

, and as an intelligence officer for the

Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the intelligence agency of the United States during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines for all branc ...

. Padover supervised civilian members of the Psychological Warfare Division (PWD). His service was notable for his leaking the identity of U.S.-appointed mayor of

Aachen Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th ...

Franz Oppenhoff Franz Oppenhoff (18 August 1902 – 25 March 1945) was a German lawyer who was appointed mayor of the city of Aachen after its capture by Allied forces in World War II. He was subsequently assassinated on the order of Heinrich Himmler. Biography ...

;

Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...

subsequently ordered the assassination of Oppenhoff.

Academia and writing career

Padover wrote editorials for '' PM'', a short-lived liberal newspaper. In 1949, he joined the graduate faculty of

The New School The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...

. He also directed the General Seminar, the New School's interdisciplinary seminar for faculty.

Personal life and death

Padover was married first to Irina Padover, and following the death of his first wife, to Peg Fenwick, screenwriter of the film '' All That Heaven Allows''. Padover died on February 22, 1981.

Selected works

*''The Life and Death of Louis XVI''. D. Appleton-Century, 1939. *''Jefferson'': ''A Great American's Life and Ideas''. Harcourt, Brace, 1942. *''Experiment in Germany. The Story of an American Intelligence Officer'' (1946), New York: Duell, Sloane and Pearce * *''The Complete Madison. Harper, 1953''. *''A Jefferson Profile: As Revealed in His Letters''. John Day, 1956. *''Confessions and Self-Portraits''. John Day, 1957. *''The Mind of Alexander Hamilton''. Harper, 1958. *''The Genius of America''. McGraw-Hill, 1960. *''The Meaning of Democracy: An Appraisal of the American Experience''. (1963) *''Karl Marx: An Intimate Biography''. McGraw-Hill, 1972. * ''Sources of Democracy''. McGraw-Hill, 1973. * ''Karl Marx on American and the Civil War''. McGraw-Hill, 1973. *''The Living U.S. Constitution''. With Jacob W. Landynski. Signet, 1953. *''Nehru on World History''. John Day, 1960. An adaptation of '' Glimpses of World History'' by

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian Anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India du ...

References

External links

Saul K. Padover Papers, 1947-1972

University at Albany The State University of New York at Albany, commonly referred to as the University at Albany, UAlbany or SUNY Albany, is a public research university with campuses in Albany, Rensselaer, and Guilderland, New York. Founded in 1844, it is on ...

Libraries
Saul K. Padover papers 1944-1945

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress) ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Padover, Saul K. Historians of the United States American political scientists American male journalists American non-fiction writers Wayne State University alumni Yale University alumni University of Chicago alumni American civil servants United States Army officers United States Army personnel of World War II Austrian Jews Austrian emigrants to the United States 1905 births 1981 deaths People of the Office of Strategic Services 20th-century American historians Journalists from New York City 20th-century American male writers Historians from New York (state) 20th-century political scientists