NARRATOR
The end of World War II brought no peace, but an arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union, and an intense fear of Communism pervading American society. Abroad it took the form of seeing every revolutionary movement as part of a world Communist conspiracy. At home there was a near-hysterical search for Communist influence everywhere, leading to loyalty oaths for government employees, secret FBI surveillance of hundreds of thousands of Americans, and congressional inquisitions into the political ideas and affiliations of educators and people in the arts. The House Committee on Un-American Activities decided there was Communist influence in the film industry. Informers named actors and directors as members of the Communist Party, and these were then called before the committee to inform on others, under penalty of prison if they did not cooperate, or of being blacklisted in their profession. Lionel Stander, a veteran Hollywood actor, dueled with the committee.
1953: HUAC HEARINGS
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MR. STANDER: |
Does the Committee charge me with being a Communist? |
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MR. VELDE: |
Mr. Stander, will you let me tell you whether you are charged with being a Communist? Will you be quiet just for a minute while I will tell you what you are here for? |
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MR. STANDER: |
Yes, I would like to hear. |
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MR. VELDE: |
You are here to give us information which will enable us to do the work that was assigned to us by the House of Representatives, which is a duty imposed upon us to investigate reports regarding subversive activities in the United States. |
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MR. STANDER: |
Well, I am more than willing to cooperate— |
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MR. VELDE: |
Now, just a minute. |
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MR. STANDER: |
Because I have—I know of some subversive activities in the entertainment industry and elsewhere in the country. |
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MR. VELDE: |
Mr. Stander, the Committee is interested in any subversive knowledge you have. |
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MR. STANDER: |
I have knowledge of some subversive action…and I can help the Committee if it is really interested. |
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MR. VELDE: |
Mr. Stander— |
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MR. STANDER: |
I know of a group of fanatics who are desperately trying to undermine the Constitution of the United States by depriving artists and others of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness without due process of law. If you are interested in that, I would like to tell you about it. I can tell names and I can cite instances, and I am one of the first victims of it, and if you are interested in that—and also a group of ex-Bundists, America Firsters, and anti-Semites, people who hate everybody, including Negroes, minority groups, and most likely themselves— |
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MR. VELDE: |
Now Mr. Stander— |
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MR. STANDER: |
And there are people engaged in the conspiracy, outside of all the legal processes to undermine our very fundamental American concepts upon which our entire system of jurisprudence exists— |
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MR. VELDE: |
Mr. Stander, unless you begin to answer these questions and act like a witness in a reasonable, dignified manner, under the rules of the Committee, I will be forced to have you removed from this room. |
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MR. STANDER: |
I am deeply shocked, Mr. Chairman. |