Julius Epstein (author)
Encyclopedia
Julius Epstein journalist and scholar, was an Austrian Jewish émirgré who fled Europe in 1938, worked during World War II in the Office of War Information, and after the war became a prominent American anti-communist researcher and critic of the Soviet Union. As a Research Associate at the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace at Stanford University
, over the course of 20 years Epstein amassed the documentation to write Operation Keelhaul
, the first account of the Allied policy of forcibly repatriating several million persons to the Soviet Union and countries within its sphere of influence after World War II.
, Human Events
, and National Review
. His appointment to the Hoover Institution came in 1963, as an assistant to Dr. Stefan Possony
, who conceived the U.S. Strategic Defense Initiative. Three years later he was named full professor of international affairs by Lincoln University
in San Francisco. Mr. Epstein died July 3, 1975, in Palo Alto, California. He was survived by his widow, Vally, and a son, Peter Stevens.
of some four million Soviet citizens, expatriated White Russians (who had emigrated from Russia after the Bolshevik Revolution and thus never had been Soviet citizens), and other Eastern Europeans to the Soviet Union and to those countries within its sphere of influence
after 1945. These people – Red Army POWs and civilians captured by the Nazis along with followers of General Andrei Vlasov
’s Russian Liberation Army
– were all considered to be traitors by the Soviets, and were severely persecuted. Most were condemned to lengthy prison terms, including in the Gulag
, and many were executed—including some who were summarily executed on the spot of their handover to the Soviets, within earshot of British and American troops.
Described by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
as “the last secret of World War II,” the forced repatriation was agreed upon in a secret codicil to the Yalta Agreement and was kept from the public for decades after World War II had ended. Mr. Epstein first became aware of Operation Keelhaul in 1954, while doing other research at a government archive. After being told the files notated in the card catalogue as “383.74: Forcible Repatriation of Soviet Citizens – Operation Keelhaul” were classified, Mr. Epstein labored for 20 years to acquire to files necessary to write his book, including suing the government to force them to de-classify and release the files.
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, over the course of 20 years Epstein amassed the documentation to write Operation Keelhaul
Operation Keelhaul
Operation Keelhaul was carried out in Northern Italy by British and American forces to repatriate Soviet Armed Forces POWs of the Nazis to the Soviet Union between August 14, 1946 and May 9, 1947...
, the first account of the Allied policy of forcibly repatriating several million persons to the Soviet Union and countries within its sphere of influence after World War II.
Life
A native of Vienna, Mr. Epstein was educated at the Universities of Jena and Leipzig, Germany. He left Germany on March 17, 1933, and lived for a time in Prague, Czechoslovakia. When that country was threatened by Hitler in 1938, he fled with his wife and son to Zurich, and in March 1939 the Epstein family arrived in New York City. Mr. Epstein was accredited to the United Nations as foreign correspondent for a number of Swiss newspapers and also contributed articles on the growing crisis in Europe to American magazines. In 1942 he joined the staff of the Office of War Information as Language Editor. After the war he was appointed New York correspondent for a group of newspapers in West Germany and also contributed articles to German magazines as well as to U.S. periodicals including Plain TalkPlain Talk
Plain Talk was the leading American anti-Communist magazine of the late 1940s. Edited by Isaac Don Levine, it featured articles written by many of the leading figures of the time....
, Human Events
Human Events
Human Events is a weekly American conservative magazine. It takes its name from the first sentence of the United States Declaration of Independence...
, and National Review
National Review
National Review is a biweekly magazine founded by the late author William F. Buckley, Jr., in 1955 and based in New York City. It describes itself as "America's most widely read and influential magazine and web site for conservative news, commentary, and opinion."Although the print version of the...
. His appointment to the Hoover Institution came in 1963, as an assistant to Dr. Stefan Possony
Stefan Thomas Possony
Stefan Thomas Possony was an Austrian-born U.S. economist and military strategist who conceived the U.S...
, who conceived the U.S. Strategic Defense Initiative. Three years later he was named full professor of international affairs by Lincoln University
Lincoln University
Lincoln University or University of Lincoln or variations may refer to:in England*University of Lincolnin New Zealand*Lincoln University, New Zealandin the United States*Lincoln University...
in San Francisco. Mr. Epstein died July 3, 1975, in Palo Alto, California. He was survived by his widow, Vally, and a son, Peter Stevens.
Lost Cosmonauts
In 1962, during the height of the Cold War, Mr. Epstein publicly alleged that the Soviet Union had lost at least a dozen cosmonauts in undisclosed space disasters. Epstein claimed this was known to the U.S. government, but that the State Department did not want “to embarrass the Russians” by revealing it. Rather, charged Epstein, "Washington's silence appears to be motivated by the strong desire to hear no evil, see no evil and speak no evil about the U.S.S.R." Epstein called on the U.S. government to publicly disclose the extent of its knowledge of Soviet space losses: "Now is the time for the government to make the deaths public for the sake of accurate history."Operation Keelhaul
In Operation Keelhaul, Epstein revealed in detail the forced repatriation at the end of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
of some four million Soviet citizens, expatriated White Russians (who had emigrated from Russia after the Bolshevik Revolution and thus never had been Soviet citizens), and other Eastern Europeans to the Soviet Union and to those countries within its sphere of influence
Eastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...
after 1945. These people – Red Army POWs and civilians captured by the Nazis along with followers of General Andrei Vlasov
Andrey Vlasov
Andrey Andreyevich Vlasov or Wlassow was a Russian Red Army general who collaborated with Nazi Germany during World War II.-Early career:...
’s Russian Liberation Army
Russian Liberation Army
Russian Liberation Army was a group of predominantly Russian forces subordinated to the Nazi German high command during World War II....
– were all considered to be traitors by the Soviets, and were severely persecuted. Most were condemned to lengthy prison terms, including in the Gulag
Gulag
The Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
, and many were executed—including some who were summarily executed on the spot of their handover to the Soviets, within earshot of British and American troops.
Described by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn was aRussian and Soviet novelist, dramatist, and historian. Through his often-suppressed writings, he helped to raise global awareness of the Gulag, the Soviet Union's forced labor camp system – particularly in The Gulag Archipelago and One Day in the Life of...
as “the last secret of World War II,” the forced repatriation was agreed upon in a secret codicil to the Yalta Agreement and was kept from the public for decades after World War II had ended. Mr. Epstein first became aware of Operation Keelhaul in 1954, while doing other research at a government archive. After being told the files notated in the card catalogue as “383.74: Forcible Repatriation of Soviet Citizens – Operation Keelhaul” were classified, Mr. Epstein labored for 20 years to acquire to files necessary to write his book, including suing the government to force them to de-classify and release the files.
Published Works
- Epstein, Julius. The Case Against Vera Micheles Dean and the Foreign Policy Association. 1947.
- ________.The Mysteries of the Van Vliet Report: A Case History. Chicago: Polish American Congress, Inc., 1951.
- ________. Operation Keelhaul: The Story of Forced Repatriation from 1944 to the Present. Old Greenwich: Devin-Adair, 1973.