Stefan Thomas Possony
Encyclopedia
Stefan Thomas Possony was an Austrian-born U.S. economist and military strategist who conceived the U.S. Strategic Defense Initiative
,, popularly known as Star Wars, after the successful science fiction film series.
he emigrated first to Czechoslovakia
, and then when Germany occupied that country in March 1939, he fled to France. Prior to emigrating there, in August 1938 he was one of the participants in the Colloque Walter Lippmann
, whose aim was to strive for the restoration of classical liberal ideas which had seen a decline in interest after the 1920s and 1930s. With this purpose in mind, Possony went to work with the French Foreign Affairs Ministry as a counselor in Psychological Warfare, and was active as a consultant with the French Armed Forces.
After France was occupied by the German Army in World War II, Possony, who had been on the Gestapo
's wanted list due to his opposition to Austria's annexation by Germany, was taken into custody, but was subsequently able to escape. He planned to flee over the Spanish border, but was fortunate to gain passage for himself and his first wife to French Algeria as the Wehrmacht occupied Paris in 1940. From there he managed to get passage to the United States, where he worked with US Military Intelligence. He was appointed to a position at Princeton University
. He later became a professor at Georgetown University and directed graduate studies for a number of students including active service military officers, while remaining a consultant to the Pentagon. Possony was one of the analysts who predicted the date of the first Soviet nuclear test.
. He was with William Kintner
and Robert Strausz-Hupé
a coauthor of the influential Cold War strategy treatise The Protracted Conflict, and in 1968 was co-author with Jerry Pournelle
and Francis X. Kane
of The Strategy of Technology. One of the chapters of Strategy of Technology was "Assured Survival", an argument against the prevailing strategy of "Assured Destruction," and argued strongly for strategic defense including defense against ICBMs.
He was a Senior Fellow and director of International Studies at the Hoover Institution
. In 1980 he participated in the Citizens' Advisory Council on National Space Policy
which wrote the space strategy policy for the transition team of the incoming Reagan Administration. The Council, which included General Daniel O. Graham, advocated the development of anti-ballistic missile systems, including space-based defense weapons, ground laser systems with mirrors in orbit, and nuclear defensive weapons to intercept massive multiple ICBM attacks. In this position he helped to influence Ronald Reagan
, who in 1983 initiated the development of such a system under the title Strategic Defense Initiative
. In 1982 he was a cofounder of the International Strategic Studies Association
.
After Stefan suffered a stroke in 1985, Regina Golbinder Possony singlehandedly kept him alive for ten years when no one expected him to live a single month longer. He died in Los Altos, California, USA, on April 26, 1995.
Strategic Defense Initiative
The Strategic Defense Initiative was proposed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan on March 23, 1983 to use ground and space-based systems to protect the United States from attack by strategic nuclear ballistic missiles. The initiative focused on strategic defense rather than the prior strategic...
,, popularly known as Star Wars, after the successful science fiction film series.
Early career
Possony graduated in 1930 from the University of Vienna in History and Economics, and a PhD in Political Science. He was employed by the Foreign ministry and after 1934 assisted in the efforts of the Schussnig government to resist Hitler's anschluss. In March 1938 after Austria was annexed by Nazi GermanyNazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
he emigrated first to Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
, and then when Germany occupied that country in March 1939, he fled to France. Prior to emigrating there, in August 1938 he was one of the participants in the Colloque Walter Lippmann
Colloque Walter Lippmann
The Colloque Walter Lippmann was a meeting of intellectuals organized in Paris in August 1938 by French philosopher Louis Rougier. After the 1920s and 1930s saw a decline in the interest for classical liberalism the aim was to construct a new Liberalism as a rejection of collectivism, socialism and...
, whose aim was to strive for the restoration of classical liberal ideas which had seen a decline in interest after the 1920s and 1930s. With this purpose in mind, Possony went to work with the French Foreign Affairs Ministry as a counselor in Psychological Warfare, and was active as a consultant with the French Armed Forces.
After France was occupied by the German Army in World War II, Possony, who had been on the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
's wanted list due to his opposition to Austria's annexation by Germany, was taken into custody, but was subsequently able to escape. He planned to flee over the Spanish border, but was fortunate to gain passage for himself and his first wife to French Algeria as the Wehrmacht occupied Paris in 1940. From there he managed to get passage to the United States, where he worked with US Military Intelligence. He was appointed to a position at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
. He later became a professor at Georgetown University and directed graduate studies for a number of students including active service military officers, while remaining a consultant to the Pentagon. Possony was one of the analysts who predicted the date of the first Soviet nuclear test.
Later career
Possony later worked at Stanford UniversityStanford 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...
. He was with William Kintner
William Kintner
William Roscoe Kintner was born in Loch Haven, PA on April 21, 1915. He entered the U.S. Military Academy in 1936 and graduated in 1940. He landed at Omaha Beach during the Normandy Invasion and retired from the military as a Colonel in 1961....
and Robert Strausz-Hupé
Robert Strausz-Hupé
Robert Strausz-Hupé was a U.S. diplomat and geopolitician.In 1923 he immigrated to the United States. Serving as an advisor on foreign investment to American financial institutions, he watched the Depression spread political misery across America and Europe...
a coauthor of the influential Cold War strategy treatise The Protracted Conflict, and in 1968 was co-author with Jerry Pournelle
Jerry Pournelle
Jerry Eugene Pournelle is an American science fiction writer, essayist and journalist who contributed for many years to the computer magazine Byte and has since 1998 been maintaining his own website/blog....
and Francis X. Kane
Francis X. Kane
Colonel Francis X. "Duke" Kane, Ph.D., USAF, retired, is the space planner and engineer responsible for the design concept of the Global Positioning System . Colonel Kane was General Bernard A. Schriever's Chief for Space and Ballistic Missile Planning at the U.S. Air Force Systems Command from...
of The Strategy of Technology. One of the chapters of Strategy of Technology was "Assured Survival", an argument against the prevailing strategy of "Assured Destruction," and argued strongly for strategic defense including defense against ICBMs.
He was a Senior Fellow and director of International Studies at the Hoover Institution
Hoover Institution
The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace is a public policy think tank and library founded in 1919 by then future U.S. president, Herbert Hoover, an early alumnus of Stanford....
. In 1980 he participated in the Citizens' Advisory Council on National Space Policy
Citizens' Advisory Council on National Space Policy
The Citizen's Advisory Council on National Space Policy was a group of prominent US citizens concerned with the space policy of the United States of America...
which wrote the space strategy policy for the transition team of the incoming Reagan Administration. The Council, which included General Daniel O. Graham, advocated the development of anti-ballistic missile systems, including space-based defense weapons, ground laser systems with mirrors in orbit, and nuclear defensive weapons to intercept massive multiple ICBM attacks. In this position he helped to influence Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
, who in 1983 initiated the development of such a system under the title Strategic Defense Initiative
Strategic Defense Initiative
The Strategic Defense Initiative was proposed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan on March 23, 1983 to use ground and space-based systems to protect the United States from attack by strategic nuclear ballistic missiles. The initiative focused on strategic defense rather than the prior strategic...
. In 1982 he was a cofounder of the International Strategic Studies Association
International Strategic Studies Association
The International Strategic Studies Association describes itself as Washington DC based non-governmental organization with a worldwide membership of professionals involved in national management, particularly in national and international security and strategic policy.-Recipients of ISSA...
.
Family life
Possony met the woman who would become his wife in the United States after migrating there from Spain. Regina Golbinder Possony, like her husband, had had to flee her native Germany as a result of Adolf Hitler's rise to power. She herself was a survivor of Stalin's prison camps, having fled to the Soviet Union from Germany with her father and his family, who as both a Jew and a Communist had little likelihood of survival. As Stalinist policy was to send any such refugees to the camps, this was a stark but better alternative to remaining in Nazi Germany. Her family's condition in the camps were improved somewhat by her taking advantage of her acquaintance with Albert Einstein, acquired in her youth on a family visit to the United States. She wrote Einstein a letter from the USSR prison camp addressed to "Dr. Albert Einstein, United States of America," which was duly delivered to him by the US Post Office at Princeton University. Einstein took the trouble to reply, and even included a small package of food and hygienic goods. This reportedly raised her status somewhat in Stalin's estimation.After Stefan suffered a stroke in 1985, Regina Golbinder Possony singlehandedly kept him alive for ten years when no one expected him to live a single month longer. He died in Los Altos, California, USA, on April 26, 1995.