Albert E. Kahn
| Albert Eugene Kahn | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 11, 1912 |
| Died | September 15, 1979 (aged 67) Glen Ellen, California |
| Cause of death | Heart attack |
| Relatives | Albert Kahn (uncle) |
Albert Eugene Kahn (May 11, 1912 – September 15, 1979) was an American journalist, photographer, author and nephew of modernist industrial architect Albert Kahn. He is mostly known as author of books Sabotage! The Secret War Against America and The Great Conspiracy: The Secret War Against Soviet Russia which described leading Soviet communists as foreign spies based on their forced confessions during Moscow Trials. Albert E. Kahn's father, Moritz Kahn, was senior engineer in the firm who set up the Kahn brothers Soviet Union operation in conjunction with Gosproekstroi.
Kahn was born in London, England to an affluent politically conservative Jewish family. Educated in the United States, he attended Phillips Exeter Academy and Dartmouth College, where he was a star athlete. His education exposed him to Shakespeare, and later in life he said that it was the study of King Lear that first awakened in him a sense of injustice. He was Dartmouth Class Poet, graduating in 1932. Married in 1934, he and the former Harriet Warner moved to California, where Kahn tried unsuccessfully to become a Hollywood screenwriter.
After the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, Kahn agreed to lead an ambulance tour to raise medical relief funds for Loyalist forces fighting against the fascist-supported Franco rebellion. On the tour, Kahn spoke to audiences ranging from the wealthy to the unemployed. It was the height of the Depression and Kahn was deeply affected by the widespread deprivation that he saw. Communists and socialists organized many of the speaking events and impressed Kahn with their idealism. After completing the tour in 1938, he joined the Communist Party of the United States.
With no employment prospects, Kahn accepted a job at Albert Kahn, Inc., but his political activism quickly caused a rupture. A talented orator, he began giving anti-fascist speeches. As he shared his name with his prominent uncle, the publicity caused consternation at the firm. Their concern was heightened by the reality that Henry Ford was the company's largest client, and Ford was engaged in business in Nazi Germany. In a meeting with his uncle and father, the younger Kahn was given a choice: Stop speaking publicly, or resign. He chose the latter option.
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