Gerhart Eisler

In Exile
Date of birth:20. 02. 1897
Date of death:21. 03. 1968
Age:71† Deceased
Gender:Male
Race:White
Era:1940s
State:New York
Time in Exile:
18 Years 10 Months 20 Days
Support
Communism Anti-Fascism Communist Party USA
Gerhart Eisler

Biography

Gerhart Eisler was a German-born Communist and former Comintern functionary whom the House Un-American Activities Committee publicized as the secret “number one Communist” directing the Party in the United States. Called before the committee in February 1947, he refused to be sworn until he could first make a statement, and was cited for contempt of Congress; he was separately charged with passport fraud. Convicted, and free on bail while his appeals were pending, in 1949 he stowed away aboard the Polish ocean liner Batory and escaped to East Germany, where he became a senior official of the new German Democratic Republic and its chief of radio broadcasting until his death in 1968.

Case

Charges: Contempt of Congress.
In exile since: May 1949
Exile ended: Mar 21, 1968
Sentence: Sentenced for contempt of Congress; escaped to East Germany in 1949 before serving the term. Verdict as recorded: Yes — convicted of contempt of Congress; he fled the country in 1949 while free on bail pending appeal. Charges as recorded: Contempt of Congress — for refusing to be sworn before the House Un-American Activities Committee (February 1947) — together with a separate passport-fraud charge.
Convicted: Yes

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