The Protocols |
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First publication of The Protocols |
Writers, editors, and publishers associated with The Protocols |
Debunkers of The Protocols |
Commentaries on The Protocols |
Harris Ayres Houghton (February 25, 1874 - September 2, 1946) [1] was a physician and member of the United States military intelligence community during and shortly after World War I. He is notable for having arranged the anonymous translation, from the Russian language into the English language, publication and dissemination, of the notoriously antisemitic Protocols of the Elders of Zion in the United States in 1920. The lead title he was responsible for producing was "Praemonitus Praemunitus." [2]
Harris was the son of Oscar Allen Houghton (May 15, 1841 - Sept. 22, 1908) and Oscar's first wife Susan Harris Ayres (July 7, 1843 - Dec. 9, 1900). Oscar was a minister who belonged to the Central New York Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1901 Harris graduated from the Syracuse University School of Medicine. He thereafter pursued advanced study in Berlin. On Oct. 26, 1902, Harris married Virginia Boyd Dudley (Dec. 8, 1876 - April 8, 1946) [3] of Bramwell, Mercer County, West Virginia. In 1911 he received his commission as first lieutenant in the Medical Reserve Corps, achieving the position of Post Surgeon at Fort Totten, New York, and a few months later was appointed Post Intelligence Office at this installation. And in December 1917 he was transferred and assigned to his position on Governor's Island. [2]
On or about February 1, 1918, his personal assistant, Miss Natalie de Bogory, brought him an exceedingly rare book, a 1917 edition of Serge Nilus's book on the anti-Christ which incorporated into itself as an ending chapter the notorious plagiarism, literary forgery, and hoax subsequently known briefly as the infamous Protocols of Zion. This rare edition had allegedly been brought to the United States by an unidentified Russian army officer who obtained it in Petrograd, Russia. [2]
At the time of obtaining the text from Miss de Bogory, Dr. Houghton was a military intelligence officer of the United States Department of War attached to the Eastern Department offices located on Governor's Island in the City of New York. [2]
Noted bibliographer of Judaica, Robert Singerman, describes Houghton as a "zealous counter-subversive, obsessed by the [alleged] Jewish threat to America's war effort ..." Singerman further informs us that this obsessiveness led Houghton to engage Miss de Bogory, as his personal assistant, for 9 months, and he paid for her time and work out of his own personal funds. Essentially, he retained her, and another former Russian military officer, former General G. J. Sosnowsky, to translate the Protocols of Zion into English. [2] The translation, entitled "Praemonitus Praemunitus", was published in 1920 by the New York-based Beckwith Company; the anonymous editor, disguised under the pseudonym "Peter Beckwith," was Houghton himself. [2]
Captain Koreshige Inuzuka was the head of the Japanese Imperial Navy's Advisory Bureau on Jewish Affairs from March 1939 until April 1942. Unlike his Imperial Japanese Army counterpart, Colonel Yasue Norihiro, he believed strongly in the Protocols of the Elders of Zion; these beliefs led him to think that attracting Jews to settle in Japanese-controlled Asia was in the Empire of Japan's best interests.
The Britons was an English anti-Semitic and anti-immigration organisation founded in July 1919 by Henry Hamilton Beamish and John Henry Clarke. The organisation published pamphlets and propaganda under the names Judaic Publishing Co. and later The Britons, and (The) Britons Publishing Society. These entities mainly engaged in disseminating antisemitic literature and rhetoric in the United Kingdom. The organisation was on the forefront of British Fascists. Imprints under the first label exist for 1920, 1921, and 1922.
Cesare G. De Michelis is a scholar and professor of Russian literature at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, Italy.
The Berne Trial or Bern Trial was a famous court case in Bern, Switzerland which took place between 1933 and 1935. Two organisations, the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities and the Bernese Jewish Community sued the far-right Swiss National Front for distributing anti-Jewish propaganda. The trial focussed on the Front's use of the fraudulent antisemitic text, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Ultimately decided in favour of the plaintiffs, the Front was ordered to pay a symbolic fine and court costs. However, the trial became significant both for the international coverage and also for the extensive evidence presented, demonstrating the falsehoods contained in The Protocols.
Michael Hagemeister is a German historian and Slavist, an authority on The Protocols of the Elders of Zion and on Sergei Nilus.
Boris Leo Brasol, born Boris Lvovich Brazol, was a Russian lawyer and literary critic. After the October Revolution he settled in the United States.
Casimir Pilenas, a.k.a. Casimir Palmer, and a.k.a., Casimir Palmer-Pilenas, was a private investigator, a British intelligence agent, and a "spotter" for Scotland Yard.
George Shanks (1896–1957) was an expatriate Briton born in Moscow and was the first translator of Protocols of Zion from Russian into English. He was also a founding member of Radio Normandy. George Shanks was the son of Henry Shanks, a well-known British merchant who resided in Moscow. Henry Shanks managed the family firm of Shanks & Bolin, Magasin Anglais established by his father James Steuart Shanks in 1852. As a result of the Russian Revolution of 1917, the family lost their business and home and were forced to return to London. It is believed that the translation was completed during this period in London. His identity was not discovered until 1978; initially, it was believed that Victor E. Marsden was the translator, as his name came to be associated with the British English language translation of the Protocols in pamphlet or booklet form soon after he died in 1920.
Robert Singerman is a librarian, and a recognized Judaica bibliographer. He is often cited by Judaica rare book dealers. He holds the position of university librarian, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, where he was the bibliographer for Jewish studies, anthropology, and linguistics.
Natalie de Bogory (1887–1939) is primarily known for her work in translating from the Russian language into the English language, and subsequently distributing and participating in having published the first or second American edition in the United States of the document known as the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. There were two different editions printed in the United States in 1920. The earlier, entitled The Protocols and World Revolution, associated with Boris Brasol and published by Small, Maynard and Company. The later, entitled Praemonitus Praemunitus associated with Harris A. Houghton and published by the Beckwith Company.
Small, Maynard & Company is a defunct publishing house located in Boston. In its day it was a highly reputable house in literature, and several U.S. authors were published by it, including Walt Whitman.
The Beckwith Company was a publishing entity in 1920, based in New York City. It is remembered for publishing a second edition of the forged Protocols of the Elders of Zion, more specifically a second translation from the Russian language into the English language.
Herman Bernstein was an American journalist, poet, novelist, playwright, translator, Jewish activist, and diplomat. He was the United States Ambassador to Albania and was the founder of Der Tog, the Jewish daily newspaper.
The Singerman list is a numeric cataloging system for antisemitica items, as defined by the 1982 bibliographic listing, Antisemitic Propaganda: an annotated bibliography and research guide by Robert Singerman.
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion is a fabricated text purporting to detail a Jewish plot for global domination. Largely plagiarized from several earlier sources, it was first published in Imperial Russia in 1903, translated into multiple languages, and disseminated internationally in the early part of the 20th century. It played a key part in popularizing belief in an international Jewish conspiracy.
Ulrich Fleischhauer was a leading publisher of antisemitic books and news articles reporting on a perceived Judeo-Masonic conspiracy theory and "nefarious plots" by clandestine Jewish interests to dominate the world.
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion is a fabricated antisemitic text purporting to describe a Jewish plan to achieve global domination. The text was fabricated in the Russian Empire, and was first published in 1903. While there is continued popularity of The Protocols in nations from South America to Asia, since the defeat of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan in World War II, governments or political leaders in most parts of the world have generally avoided claims that The Protocols represent factual evidence of a real Jewish conspiracy. The exception to this is the Middle East, where a large number of Arab and Muslim regimes and leaders have endorsed them as authentic. Past endorsements of The Protocols from Presidents Gamal Abdel Nasser and Anwar Sadat of Egypt, Iraqi President Arif, King Faisal of Saudi Arabia, and Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi of Libya, among other political and intellectual leaders of the Arab world, are echoed by 21st century endorsements from the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Sheikh Ekrima Sa'id Sabri, and Hamas, to the education ministry of Saudi Arabia.
Ernest G. Liebold was the business representative and personal secretary of Henry Ford. A fervent antisemite, he took an active part in the antisemitic campaign conducted by the industrialist's weekly newspaper, The Dearborn Independent, from 1920 to 1927. He was also put under investigation by the United States Department of War for being a suspected German spy during the First World War.
Albert Sonnichsen was an American journalist, author and adventurer.