Lewis L. Strauss, Memorandum, January 22, 1958, SC-12104, American Jewish Archives, Cincinnati, Ohio (copy from the American Jewish Historical Society, 1974).

Memorandum from the Files of Lewis L. Strauss

Lewis Lichtenstein Strauss (1899?1974) was a man of many worlds. Before becoming one of the most successful investment bankers in the United States, Strauss began his career as a traveling shoe salesman working with his father. Later on, he also became a public servant and an important policy maker. In 1946, Strauss was appointed to the inaugural Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), on which he served for four years. The agency was created by President Truman (1884?1972) for the purpose of civilian oversight, operation, and development of nuclear technology and science in the post-World War II era. Strauss was later called back to national service by President Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890?1969) when the President appointed him as the third chair of the AEC?a position he held from 1953 to 1958. Strauss is perhaps best remembered for his presiding role in the AEC hearings of April 1954, which resulted in the revocation of the security clearance of renowned nuclear physicist and head of the Manhattan Project, J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904?1967) due to Oppenheimer?s relationships with members of the Communist party and his opposition to the creation of a Hydrogen bomb. In 1958, Strauss was asked by Eisenhower to serve as the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, but Strauss became the eighth person to not be confirmed by the Senate due, in part, to his strong arming of Oppenheimer, his opponents and detractors while at the AEC, as well as allegations of lying under oath during his hearings. Having his nomination rejected by the Senate, Strauss returned to civilian life to continue his lucrative investment banking career until his death in 1974.

In 1958, while serving his remaining months as chairman of the AEC, Strauss sat in on meetings of the National Security Council (NSC) by invitation of the President. It was customary for Strauss to simply observe the proceedings, but this memorandum recounts a 22 January 1958 meeting of the NSC whereby George V. Allen, head of the U.S. Information Agency and a longtime member of the Foreign Service, had proposed that the American government remove the tax exempt status for all contributions made in the U.S. to overseas Jewish relief organizations or to Israel itself. Allen argued that this policy would act as a curb on immigration to the newly-created state. In this memo, Strauss broke his silence and spoke out?both to the President as well as to the other members of the NSC:

It is true that the friends and proponents of the State of Israel may be more numerous?and are certainly more vocal?than those who feel that its establishment as an independent political unity was inadvisable. There can be no question that it [the State of Israel] has resulted in the saving the lives of perhaps as many as two million innocent men, women, and children ? the remnant from the gas chambers and massacres of Hitler and his imitators.

Afterwards, two high level generals and members of the NSC spoke to Strauss and not only withdrew the idea altogether, but apologized for their mistake in policy and judgment. Interestingly, while Strauss did have a history of being active in Jewish organizations, including the Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and the Jewish Agricultural (and Industrial) Aid Society, he largely disagreed with Zionists on the creation of the state of Israel. Instead, Strauss pushed for the assimilation of Jews into the populations of the countries in which they lived as equal members of society.

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