Ten public figures haunted by the ghost of politics past

The BNP's got a little list - featuring vicars, teachers and the odd NHS doctor.

Presumably these people are currently hoping that their congregation, pupils and patients simply don't find out. But if the lessons of public figures are anything to go by, they should probably think again.

From the Papacy to the Senate, Comment Central takes a look at ten politicos who - whether innocent or guilty - are dogged by events in their past.

Robert Byrd

At 90 years of age, Robert Byrd is the longest serving Senator and the redoubtable Father of the House. But as a 24-year-old, the West Virginian enjoyed a slightly different title: Exalted Cyclops of the Ku Klux Klan. The Senator, who has never tried to hide his past, was an active member of the hate-group for a year. He recently endorsed Obama and has made the following statement:

I know now I was wrong. Intolerance had no place in America. I apologized a thousand times . . . and I don't mind apologizing over and over again.

Kurt Waldheim

As Secretary General of the UN, Waldheim was a much-respected figure on the world stage. But he never admitted to his role as an SA intelligence officer for the Nazis. After four decades of secrecy, the storm broke. Despite the ensuing scandal, Waldheim became President of Austria. Some believe his countrymen were sympathetic to a story that mirrored so many of their own.

François Mitterrand

Mitterrand's personal and political life caused many scandals. But his entanglement with the Vichy Government remains the most damaging. After fighting in World War II, the future President became a member of the Resistance. But by day he worked for the Vichy regime. In 1943 they awarded him the Francisque award for loyal service. The French,true to form, have been philosophising about the meaning of this ever since.

Pope Benedict XVI

While his predecessor helped hide Jews in Nazi-occupied Poland. Joseph Ratzinger was growing up in Germany. His strongly Catholic family disapproved of Nazism and the otherwise obedient future Pope did his best to avoid compulsory Hitler Youth meetings. Unlike others on this list he has never denied his entanglement with the Nazis and made a point of praying for forgiveness during a visit to Auschwitz.

Harry S. Truman

The 33rd President's involvement with the KKK consists solely of a $10 membership fee. Which he immediately demanded back. As a young politician in Missouri, Truman did toy with the idea of joining the Klan. But when he discovered that this meant he could only give county jobs to Protestants, he changed his mind.

Alger Hiss

It was the scandal to end all scandals. As an official in the State Department, Hiss had the ear of the president. But, according to Whittaker Chambers, his own ears were more tuned in to the Communist Party. The resulting trial gripped America. Hiss was charged with perjury in 1950 and sentenced to five years. He spent the rest of his life trying to clear his name but nobody doubts his guilt.

Joschka Fischer

If gossip is hard to get rid of, you would have thought that photographic evidence of the German Foreign Minister beating up a policeman might prove even more difficult. The Green party member had been active in the left-wing movements of the 60s where he was part of a 'cleaning squad.' Despite the furore, the images didn't harm Fishcher. Poll consistently placed him as the most popular politician in Germany.

Mohammed Ali

While Ali's associations with the Ku Klux Klan have not delivered a knockout blow to his reputation, they certainly dent it. As a member of the separatist Nation of Islam, Ali met with KKK leaders and attended one of their rallies just before the Thrilla in Manila.

Lionel Jospin

Like his old friend Mitterrand, Jospin suffered from associations past. The former French Prime Minister was much admired as a staunch member of the Socialist Party. But his Trotskyite affiliations went down less well. Jospin lied when put on the spot about his Communist connections by investigative journalists. Had he come clean about them earlier, his reputation would have suffered less.

Günter Grass

All his powers of magical realism couldn't soften Germany's shock when Grass admitted that he had belonged to the SS. Although the Nobel prize-winning author voluntarily confessed to the compulsory service, many saw his admission as coming sixty years too late. His reputation as the voice of liberal Germany has never quite recovered.

Comments

[Carol Anne]

Harry S Truman's middle initial is not an abbreviation. His middle name was "S". No period necessary.

[ehross]

It's always been a classic double standard, it's alright to be an ex communist[the worst organization in history with the exception of the Muslim and catholic religions] but it's never OK to be an ex Nazi.

[Anne]

I don't think the reputation of Günter Grass was tarnished by the fact that he served in the SS. He was conscripted, as any male youth of his age would have been at the time. He was born in 1927, how come people are surprised by that? I would be surprised if he had somehow managed to dodge the draft. Even 12-year old girls were taking up arms against the Russians in Berlin in the last days of the war.

[Andrew]

Surely Pope Benedicts past membership of Hitlers Youth Movement was worthy of mention? I doubt if 'Joe Public' has heard of most of the above anyway. Do your homework!

[Emma K]

The man who owns IKEA has some dodgy stuff in his past:

"IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad was, as a teen, directly involved in the pro-Nazi New Swedish Movement (Nysvenska Rörelsen) until at least 1945."

I read this on Wikipedia so it must be true...

[RC]

The evidence provided by Mr. Truman's own practice argues strongly for the use of the period.

Several widely recognized style manuals provide guidance in favor of using the period. According to The Chicago Manual of Style all initials given with a name should "for convenience and consistency" be followed by a period even if they are not abbreviations of names. The U.S. Government Printing Office Style Manual states that the period should be used after the "S" in Harry S. Truman's name.

Most published works using the name Harry S. Truman employ the period. Authors choosing to omit the period in their texts must still use it when citing the names of organizations that employ the period in their legal titles (e.g. Harry S. Truman Library) thus seeming to contradict themselves. Authoritative publications produced by the Government Printing Office consistently use the period in Mr. Truman's name, notably the Department of State's documentary series Foreign Relations of the United States, Diplomatic Papers, the Department of the Army's United States Army in World War II and two major publications of the Office of the Federal Register, Public Papers of the President - Harry S. Truman and the United States Government Organization Manual.

http://trumanlibrary.org/speriod.htm

[The 3rd Column]

Mr Finkelstein,

Re: "The French,true to form, have been philosophising about the meaning of this ever since."

What exactly do you mean by that. Do you mean it as a compliment or as a tirade?

[Glen]

Wasn't Walt Disney an (alleged) Nazi sympathiser?

[Martin]

I have to admit to being confused about Ali's purported attendance at a KKK rally. He clearly was not thinking of joining; maybe he just wanted to know what the fuss was about?

[keith manton]

I can not imagine that Ali had any simpathy for the KKK cause, however I do believe he is smart enough to want to check them out and see what they were up to. Is that not what Mr. Obama wants to do in Iran....or am I being naive?

[ha!]

This article on Ali is laughable. Please re write. Yeah I did not get that dig of the French. Lame article

[ha!]

I forgot to mention that Bush's grandfather was involved with financing the Nazis too.

[ace]

EHROSS... that's the funniest thing I have read all week. Thank you and keep them coming. Well funny.

[Mark]

Ehross, you are an intolerant buffoon.

[Michael H. Barton]

What about Senator Ted Kennedy and his negligent and disgraceful behaviour during the Chappaquiddick incident in 1969, that resulted in the drowning death of Mary Jo Kopechne.
And let's not forget that Senator Kennedy was also sent down from Harvard for cheating in an exam.
Surely he should appear in the top 10.

[Brother Damage]

I HAD TO WINCE at the attempt to put what Ali did as something that haunts him.

It's just not true as you folks altready know , dent his reputation you say. lol what a joke

You had to put a brother/afican american icon in the little hit list so why not choose Ali, AFTER ALL NOONE WILL MAKE much of a fuss at the stupidity to include him , now wil they?

A lamentable situation still exists in this country to have hinm included. Sad , but true!

[MartinS]

Style manual Shmyle manual -- I never saw any newpaper write U.Nu when referring to the then Burmese prime minister.

[WPW]

Martin: Ali attended the rally because he, like the KKK, believed in racial separation. There was some contact between the KKK and the Black Muslims around this time.
Anne: I don't think the SS conscripted anybody - you had to volunteer, which doesn't reflect well on Grass.

[Andrew]

You are right about Truman not have a middle name but just an initial but it still has a period. You can see it in his signature on Wikipedia (so it must be true ;-) ) I guess it just took too much explaining at the time to omit.

[BARNESE]

Where's HENRY KISSINGER in this list? The man who allegedly gave the Javanese carte blanche in East Timor, ordered "wet jobs" (assassinations) in South America and still runs a secretive right-wing power forum.

[Mister Jimmy]

Well, not EVERYBODY agrees Hiss was 'guilty.' I don't care what his job was, he had a right to embrace any idea or set of ideas he wanted. He wasn't convicted of leftist thought, anyway. He was a victim of McCarthyism, that's what it really was. Also falling all over yourself to 'apologize' for the current pope's background makes you look silly as well. He willingly joined the Hitler Youth and fought as a Nazi stormtrooper. I left the Catholic Church in the 1960's, but had I stayed on, I would have definitely left when they named this dude to run things.

[adwoa]

All Germans that age had to join the Hitler Youth, mere membership would not mean that the youth in question was a rabid Nazi. Let's not confuse membership of the Hitler Youth with membership of the SS.

[Ian Thal]

By the time the Nazis solifified their hold on power in Germany, participation in the Hitler Youth (SSHJ) was, if not mandatory, an activity into which "Aryan" youth were strongly pressured. By the close of World War II in Europe, boys as young as ten were conscripted for paramilitary service. This doesn't excuse every word, deed, or association, but it is the historical context.

[MM]

How odd: "EHROSS" is an anagram of "SS Hero". Is there anything in your past you'd like to share with us?

[bobby brown]

EHROSS there is no such thing as an ex-Nazi. There is "guilty" and "not guilty" of crimes against humanity and there is "guilty" and "not guilty" by association but there is no such thing as Ex guilty and no such thing as Ex Nazi.

Live with it, please

[Davey]

FACT. The English are the only race who are debarred from describing themselves as English as this left wing government seems to equate "English" with National Front. Little wonder that economic migrants are queuing up to get here. They seem to have more rights than the English yet they are responsible for a disproportionate amount of crime and vehicle accidents/offences. Just remember who shot WPC Fletcher and WPC Bezhenevski. OK saying this is not PC but evil will triumph when good men do nothing.

[jorrell]

Even more odd that MM is for Mass Murderer! or Monkey Molester....

[David]

Re: Anne and Günter Grass
No one was conscripted to the S.S. All members were volunteers and had to provide proof they were 100% pure Aryans.

[Bob Evans]

Alger Hiss was not prosecuted because he 'embrace[d] any idea or set of ideas'. He was accused of spying for the Soviet Union when testifying before Congress. He was prosecuted and convicted of perjury when he lied under oath. Although Left insisted that he was innocent and a "victim" of "McCarthyism", historians have subsequently determined from the evidence that he was in fact guilty of spying for the Soviets. (Ironically, one historian obtained a large grant and set out to prove his innocence, only to have to admit that Hiss was guilty.)

[frank]

why the obsession with the kkk and nazi affiliations? get a life. no wonder england is becoming a third world nation....the media is causing native europeans to eat their young. so sad, no other peoples on earth would commit racial suicide like this.

[peter jones]

did you know thatHarry S Trumans wife would not allow a jew in the house when he was President.

[Hol]

You have to be careful before condemning someone for membership of the Nazi party/organisations - what wasn't strictly compulsory (Hitler Youth etc.) was often still extremely dangerous to turn down and thus might as well have been compulsory. There was a lot of pressure working on people at the time. Some were merely doing the minimum necessary to remain safe rather than being ideological Nazis or participating in the atrocities of the regine, which were unknown to many Germans before Allied discovery. You can't just issue blanket condemnation, there's a context.

Obviously that context does not and more to the point should not excuse everyone, there's no excuse for working at Auschwitz... but this is all just a long way I suppose of saying that being an ordinary German citizen was a very complex situation at the time and it's not a one size fits all judgment.

[Corriveau]

What about Menahem Begin ? Wasn't he a member of Irgun, a zionist terrorist militia which in July 1946, bombed The King David Hotel, killing 91 people. Your 10 public figures haunted by the past don't have blood on their hands. Begin had.

[ehross]

MM
or Ms Mengele

[johnalene]

You could certainly have included the national hero Charles Lindbergh.

[Phillip McKann]

There were no "victims of McCarthyism," there were only Communists. They're still here, but they're institutionalized, teaching in our Universities.

[BMB]

Davey, starting a post with the word FACT does not actually make the ensuing statement factual. It does however make you look like a moron.

That said, I'm as anti this goverment anyone, but mostly for the reason that because of their fiscal ineptitude I'm looking towards a life of high tax and a bankrupt pension (and I'm only 25!).

[JoeMama]

What a load of nonsense. Not a single mention of any Israeli politician; most of which have the blood of innocent civilians on their hands. Go right down the list and you will find no leader of Israel that didn't bathe his/her hands in rivers of blood.

Israel is a terrorist state run by terrorists. This has always been the case

[Bilberry]

I've been reading these comments -- excuse me. I seem to have wandered into a meeting of Paranoid Whackjobs of the World.

Please go right ahead with your interesting theories about the monsters under your beds. Me, I've gotta get back to Planet Earth.

Jeeeeeesus, folks. Crazy much??

[Howard]

"Not a single mention of any Israeli politician"

Why would any be mentioned? They have been at war for every year since the state was founded, of course they have had to fight.

[Charles]

Bobby Brown. There is such a thing as an ex president, as well as an ex Marxist (e.g. Christopher Hitchens). There is no such thing as an ex black man, or ex dog, or cat. See the difference, or are you too thick to think?

[ehross]

"Howard"

Because their conduct parallels the worst in human behavior.

[Matt Power]

In line with the Pope's actions in Nazi Germany I think it is worth mentioning that at least one religious group stood against joining Nazi activities. Refusing to join the military, work in munitions factories, join the Hitler Youth or even salute Hitler's picture or the Nazi flag during school lessons. Because of this united stand many Jehovah's Witnesses were sent to concentration camps and hundreds executed. For their freedom all they had to do was renounce their faith, the vast majority preferred death and torture than to do this. An interesting comparison.

[Talese Amer]

Get over the communism thing. The hunt for them in the US in the 50s-70s was disgraceful. Nothing wrong with being a communist - it just means you are a bit stupid.

People who commit treason however, they deserve all they get. Did Hiss commit treason???

As for Ali, well attending a rally because there was a mutual agreement about racial separation is not great, but I really dont think he should be in the list.

Not a great article.

[mike sanders]

i just love reading these comments what a bunch of whack jobs as someone called them. btw what are Javanese could they possibly be Indonesians?

[Ian]

What about ex-Irgun and Sterns guys who killed and ex-propriated hundred thousands .. That dig on the French was very low as well . Funny you quote mostly Germans and French .. and people without blood on their hand by the way unlike some of your neo-cons heroes , but oh yea all those civilians die by bombing mistake , your apologies will recomfort them for sure , you might as well give em some freedom fries , might help .

What about Hitler voted personality of the year in Britain , what about your royal family admiring him , what about Kissinger's bloody hands , G.W. Bush's grandfather (banker for NAZIS ) , what about the dozens of real war criminals you didn't talk about and that will never be judged at the Hague , you know ...that puppet court only meant to judge non-westerners targeted by the white house ...

Once upon a time , journalists were doing some real work of "critics" , these times are over sadly , at least in Britain from what i read everyday , always the same point of view politically correct that will not anger Mr. Murdoch , no risks , no polemics .. anyway , might keep your job safe in these crisis times , cheers