INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE LOS ANGELES AREA-Part 5 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1953 UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, EXECUTIVE STATEMENT 1 Hollywood, Calif. An executive statement, given at 4: 15 o'clock p. m., February 17, 1953, at 6400 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood, Calif. Present: William A. Wheeler, investigator. INTERROGATION OF MILDRED BENOFF 2 Mr. WHEELER. Will the witness state her full name, please? Mrs. BENOFF. Stern. Mr. WHEELER. Where do you presently reside? Mrs. BENOFF. 160 South Vista Street, Los Angeles 36. Mr. WHEELER. When were you born? Mrs. BENOFF. May 30, 1920. Mr. WHEELER. Are you presently under subpena to appear before the Committee on Un-American Activities on March 23, 1953! Mrs. BENOFF. Yes, I am. Mr. WHEELER. You are, however, appearing voluntarily today to answer any questions propounded by me? Mrs. BENOFF. Yes. Mr. WHEELER. You know I am an investigator of the House Committee on Un-American Activities? Mrs. BENOFF. Yes. Mr. WHEELER. You further realize by giving me this statement it does not in any way cancel your subpena, and it is up to the committee's discretion whether to call you or not. Mrs. BENOFF. Yes. Mr. WHEELER. Mrs. Benoff, have you ever been a member of the Communist Party? Mrs. BENOFF. Yes, I have. Mr. WHEELER. When did you first become a member? Mrs. BENOFF. Sometime in '44. I am sorry, I am very vague on dates. It was in '44, but I can't remember what month. Mr. WHEELER. Would you say it might have been 1943? Mrs. BENOFF. No. 1 Released by the committee. 2 Mildred Benoff was sworn as a witness by the court reporter. Mr. WHEELER. The records of the committee show you joined the Communist Party in September 1943. I was wondering if it might be correct. Mrs. BENOFF. No. I may have started going to meetings then, but I did not go in then. Mr. WHEELER. Do you recall the designation of the branch to which you were assigned? Mrs. BENOFF. No, I haven't the vaguest idea. Mr. WHEELER. Was it a branch comprised only of women? Mrs. BENOFF. Just a few women. There was this one man, Mischa, with his wife. I didn't have anything to do with Hollywood. This man seemed to have the hands of a working man. Mr. WHEELER. Will you relate the events that led to your joining the Communist Party? Mrs. BENOFF. When I came out here I started working for Russian War Relief. Mr. WHEELER. Will you state the time you came out? Mrs. BENOFF. We came out in July '43. I joined the Russian War Relief, which was an open and very pleasant organization to belong to at the time. There I met Elena Beck, and she and I became close friends at the time. She was having a good deal of difficulty with her husband. I was having my trouble adjusting from a very different kind of life in New York City to the life here. I was interested in proving myself as an individual in my own right. Elena seemed to be the one to help me this way very much. She told me that part of my growth, part of my growing up would be to develop politically. She did her best. She took me to several meetings over a period of time. My resistance to joining the party was that it was secretive, and knowing Max's great resistance to it Mr. WHEELER. By Max you are referring to your husband? Mrs. BENOFF. Yes-and I didn't want to join that. When I did join it was with the understanding it would be an open organization and would no longer be the Communist Party, but was on the way of being the Communist Political Association. Mr. WHEELER. You mentioned your husband's name, Max Benoff. You brought his name into the testimony, and I might ask in what ways he showed resistance to the Communist Party. Mrs. BENOFF. General discussion. Mr. WHEELER. You had previously discussed the Communist Party? Mrs. BENOFF. Well, when you live with a person over a number of years, even if you didn't nevertheless, you do have views and your views will be discussed. Mr. WHEELER. Did I break the continuity of your thought? Mrs. BENOFF. I will try to recall at what point I left off. I was assured by Elena and the others that this would be an open organization, that eventually everyone would be openly known, that there would be nothing secretive about it. I guess I was just right for joining, and this I did. As I told my attorney Mr. Gang, when I did, it was with my full name, with the hopes that eventually it was going to be a really and truly open thing. Mr. WHEELER. Elena Beck was actually responsible for recruiting you into this movement? Mrs. BENOFF. Yes. Actually, when I finally was a member and had gone to these several meetings it seemed to me that nothing really had changed and it wasn't on the way to being an open organization. It was just as secretive as before. At this time I was quite pregnant and my husband was facing induction. I was 3,000 miles from home and without a very good help situation, and another child, and my problem was somehow to keep Max with me until I give birth to my child and could get some family out with me. Mr. WHEELER. Now, do you recall in whose home these meetings were held? Mrs. BENOFF. The ones I can recall, meetings in Pauline Townsend's home Mr. WHEELER. Are those the Townsends who live up in Laurel Canyon? Mrs. BENOFF. No. I was taken by Elena Beck. She would pick me up. I couldn't find my way to these homes again. And Tania Tuttle. Mr. WHEELER. How about your own home? Mrs. BENOFF. No. Mr. WHEELER. Are those the only two places you remember going to meetings? Mrs. BENOFF. That I can say I remember. Mr. WHEELER. Who else were members of this group? Mrs. BENOFF. Pauline Townsend, Tania Tuttle, Elena Beck, Marie Rinaldo, and this Mischa. If I knew his second name I don't recall it. Mrs. BENOFF. Mischa is also a nickname in Russia, you know. I don't know if that is any help. Mr. WHEELER. Do you recall anyone else? Mrs. BENOFF. It was a very small group. No. Mr. WHEELER. How many members would you say comprised this? Mrs. BENOFF. I don't know. A half a dozen all told, I would say. Mr. WHEELER. Were you only in one group during the time of your membership? Mrs. BENOFF. That is all. Mr. WHEELER. Or two? Mrs. BENOFF. No, just one group. Mr. WHEELER. Was Ruth Burrows a member of this group? Mrs. BENOFF. No. Mr. WHEELER. Did you ever meet Ruth Burrows as a member of the Communist Party? Mrs. BENOFF. No. I know Ruth Burrows. I didn't meet her as a member of the Communist Party, to my knowledge. Mr. WHEELER. Do you know Ruth Kanin? Mrs. BENOFF. Yes. I think she is Michael Kanin's sister, from meeting her at the Kanin home. Mr. WHEELER. Did you ever meet her as a member of the Communist Party? Mrs. BENOFF. No. Mr. WHEELER. Do you know Anna Lask? Mrs. BENOFF. No. Mr. WHEELER. You don't know her at all? Mrs. BENOFF. No, not at all. Mr. WHEELER. How about Bea Buchman? Mr. WHEELER. Mrs. Dalton Trumbo? Mrs. BENOFF. No. Mr. WHEELER. Do you recall if anyone came in to instruct your group on the theory of Marxism or anything? Mrs. BENOFF. I think one man. I can't say I recall him. I just vaguely remember. Mr. WHEELER. Did you pay dues to the Communist Party? Mrs. BENOFF. Yes. I told Mr. Gang I assumed I did. I don't remember giving anyone dues, or who I gave it to; I just can't remember. Mr. WHEELER. Who were the leaders of the group, if you recall! Mrs. BENOFF. It seems to me this man Mischa knew more politically; that is about all. Just general discussion. Mr. WHEELER. How long would you say you were a member of this group? Mrs. BENOFF. Several months. Mr. WHEELER. Five, four? Mrs. BENOFF. Something like that, I would say; the best I can say. Mr. WHEELER. What is your estimate of the number of meetings you attended? Mrs. BENOFF. Oh, I don't know. I would say a dozen. It is hard to say. Mr. WHEELER. What would be your best guess? Mrs. BENOFF. I just would assume a dozen. I would say a dozen. That is the best I can do. Mr. WHEELER. Were you ever a member of the Communist Party while in New York City? Mrs. BENOFF. No, not at all. Mr. WHEELER. After your cleavage with the Communist Party, did anyone attempt to re-recruit you? Mrs. BENOFF. Elena did, just for a while, when I was still pregnant and hadn't given birth to my baby. She asked if I wouldn't come. By this time I was growing up. I was much more concerned with my immediate problems and didn't have time for that. Mr. WHEELER. Did Mr. Benoff at any time accompany you to any of the meetings? Mrs. BENOFF. No, never. Mr. WHEELER. Did Mr. Benoff know of your membership in the Communist Party? Mrs. BENOFF. He didn't know until I think you yourself told him, and Mr. Gang told him. Mr. WHEELER. Did you have any knowledge of your husband's membership in the Communist Party? Mrs. BENOFF. No, I did not. Mr. WHEELER. Would it have been possible for him to have been a member of the Communist Party without your knowing it? Mrs. BENOFF. To the best of my knowledge, knowing Max, I would say he was never a Communist. Max is just not that type, he is not a joiner of any kind.1 Mr. WHEELER. Would you like to elaborate at all as to the reason why you left the party? Mrs. BENOFF. It just seemed to me kind of not grownup at all, contrary to what they say. But, actually, kind of an evaluation of the realities of life, which is bringing up children and facing your difficulties with your husband and adjusting yourself to the society you are living in. And the meetings were really very dull. Mr. WHEELER. What is your present attitude concerning the Communist Party? Mrs. BENOFF. I would say the same. I think it is not realistic. If it was, all this couldn't have happened. Mr. WHEELER. All of what? Mrs. BENOFF. War, and the things they told you that the Communist Party was doing when they were trying to get you to join, that they were fighting Hitler. I do feel very strongly about that. I am a strong Jew. And to this day that is how I feel about that. Mr. WHEELER. When you were in it, what did you find out? Mrs. BENOFF. This wasn't really the issue. They weren't doing any better job than anyone else, and I really found it dull, and it was a waste of a good evening after a while. It just didn't seem adult. Mr. WHEELER. Was there any discussion about subversion or anything illegal? Mrs. BENOFF. No. Honestly, if anything, what you might classify as a study group and a very dull one. Mr. WHEELER. What did you study? Mrs. BENOFF. As I recall now, it was the encouragement to read Marxism. At best I am not a student. And I was very anxious not to bring any material home with me. For a while it was really quite exciting, exciting being with what I thought were very forward-thinking people. When that wore off it was nothing. Mr. WHEELER. During this time when you were a member of the Communist Party, were you and your husband living together? Mrs. BENOFF. Oh, yes, we lived together all the time. Mr. WHEELER. Was there any discussion between you and your husband as to where you were spending your evenings? Mrs. BENOFF. No. I didn't question him and he didn't question me. Mr. WHEELER. What do you think of the Communist Party as it has been operating the last few years? Mrs. BENOFF. Well, I no longer think it is a thing to belong to. I think they are mistaken. I think their attitude has caused a lot of distress. And as a Jew, it isn't my answer. Mr. WHEELER. Let's clarify that. Mrs. BENOFF. Not the answer to my problems. It is not the answer to my problems. 1 Testimony of Max Nathan Benoff, March 24, 1953, is printed in "Investigation of Communist Activities in the Los Angeles Area-Part 1," beginning with p. 355. 31747-53-pt. 5- -5 |