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Guide to the Newsmen's Commission to Investigate the Murder of George Polk Records
1946-1992
(Bulk 1946-1950)
Tamiment 159

Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
New York, NY 10012

Phone: (212) 998-2630
Fax: (212) 995-4070
Email: gail.malmgreen@nyu.edu

© 2003 Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives . All rights reserved.
New York University Libraries, Publisher
Processed by: Daniel Bender, 1996.
Machine-readable finding aid created by Brian Stevens - derived from a text finding aid, 2002. Description is in English.
2003newsmans converted from EAD 1.0 to 2002 by one2two.xsl.

Descriptive Summary

Creator: Newsmen's Commission to Investigate the Murder of George Polk
Title: Records
Dates: 1946-1992, (Bulk 1946-1950)
Abstract: George Polk was a CBS news correspondent covering the Greek civil war who was murdered in Salonika on May 16th, 1948. In the course of his investigations, he had uncovered, and was about to publish, evidence of criminal activity by rightist forces who had the support of the United States and Great Britain. The Newsmen's Commission to Investigate the Murder of George Polk was founded in 1948 at the initiative of the New York Chapter of the Newspaper Guild. Several people associated with the Greek Communist Pary were convicted of involvement in the murder of Polk in a trial and verdict now widely believed to be fraudulent. The collection contains correspondence, clippings, reports, and a transcript of the trial of Gregorios Stahtopoulos and Anna Stahtopoulos, accused of complicity in the murder. There are also photographs of George Polk and some Price family memorabilia. Correspondents include: John Donovan, William Donovan, Ernest Hemingway, Walter Lippman, Herbert Mitgang, Edward Morrow, George Polk, Rhea Polk, William Polk, Constantine Poulos, William Price, Howard Smith, and I.M. Stone.
Quantity: 2 linear feet (3 boxes)
Call Phrase: Tamiment 159
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Historical/Biographical Note:

On May 16, 1948, the body of George Polk, at the time the Middle East correspondent for CBS, was found floating in the harbor of the Northern Greek city of Salonika. He had been shot in the head and his hands and feet were firmly bound. Polk had been in Greece covering the Civil War between the Communist Forces entrenched in the North and led by Markos Vafiades and the Monarchist-Fascist government dominated by the army. Polk had been critical not only of the Greek government but also of the newly released Truman Doctrine which made defeating the Communists in Greece a priority. In an article published in Harper's in December 1947, Polk called the $300 million in aid to Greece "a poor investment." Most importantly, Polk claimed, the money was being terribly misused. Indeed, immediately before his murder, Polk, in an interview with Constantine Tsaldaris, the head of the Royalist Party, threatened to expose Tsaldaris' illegal bank accounts in the United States. Polk's widow, Rea Polk, later claimed: "I am surprised he lived for three days after that interview."

When Polk was murdered he had been traveling north in an attempt to make contact with General Markos. Polk had been last seen on May 9. The Greek government immediately accused the Communists of the murder. Major Nicholas Mouscoundis, the head of the Greek investigation of the murder, announced that he was "1,000%" sure the Communists had killed Polk. In a trial now considered a sham a Greek Communist Gregorios Stahopoulos and his mother Anna were convicted of complicity.

In response to the murder and the tainted investigation, the Newspaper Guild organized the Newsmen's Commission in 1948. Among its members were William Polk, George Polk's brother, and William Price, Polk's cousin, and the United Nations Correspondent for the Daily News. Among the known journalists who lent their name, time, and support for the Commission were Ernest Hemingway and Homer Bigart.

Another investigative committee led by Walter Lippmann and called the Overseas Writers Special Committee to Inquire Into the Murder of George Polk was also organized. It later endorsed the trial verdict--a verdict questioned by the Commission. As a result, many Commission members, including William Price, were later officially blacklisted.

Sources:

Chatzeargyres, Kostas. He hyothese Polk: ho rolos ton Xenon Hypersion sten Hellada. Athens: Ekd. Eirene, 1988.

Keeley, Edmund. The Salonika Bay Murder: Cold War Politics and the Polk Affair. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1989.

Marton, Kati. The Polk Conspiracy: Murder and Cover-Up in the Case of CBS News correspondent George Polk. New York: Farrar Straus, Giroux, 1990.

Vlanton, Elias. Who Killed George Polk?: The Press Covers Up a Death in the Family. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1996.

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Scope and Content Note

This collection contains materials about the murder of George Polk and the Newsmen's Commission. The collection also includes personal papers of George Polk, William Polk, and William Price. A George Polk series includes a selection of personal papers of George Polk, including financial papers and correspondence and his naval service records. Much of the collection is devoted to documents about the murder--including press releases and reports--and the trial. Especially significant are copies of the indictment of Gregorios and Anna Stahtopoulos and trial summaries and notes. One of the selection of notes are William Polk's, detailing the trial proceedings and his personal reactions.

The selection of materials on the Newsmen's Commission itself documents its fundraising and publicity. Materials include fundraising letters and receipts, correspondence, and press releases. Also of importance are debates and resolutions within the Newspaper Guild and the United Nations Correspondents about the level of support for the Commission.

Approximately 120 images (photocopies, photographs, and negatives) have been transferred to the Library's NonPrint collection.

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Arrangement

Folders are arranged alphabetically.
The collection is organized into seven series (see container list, below): I. Greek Civil War; II. George Polk; III. Polk Murder; IV. Newsmen's Commission to Investigate the Murder of George Polk; V. William Price; VI. William Polk; VII. Name Files.
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Related Material at the Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives

The John Poulos & Constantine Poulos Papers : Greek and Greek-American radicalism collection

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Separated Material

There is no information about materials that are associated by provenance to the described materials that have been physically separated or removed.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

Open for research without restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There may be some restrictions on the use of the collection. Appointments are necessary for use of manuscript and archival materials. For more information, contact
Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
New York, NY 10012

Phone: (212) 998-2630
Fax: (212) 995-4070
Email: gail.malmgreen@nyu.edu

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Access Points

Subject Names:
Donovan, John.
Donovan, William.
Hemingway, Ernest, 1899-1961.
Lippman, Walter.
Mitgang, Herbert.
Murrow, Edward R.
Polk, George, 1913-1948.
Polk, Rhea.
Polk, William.
Poulos, Constantine.
Price, William.
Smith, Howard K. (Howard Kingsburg), 1914-
Stahtopoulos, Anna
Stahtopoulos, Gregorios
Stone, I. F. (Isidor F.), 1907-
Subject Organizations:
CBS News
CBS Television Network
Committee of Overseas Writers to Inquire into the Murder of George Polk
Daily news (New York, N.Y. : 1920)
Kommounistikon Komma tes Hellados
Newsmen's Commission to Investigate the Murder of George Polk
United Nations
Subject Topics:
Cold War
Communists -- Greece
Foreign correspondents -- United States
Greece -- History -- Civil War, 1944-1949 -- Journalists
Journalists -- United States
Trials (Murder) -- Greece
War correspondents -- United States
Document Types:
Clippings
Correspondence
Minutes
Photographic prints
Press releases
Reports
Transcripts
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Administrative Information

Provenance

The Newsmen's Commission to Investigate the Murder of George Polk (William Price Papers) was donated to the Archives of the Tamiment Library in 1995 by William Price, cousin of George Polk.

Preferred Citation

Published citations should take the following form:

Identification of item, date (if known); The Newsmen's Commission to Investigate the Murder of George Polk; Tamiment 159.; box number; folder number; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives , New York University Libraries.

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Container List

[The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.]

 

Series I: Greek Civil War

Box Folder Title Date
1 1 American Council for a Democratic Greece 1948
1 2 Daily Press Review 1949
1 3 Greek Civil War 1946-1948

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Series II: George Polk

Box Folder Title Date
1 4 Broadcasts 1946-1948
1 5 Correspondence 1942-1945
1 6 Diary 1924-1926
1 7 Financial 1942-1945
1 8 Middle East Mosaic(title of planned book) 1946-1947
1 9 Navy 1942-1948
1 10 Personal 1937-1948

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Series III: Polk Murder

Box Folder Title Date
1 11 CBS 1948-1949
1 12 CBS-Views of the Press 1948
1 13 Press Reports 1948
1 14 Report of the Overseas Writers of the Special Committee to Inquire Into the Murder at Salonika Greece 1949
1 15 Researcher's Correspondence 1948-1949
1 16 Resolutions 1948
1 17 State Department 1948
1 18 Trial-Indictment 1949
1 19 Trial-Notes undated
1 20 Trial-Summaries (English) 1949
1 21 Trial-Transcripts (Greek) 1949

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Series IV: Newsmen's Commission to Investigate the Murder of George Polk

Box Folder Title Date
2 1 General 1948
2 2 Correspondence 1948-1950
2 3 Finances 1948
2 4 Fundraising 1948
2 5 Fundraising-Receipts 1948
2 6 Minutes 1948
2 7 Newspaper Guild 1948
2 8 Report undated
2 9 United Nations Correspondents 1948
2 10 Washington Reports 1948

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Series V: William Price

Box Folder Title Date
2 11 Correspondence 1947-1949, 1990-1991
2 12 Lowell Limpus 1949-1950
2 13 Newspaper Guild-Elections 1949-1950
2 14 Family 1981-1986
2 15 Polk Award 1948-1991

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Series VI: William Polk

Box Folder Title Date
3 1 Correspondence 1946-1952
3 2 William Price and William Polk-Correspondence 1949-1955, 1985
3 3 Condolence Letters 1948
3 4 Memorandum 1948
3 5 Misc. 1948-1984, 2008
3 6 Trial Notes 1949

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Series VII: Name Files

Box Folder Title Date
3 7 Shana Ager Alexander 1948, 1990
3 8 Homer Bigart 1948, 1991
3 9 Winston Burdett 1948, 1990
3 10 John Donovan 1947-1949
3 11 William Donovan undated
3 12 Howard Dratch 1991
3 13 Ernest Hemingway 1948
3 14 Marcelle Hitschmann 1991
3 15 Herbert Mitgang 1987-1993
3 16 Edward Murrow 1948
3 17 Adelaide Roe Polk 1948-1949
3 18 Rea Polk 1948-1949
3 19 Constantine Poulos 1948-1950
3 20 Howard K. Smith 1984-1985
3 21 I.F. Stone 1984, 1952
3 22 Elias Vlanton 1991-1992

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