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.