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.
Return to topScope 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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Related Material at the Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
The John Poulos & Constantine Poulos Papers : Greek and Greek-American radicalism collection
Return to topSeparated Material
There is no information about materials that are associated by provenance to the described materials that have been physically separated or removed.
Return to topRestrictions
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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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.
Container List
[The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.]
| Series I: Greek Civil War |
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| 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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