CUNY DIGITAL HISTORY ARCHIVE

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"It's Happening in New York!"

Published in 1941, this pamphlet was created by the Committee for the Defense of Public Education, a joint committee between the Teachers Union and the College Teachers Union, amidst the turmoil of the Rapp-Coudert hearings. Citing a variety of injustices taking place in New York City, not least of which were the dozens of suspensions and dismissals of City College teachers suspected of having communist ties, the document likens the atmosphere in New York to that of Nazi Germany, including even a reference to Hitler's concentration camps.

Such comparisons aside, the committee's aim was to increase awareness of the plight of many of their union's members who were fired by the Board of Higher Education because of their political affiliations. Morris Schappes, a CCNY instructor, was imprisoned for perjury as a result of the hearings. Throughout its existence, the committee organized letter-writing campaigns (as seen on the final page) and petition drives in an unsuccessful effort to overturn the effects of New York State's communist witch-hunt.

Source | CCNY Archives & Special Collections
Creator | Committee for Defense of Public Education
Date Created | 1941 (Circa)
Rights | Copyright Committee for Defense of Public Education
Item Type | Text (Pamphlet / Petition)
Cite This document | Committee for Defense of Public Education, “"It's Happening in New York!",” CUNY Digital History Archive, accessed March 19, 2024, https://cdha.cuny.edu/items/show/3772.

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