Benjamin Epstein was national director of the

Anti-Defamation League The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...

from 1948 through 1978. He was ADL vice president from 1978 through 1983.

Career

Epstein taught at the University of Pennsylvania and as a high school teacher in Coatesville for several years. Epstein joined the ADL in 1939 as directory of its Foreign Languages Department. Epstein later became the Eastern regional director. Epstein was national director of the

from 1948 through 1978. He was ADL vice president from 1978 through 1983. He replaced

Richard Gutstadt Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'strong ...

, the national director from 1931 to 1948. In ADL leadership, Epstein presided over an aggressive strategic shift. Whereas Gustadt used more circumspect media relations and "fact-finding" missions regarding Nazi groups, Epstein conducted public and oppositional media campaigns and led infiltration and document-stealing missions against Nazi groups. For instance, Epstein's colleague and ADL attorney

Arnold Forster Arnold may refer to: People * Arnold (given name), a masculine given name * Arnold (surname), a German and English surname Places Australia * Arnold, Victoria, a small town in the Australian state of Victoria Canada * Arnold, Nova Scotia Un ...

developed a relationship with gossip columnist Walter Winchell, whom Forster fed embarrassing tidbits regarding antisemites. In 1939, the ADL was informed of a translation of

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

's ''

Mein Kampf (; ''My Struggle'' or ''My Battle'') is a 1925 autobiographical manifesto by Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler. The work describes the process by which Hitler became antisemitic and outlines his political ideology and future plans for G ...

'' being performed in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

. Epstein went to investigate, and he learned that the translation was commissioned by then-journalist, later a California senator,

Alan Cranston Alan MacGregor Cranston (June 19, 1914 – December 31, 2000) was an American politician and journalist who served as a United States Senator from California from 1969 to 1993, and as a President of the World Federalist Association from 1949 to ...

. Cranston had been shocked that the available English translations of ''Mein Kampf'' left out the worst of Hitler's antisemitism and militancy. To fix this, Cranston wished to publish a translation highlighting the alarming aspects of Hitler's work. Epstein and Cranston co-founded Noram Publishing to publish the 32-page tabloid edition of ''Mein Kampf'' in 1939. In 1960, Epstein discussed Catholic-Jewish relations with Pope John XXIII. He met with Pope Paul VI in 1971 and 1976. Epstein marched alongside Martin Luther King at Selma, Alabama.

Personal life

Epstein was born in Brooklyn and raised in

Coatesville, Pennsylvania Coatesville is a city in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 13,350 at the 2020 census. Coatesville is approximately 39 miles west of Philadelphia. It developed along the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike beginni ...

. He attended Dickinson College in Pennsylvania as an undergraduate, the University of Pennsylvania for a master's degree. He received an honorary Doctor of Human Letters degree from Dickinson College and an honorary Doctor of Laws from Talladega College in Alabama. In 1934, Epstein traveled to Germany for a history fellowship with the

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (german: link=no, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick Will ...

. This brush with Nazism influenced his later work against prejudice and discrimination. At time of his death in 1983, Epstein was survived by his wife Ethel, his children David and Ellen, and five grandchildren.

References

{{Anti-Defamation League Anti-Defamation League members 1983 deaths