Charles Curtiss (born Samuel Kurz; July 4, 1908 – December 20, 1993) was an American

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

Early life

Samuel Kurz was born on July 4, 1908, in Chicago, the son of poor immigrants from Poland. He changed his name to Charles Curtiss and earned his living by working as a miner and sailor, before finally becoming a skilled printer.

Career

In 1928, Curtiss joined the

Communist League of America The Communist League of America (Opposition) was founded by James P. Cannon, Max Shachtman and Martin Abern late in 1928 after their expulsion from the Communist Party USA for Trotskyism. The CLA(O) was the United States section of Leon Trotsky' ...

, the Trotskyist movement led by James P. Cannon. As a printer, Curtiss took responsibility for producing the movement's weekly paper '' The Militant''. In 1932, Curtiss moved to Los Angeles to build the Trotskyist movement on the West Coast. In 1938, the Communist League became the Socialist Workers Party (SWP). Curtiss, who was fluent in Spanish, was repeatedly sent as a representative of the American Trotskyist movement to Mexico in the 1930s. There, he was known as Carlos Curtiss. He also visited

Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky,; ; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky'' was a Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, and political theorist. He was a key figure ...

Coyoacán Coyoacán ( ; , Otomi: ) is a borough (''demarcación territorial'') in Mexico City. The former village is now the borough's "historic center". The name comes from Nahuatl and most likely means "place of coyotes", when the Aztecs named a pre- ...

several times. From June 1939 to August 1940, Curtiss lived in the Trotsky household and his wife, Lillian Ilstien, who he had married in 1935, served as secretary for Trotsky's wife

Natalia Sedova Natalia Ivanovna Sedova (, ; 5 April 1882 – 23 January 1962) was a Russian revolutionary and author known as the second wife of Leon Trotsky. She wrote on cultural matters pertaining to Marxism. Life Natalia was born in to the family of a ...

. Curtiss functioned as Trotsky's primary link with the Mexican Trotskyists. It would have been illegal and unwise under the terms on which Trotsky was granted asylum in Mexico for Trotsky to maintain direct political contact with radical communist revolutionaries in his host country. Curtiss also tried to resolve the personal differences between Trotsky and Mexican artist

Diego Rivera Diego Rivera (; December 8, 1886 – November 24, 1957) was a Mexican painter. His large frescoes helped establish the Mexican muralism, mural movement in Mexican art, Mexican and international art. Between 1922 and 1953, Rivera painted mural ...

. Curtiss was not present on August 20, 1940, when Trotsky was attacked and killed by

Stalinist Stalinism (, ) is the totalitarian means of governing and Marxist–Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1927 to 1953 by dictator Joseph Stalin and in Soviet satellite states between 1944 and 1953. Stalinism in ...

agent

Ramón Mercader Jaime Ramón Mercader del Río (; ; 7 February 1913 – 18 October 1978)Photograph oMercader's Gravestone/ref> was a Spanish communist and NKVD secret agent who assassinated the revolutionary Leon Trotsky in Mexico City in August 1940. Mercad ...

, who had infiltrated the household, but it is said that Curtiss had always been suspicious of Mercader and had warned Trotsky to be careful around him. After the assassination of Trotsky, Curtiss and his wife returned to the United States and the SWP, living and working in Los Angeles for a couple of years. When 18 of the SWP's most prominent leaders, including James P. Cannon,

Farrell Dobbs Farrell Dobbs (July 25, 1907 – October 31, 1983) was an American Trotskyist, trade unionist, politician, and historian. Early years Dobbs was born in Queen City, Missouri, where his father was a worker in a coal company garage. The family ...

and Carl Skoglund, were sentenced to jail according to the

Smith Act The Alien Registration Act, popularly known as the Smith Act, 76th United States Congress, 3rd session, ch. 439, , is a United States federal statute that was enacted on June 28, 1940. It set criminal penalties for advocating the overthrow of ...

, for opposing U.S. involvement in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Curtiss moved to New York City to help take over the leadership of the party. However, Curtiss was soon drafted into the U.S. Army and sent to Italy to fight in the war.

Later life

After the war, Curtiss returned to the SWP, but left the party in 1951. However, his wife Lillian remained in the SWP for many years. Curtiss died of heart failure in Los Angeles on December 20, 1993.

References

External links

The Lubitz TrotskyanaNet
provides a biographical sketch and a selective bibliography on Charles Curtiss {{DEFAULTSORT:Curtiss, Charles 1908 births 1993 deaths People from Chicago Members of the Communist League of America Members of the Workers Party of the United States Members of the Socialist Party of America Members of the Socialist Workers Party (United States)