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Edmund Aloysius Walsh (October 10, 1885 – October 31, 1956) was an American
Roman Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in common English usage ''priest'' re ...
of the
Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...
and career
diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...
from
South Boston South Boston (colloquially known as Southie) is a densely populated neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, located south and east of the Fort Point Channel and abutting Dorchester Bay (Boston Harbor), Dorchester Bay. It has under ...
, Massachusetts. He was also a professor of
geopolitics Geopolitics () is the study of the effects of Earth's geography on politics and international relations. Geopolitics usually refers to countries and relations between them, it may also focus on two other kinds of State (polity), states: ''de fac ...
and founder of the
Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...
School of Foreign Service The Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service (SFS) is the school of international relations at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. It grants degrees at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Founded in 1919, SFS is the oldest continu ...
, the first school for
international affairs International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...
in the United States. He founded the school in 1919, six years before the
U.S. Foreign Service The United States Foreign Service is the primary personnel system used by the diplomatic service of the United States federal government, under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of over 13,000 professionals carryi ...
existed, and served as its first regent. After experiencing Soviet anti-religious persecution through his role as the head of the American and Papal humanitarian missions during the
Russian famine of 1921 Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
, Walsh became widely known as a
public intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and Human self-reflection, reflection about the nature of reality, especially the nature of society and proposed solutions for its normative problems. Coming from the wor ...
who spoke and wrote extensively about intolerant Marxist-Leninist atheism, the
Gulag The Gulag was a system of Labor camp, forced labor camps in the Soviet Union. The word ''Gulag'' originally referred only to the division of the Chronology of Soviet secret police agencies, Soviet secret police that was in charge of runnin ...
,
Soviet war crimes From 1917 to 1991, a multitude of war crimes and crimes against humanity were carried out by the Soviet Union or any of its Soviet republics, including the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and its armed forces. They include acts whi ...
, and other
human rights abuses Human rights are universally recognized moral principles or norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both national and international laws. These rights are considered inherent and inalienable, meaning t ...
, and as a rhetorician who supported international
religious freedom Freedom of religion or religious liberty, also known as freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice ...
and the
rule of law The essence of the rule of law is that all people and institutions within a Body politic, political body are subject to the same laws. This concept is sometimes stated simply as "no one is above the law" or "all are equal before the law". Acco ...
. In addition to his role as an investigator of
Nazi war crimes The governments of the German Empire and Nazi Germany (under Adolf Hitler) ordered, organized, and condoned a substantial number of war crimes, first in the Herero and Nama genocide and then in the First and Second World Wars. The most notable of ...
and
religious persecution Religious persecution is the systematic oppression of an individual or a group of individuals as a response to their religion, religious beliefs or affiliations or their irreligion, lack thereof. The tendency of societies or groups within socie ...
while working as an assistant to
Robert H. Jackson Robert Houghwout Jackson (February 13, 1892 – October 9, 1954) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician who served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1941 until his death in 1954. He had previously served as Un ...
during the
Nuremberg trial #REDIRECT Nuremberg trials #REDIRECT Nuremberg trials {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from move ...
{{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from move ...
, Walsh played a major role in raising public awareness of
human rights abuses Human rights are universally recognized moral principles or norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both national and international laws. These rights are considered inherent and inalienable, meaning t ...
under both
Far Left Far or FAR may refer to: Government * Federal Acquisition Regulation, US * Federal Aviation Regulations, US * Florida Administrative Register, US Military and paramilitary * Rebel Armed Forces (Spanish: '), a defunct guerilla organization ...
and
Far Right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and Nativism (politics), nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on ...
police state A police state describes a state whose government institutions exercise an extreme level of control over civil society and liberties. There is typically little or no distinction between the law and the exercise of political power by the exec ...
s. So great was his reputation that Fr. Walsh was a confidant of multiple
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
s and other senior members of America's traditionally
anti-Catholic Anti-Catholicism is hostility towards Catholics and opposition to the Catholic Church, its clergy, and its adherents. Scholars have identified four categories of anti-Catholicism: constitutional-national, theological, popular and socio-cul ...
White Anglo-Saxon Protestant In the United States, White Anglo-Saxon Protestants or Wealthy Anglo-Saxon Protestants (WASP) is a Sociology, sociological term which is often used to describe White Americans, white Protestantism in the United States, Protestant Americans of E ...
elite, at a time when both
Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
and Americans of
White ethnic White ethnic is a term used to refer to white Americans who are not Old Stock or White Anglo-Saxon Protestant. "Religion is the most critical factor in separating white ethnics in American society. As Catholics and secondarily Jews ... they we ...
ancestry were still being denied social acceptance in the United States. More than a decade after his death, Walsh became famous once again, when he was alleged by
Roy Cohn Roy Marcus Cohn ( ; February 20, 1927 – August 2, 1986) was an American lawyer and prosecutor. He first gained fame as a prosecutor of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg in their trials (1952–53) and as Senator Joseph McCarthy's chief counsel duri ...
to have been the man whose opinion Senator
Joseph McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican Party (United States), Republican United States Senate, U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death at age ...
from
Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
had first sought before going public with allegations provided by U.S.
counterintelligence Counterintelligence (counter-intelligence) or counterespionage (counter-espionage) is any activity aimed at protecting an agency's Intelligence agency, intelligence program from an opposition's intelligence service. It includes gathering informati ...
that the Soviet Union's
KGB The Committee for State Security (, ), abbreviated as KGB (, ; ) was the main security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991. It was the direct successor of preceding Soviet secret police agencies including the Cheka, Joint State Polit ...
and the
GRU Gru is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the ''Despicable Me'' film series. Gru or GRU may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * Gru (rapper), Serbian rapper * Gru, an antagonist in '' The Kine Saga'' Organizations Georgia (c ...
had recruited
mole Mole (or Molé) may refer to: Animals * Mole (animal) or "true mole" * Golden mole, southern African mammals * Marsupial mole Marsupial moles, the Notoryctidae family, are two species of highly specialized marsupial mammals that are found i ...
s throughout the
U.S. Federal Government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct branches: legislative, execut ...
and
propagandist Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...
s throughout the entertainment industry. Cohn denied knowing anything further about the alleged conversation between Senator McCarthy and Walsh, or what advice if any Walsh provided. Some historians claim that Walsh, rather than Senator McCarthy, deserves to be remembered as the greatest American Catholic
anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...
of the 20th century.


Early life and education

Walsh was born on October 10, 1885, in
South Boston, Massachusetts South Boston (colloquially known as Southie) is a densely populated neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, located south and east of the Fort Point Channel and abutting Dorchester Bay (Boston Harbor), Dorchester Bay. It has under ...
. The youngest of six siblings, his father, John Francis Walsh, was a career police officer in the
Boston Police Department The Boston Police Department (BPD) is the primary law enforcement agency of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1854, the BPD is the oldest municipal police department in the United States. It is also the 20th largest law enforce ...
, and his mother, Catherine J. (''née'' Noonan) Walsh, emigrated from
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
to the United States with her family as a young girl. Walsh grew up in
South Boston South Boston (colloquially known as Southie) is a densely populated neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, located south and east of the Fort Point Channel and abutting Dorchester Bay (Boston Harbor), Dorchester Bay. It has under ...
, where one of his childhood friends included his future Jesuit colleague, Louis J. Gallagher. Walsh first attended a public
grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...
, before receiving a scholarship to attend
Boston College High School Boston College High School (also known as BC High) is an all-male, Society of Jesus, Jesuit, Catholic Church, Catholic College-preparatory school, college-preparatory day school in the Columbia Point, Boston, Columbia Point neighborhood of Dorche ...
in 1898. After his graduation in 1902, he decided to enter the
Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...
, matriculating at the Jesuit
novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...
in
Frederick, Maryland Frederick is a city in, and the county seat of, Frederick County, Maryland, United States. Frederick's population was 78,171 people as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Maryland, second-largest ...
, on August 14 of that year. When the novitiate relocated from Frederick to St. Andrew-on-Hudson in
Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ) is a city within the Poughkeepsie (town), New York, Town of Poughkeepsie, New York (state), New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, New York, Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsie i ...
, in January 1903, Walsh moved with it. He professed his
first vows Religious vows are the public vows made by the members of religious communities pertaining to their conduct, practices, and views. In the Buddhist tradition, in particular within the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions, many different kinds of re ...
there in 1904, and then began three years of
philosophical Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
studies at
Woodstock College Woodstock College was a Society of Jesus, Jesuit seminary that existed from 1869 to 1974. It was the oldest Jesuit seminary in the United States. The school was located in Woodstock, Maryland, west of Baltimore, from its establishment until 1969, ...
in
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
. From 1909 to 1912, during his
Jesuit formation Jesuit formation, or the training of Jesuits, is the process by which candidates are prepared for ordination or brotherly service in the Society of Jesus, the world's largest male Catholic religious order. The process is based on the Constitution ...
, Walsh taught literature at what was then the preparatory division of
Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...
. He was present at the dedication of the statue of John Carroll on Georgetown's campus in May 1912, and was influenced by Chief Justice Edward Douglas White's speech about the common principles underlying the founding of the United States and Georgetown University. Walsh was awarded a
Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
degree from Georgetown. In September 1912, the Jesuit superiors sent Walsh to Europe for graduate studies. He began to study the
classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...
at
University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...
, but he was forced to withdraw because the
academic senate An academic senate, sometimes termed faculty senate, academic board or simply senate, is a governing body in some universities and colleges, typically with responsibility for academic matters and primarily drawing its membership from the academic ...
declined to recognize his bachelor's degree from Georgetown. In March 1913, he began a similar program at the
University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...
. However, several months later, the Jesuit
provincial superior A provincial superior is an officer of a religious institute (including religious orders) acting under the institute's Superior General. A provincial superior exercises general supervision over all the members of that institute in a territorial ...
directed Walsh to commence his
theological Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of an ...
studies, which he began in September of that year at the
University of Innsbruck The University of Innsbruck (; ) is a public research university in Innsbruck, the capital of the Austrian federal state of Tyrol (state), Tyrol, founded on October 15, 1669. It is the largest education facility in the Austrian States of Austria, ...
. In August 1914, with the outbreak of the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, Walsh's studies there were interrupted. He instead returned to Woodstock College to continue his theological studies. He was
ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...
a
priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...
on June 28, 1916, and then spent one year engaged in pastoral work in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. Walsh then returned to Woodstock to complete his theological studies, and was awarded a
Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...
degree. He later received a D.Litt. from Georgetown University, as well as an LL.D. from the
University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially known as UD, UDel, or Delaware) is a Statutory college#Delaware, privately governed, state-assisted Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Newark, Delaware, United States. UD offers f ...
.


Georgetown University

On May 5, 1918, Walsh became the
prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect' ...
of studies (
dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean Sw ...
) of the
Georgetown University College of Arts & Sciences The Georgetown University College of Arts & Sciences (CAS) is a college of Georgetown University, a private Jesuit research university in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C.. It is the oldest and largest undergraduate school at Geo ...
, succeeding John B. Creeden. Walsh held this position only for one year, and was succeeded by
W. Coleman Nevils William Coleman Nevils (May 29, 1878October 12, 1955) was an American Catholic Church, Catholic priest and Society of Jesus, Jesuit educator who became the head of numerous Jesuit institutions throughout the northeastern United States, includ ...
. In 1919, given the Jesuits' recently established policy that the deans and presidents of all Jesuit colleges should possess doctorates, Walsh was awarded an
honorary An honorary position is one given as an honor, with no duties attached, and without payment. Other uses include: * Honorary Academy Award, by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, United States * Honorary Aryan, a status in Nazi Germany ...
Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...
degree from Georgetown. During
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
he served special duties as assistant educational director to the "Students' Army Training Corps." After the
Armistice of November 11, 1918 The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice signed in a railroad car, in the Compiègne Forest near the town of Compiègne, that ended fighting on land, at sea, and in the air in World War I between the Entente and their las ...
, Georgetown University established a School of Foreign Service and appointed Walsh to lead it. The school, which was the first of its kind, was intended to advance international peace by training
diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...
s, businessmen, bankers, and merchants with an education focused on international relations. University president John B. Creeden employed Walsh as the school's first Regent. Classes began in October 1919. and the first class graduated in 1921. After founding the school, Walsh continued to lead the school for several decades: his leadership of the school coincided with a high point in the American study of geopolitics, in parallel to the work of Isaiah Bowman and Nicholas Spykman. The School of Foreign Service was named for him in 1958, shortly after his death.


Relief missions to Russia

In 1922, while studying
political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
, Walsh received appointment as Catholic representative to the
American Relief Administration American Relief Administration (ARA) was an American Humanitarian aid, relief mission to Europe and later Russian Civil War, post-revolutionary Russia after World War I. Herbert Hoover, future president of the United States, was the program dire ...
, also known as the "Hoover Mission", during the
Russian famine of 1921 Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
. Walsh arrived in
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
in March 1922 to serve the mission. In June 1922, however,
Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...
also appointed Walsh as director general of the Papal Relief Mission, during which time he "conducted extensive negotiations with the Soviet leaders of that time on behalf of Catholic interests in Russia." Upon his arrival in Russia, Fr. Walsh began friendships and close collaboration in famine relief work with the main leaders of the
Catholic Church in Russia The Catholic Church in Russia is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. According to the 2016 Annuario Pontificio, there are approximately 773,000 Catholics in Russia, which is 0.5% of the t ...
; Archbishop
Jan Cieplak Jan Cieplak (17 August 1857 – 17 February 1926) was a Polish Roman Catholic priest and archbishop. Early life Jan Cieplak was born in Dąbrowa Górnicza, Congress Poland, in 1857 to an impoverished family of the Polish nobility. He attended th ...
, Monsignor
Konstanty Budkiewicz Konstantin Budkevich, also known as ''Konstanty Romuald Budkiewicz''; June 19, 1867, – March 31, 1923) was a Catholic priest executed by the OGPU for organizing nonviolent resistance against the first Soviet anti-religious campaign. His ...
, and
Exarch An exarch (; from Ancient Greek ἔξαρχος ''exarchos'') was the holder of any of various historical offices, some of them being political or military and others being ecclesiastical. In the late Roman Empire and early Byzantine Empire, ...
Leonid Feodorov Leonid Ivanovich Feodorov (; 4 November 1879 – 7 March 1935) was a Studite hieromonk from the Russian Greek Catholic Church, the first Exarch of the Russian Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Russia, and a survivor of the Gulag at Solovki pris ...
. Exarch Leonid Feodorov, Metropolitan
Andrey Sheptytsky Andrey Sheptytsky, OSBM (; ; 29 July 1865 – 1 November 1944) was the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Metropolitan of Galicia and Archbishop of Lviv from 1901 until his death in 1944. His tenure in office spanned two world wars and six political r ...
's newly appointed administrator of the
Russian Greek Catholic Church The Russian Greek Catholic Church or Russian Byzantine Catholic Church is a ''sui juris, sui iuris'' (self-governing) Byzantine Rite Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic particular church that is part of the worldwide Catholic Church. Hi ...
, had already participated in discussions with Orthodox clergy, including Patriarch
Tikhon of Moscow Tikhon of Moscow (, – ), born Vasily Ivanovich Bellavin (), was a bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). On 5 November 1917 ( OS) he was selected the 11th Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, after a period of about 200 years of the ...
and Metropolitan
Benjamin of Petrograd Benjamin of Petrograd (, Veniamin Petrogradsky, – ), born Vasily Pavlovich Kazansky (), was a hieromartyr under Soviet anti-religious persecution, a bishop in the Russian Orthodox Church and eventually Metropolitan of Petrograd and Gdov from ...
. At the time, Patriarch Tikhon was faced with the ongoing Soviet-backed Living Church Schism and was determined defend the hard-won independence of the
Moscow Patriarchate The Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus (), also known as the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, is the title of the Primate (bishop), primate of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). It is often preceded by the honorific "His Holiness". As the Ordinar ...
from again being lost to control by the State. For this reason, Patriarch Tikhon was both meeting regularly to discuss with both the Exarch and with Father
Vladimir Abrikosov Vladimir Vladimirovich Abrikosov (22 October 1880 – 22 July 1966) was a Catholic priest of the Byzantine rite who converted from Russian Orthodoxy and was a member of Russian apostolate in the diaspora. Early years Abrikosov was baptized in ...
the possible transformation of the
Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...
into one of the
Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous (''sui iuris'') particular churches of ...
. The Patriarch had also been urging those Orthodox clergy and laity who remained loyal to him to similarly meet with the Russian Catholics in order to discuss the possible reunion of the Russian Orthodox Church with the
Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...
under the terms laid down at the
Council of Florence The Council of Florence is the seventeenth ecumenical council recognized by the Catholic Church, held between 1431 and 1445. It was convened in territories under the Holy Roman Empire. Italy became a venue of a Catholic ecumenical council aft ...
in 1439. This was why, when Fr. Walsh and the first Exarch of the
Russian Greek Catholic Church The Russian Greek Catholic Church or Russian Byzantine Catholic Church is a ''sui juris, sui iuris'' (self-governing) Byzantine Rite Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic particular church that is part of the worldwide Catholic Church. Hi ...
first met one another and conversed in
Ecclesiastical Latin Ecclesiastical Latin, also called Church Latin or Liturgical Latin, is a form of Latin developed to discuss Christian theology, Christian thought in Late antiquity and used in Christianity, Christian liturgy, theology, and church administration ...
, Feodorov, who admired Patriarch Tikhon and his followers and felt only contempt for the so-called Living Church, urged that the Famine Relief food supplies be entrusted not only to Catholic clergy, but also to those Russian Orthodox priests who remained loyal to Patriarch Tikhon for distribution to the starving. Fr. Walsh enthusiastically agreed with the Exarch's idea and ensured that it was carried out. In
Orenburg Orenburg (, ), formerly known as Chkalov (1938–1957), is the administrative center of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. It lies in Eastern Europe, along the banks of the Ural River, being approximately southeast of Moscow. Orenburg is close to the ...
alone, Fr. Louis Gallagher hosted six local Russian Orthodox bishops to his table to organize the delivery of food supplies to the starving. According to historian Paul Gabel, "By early October the mission was at work. By its own accounts it established hundreds of food kitchens in the
Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...
and many more reaching as far north as Moscow and Petrograd. Eventually it gave daily food rations to over 160,000 people in over 400 localities and employed 2,500 Russians as workers at the stations. At its peak in the summer of 1923, it had created clothing and boot-making factories, donated money to sanitaria for children with
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
, and imported medical supplies to combat
typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposu ...
and
malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...
, ultimately spending the equivalent of $1.5 million on all programs. This effort can, of course, be construed as magnanimity or opportunism - the latter interpretation favored by many Orthodox Hierarchs and clergy." Meanwhile, Fr. Walsh and Archbishop Jan Cieplak also succeeded in securing the surrender of the
Relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...
of St.
Andrew Bobola Andrew Bobola, Society of Jesus, SJ (; 1591 – 16 May 1657) was a Polish missionary and martyr of the Society of Jesus, known as the Apostle of Lithuania and the "hunter of souls". He was beaten and tortured to death during the Khmelnytsky Upri ...
, which had been confiscated from their shrine at
Polotsk Polotsk () or Polatsk () is a town in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It is situated on the Dvina River and serves as the administrative center of Polotsk District. Polotsk is served by Polotsk Airport and Borovitsy air base. As of 2025, it has a pop ...
and placed in an anti-religious museum by the Soviet Government. The relics were then
transported ''Transported'' is an Australian convict melodrama film directed by W. J. Lincoln. It is considered a lost film. Plot In England, Jessie Grey is about to marry Leonard Lincoln but the evil Harold Hawk tries to force her to marry him and she ...
to the
Church of the Gesù The Church of the Gesù (, ), officially named (), is a church located at Piazza del Gesù in the Pigna (rione of Rome), Pigna ''Rioni of Rome, rione'' of Rome, Italy. It is the mother church of the Society of Jesus (best known as Jesuits). Wi ...
in
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
by Walsh's childhood friend and assistant director, Louis J. Gallagher, who later published biographies of both Walsh and St. Andrew Bobola. During his time in Russia, Walsh became militantly and vocally
anti-Communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...
, first through his close friendships with Archbishop Cieplak, Monsignor Budkiewicz, and Exarch Leonid Feodorov and then having been a horrified eye-witness to their 1923
show trial A show trial is a public trial in which the guilt (law), guilt or innocence of the defendant has already been determined. The purpose of holding a show trial is to present both accusation and verdict to the public, serving as an example and a d ...
prosecution by
Nikolai Krylenko Nikolai Vasilyevich Krylenko (, ; 2 May 1885 – 29 July 1938) was an Old Bolshevik and Soviet politician, military commander, and jurist. Krylenko served in a variety of posts in the Soviet law, Soviet legal system, rising to become Minis ...
for
anti-Soviet agitation Anti-Soviet agitation and propaganda (ASA) () was a criminal offence in the Soviet Union. Initially, the term was interchangeably used with counter-revolutionary agitation. The latter term was in use immediately after the October Revolution of 1917 ...
during the First Soviet anti-religious campaign. To raise global awareness of
anti-Catholicism in the Soviet Union Anti-Catholicism in the Soviet Union, including the Soviet Anti-Catholic Campaigns, refer to those concerted efforts taken by the Soviet Union to defame, undermine, or otherwise decrease or limit the role of the Catholic Church in Europe. Hist ...
, Fr. Walsh, his aides, and Captain Francis McCullagh translated into English the trial transcripts they had recorded in
shorthand Shorthand is an abbreviated symbolic writing method that increases speed and brevity of writing as compared to Cursive, longhand, a more common method of writing a language. The process of writing in shorthand is called stenography, from the Gr ...
and sent them abroad, where they were published by the ''
New York Herald The ''New York Herald'' was a large-distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between 1835 and 1924. At that point it was acquired by its smaller rival the '' New-York Tribune'' to form the '' New York Herald Tribune''. Hi ...
'' and ''
La Civiltà Cattolica ''La Civiltà Cattolica'' ( Italian for ''Catholic Civilization'') is a periodical published by the Jesuits in Rome, Italy. It has been published continuously since 1850 and is among the oldest of Catholic Italian periodicals. All of the journa ...
''.Fr. Paul Mailleux, S.J. (2017), ''Blessed Leonid Feodorov: First Exarch of the Russian Catholic Church; Bridgebuilder between Rome and Moscow'', Loreto Publications. Pages ''vii''-''viii''. On 10 April 1923,
People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics () was founded on 6 July 1923. It had three names during its existence: People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs (1923–1946), Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1946–1991) ...
Georgy Chicherin Georgy Vasilyevich Chicherin (or Tchitcherin; ; 24 November 1872 – 7 July 1936) was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and a Soviet politician who served as the first People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs in the Soviet government from March 1918 ...
wrote a letter to fellow
Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the highest organ of the central committee in communist parties. The term is also sometimes used to refer to similar organs in socialist and Islamist parties, such as the UK Labour Party's NEC or the Poli ...
member
Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...
, which described the political fallout from Fr. Walsh's successful efforts to globally publicize both the Cieplak show trial and the execution of Monsignor
Konstanty Budkiewicz Konstantin Budkevich, also known as ''Konstanty Romuald Budkiewicz''; June 19, 1867, – March 31, 1923) was a Catholic priest executed by the OGPU for organizing nonviolent resistance against the first Soviet anti-religious campaign. His ...
inside Moscow's Lubyanka Prison on
Easter Sunday Easter, also called Pascha (Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek language, Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, de ...
, 1923. In America, France, and the United Kingdom, efforts to gain diplomatic recognition for the USSR had suffered a major setback. In Westminster, Labour MPs had been flooded by petitions "demanding the defense of Cieplak and Budkiewicz", by " worker's organizations", " dying socialists", and "professionalists". In the United States, Republican Senator
William Borah William Edgar Borah (June 29, 1865 – January 19, 1940) was an outspoken Republican United States Senator, one of the best-known figures in Idaho's history. A progressive who served from 1907 until his death in 1940, Borah voted for A ...
had been about to discuss possible recognition of the USSR with U.S. Secretary of State
Charles Evans Hughes Charles Evans Hughes (April 11, 1862 – August 27, 1948) was an American politician, academic, and jurist who served as the 11th chief justice of the United States from 1930 to 1941. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
. Due to both the trial and Monsignor Budkiewicz's subsequent execution, the meeting had been cancelled and the senator had been forced to indefinitely postpone the founding of a committee to press for diplomatic negotiations. Chicherin explained that the outside world saw the continuing anti-religious campaign "as nothing other than naked religious persecution." Chicherin expressed fear that, if Russian Orthodox Patriarch
Tikhon Tikhon (, , ) is a Slavic male given name of Greek origin, related to Western European Tycho. *Tikhon Bernstam (born 1979), American Internet entrepreneur *Tikhon Chicherin (1869–1904), Russian entomologist * Tikhon Dzyadko (born 1987), Russian j ...
were similarly tried and sentenced to death, the news would, "worsen much further our international position in all our relations." He concluded by proposing "the rejection in advance of the death sentence on Tikhon". One Catholic Bishop in the
Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...
had called the famine relief mission and it's employees "missionaries" and many Orthodox and Left Wing
conspiracy theorists A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * ...
have alleged the same both at the time and many times over the century since. Despite the roles played by Fr. Walsh and Captain McCullagh in saving his life and the role of the Vatican's Secretariat of State in successfully demanding his release from incarceration in June 1923, Patriarch Tikhon immediately responded by angrily accusing the Papal relief mission of proselytizing the Orthodox Church and called upon the
Russian people Russians ( ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian, the most spoken Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Orthodox Christianity, ever since the Middle Ages. By total numbers ...
to resist what he now termed a "Catholic invasion". The Patriarch's interpretation of the facts is not, according to historians Paul Gabel and James J. Zatko, supported by the existing historical evidence. According to Paul Gabel, "Walsh had said publicly that the Papal Relief Mission was to scrupulously avoid religious propaganda; the Mission was under strict orders from both the Bolsheviks and the Vatican ''not'' to proselytize. Even Communion for relief workers was to be held behind closed doors... Many observers claimed the mission stuck to the terms of the agreement, but others wrote that missionaries brought along colored photographs of the Pope to hang in plain view in relief centers as the hungry were belong fed. In October 1923, some Catholics connected to the mission were forced out of the country, allegedly for proselytizing. The very word missionary was obviously ambiguous. In any case they provided food for the hungry and medical aid for the sick of ''all'' religions and nationalities on a nondiscriminatory basis. (Of course, dedicated conspiracy theorists would just see nondiscrimination as a greater opportunity for religious imperialism)." In a 16 November 1923 letter to the
British Foreign Office The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the ministry of foreign affairs and a ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. The office was created on 2 September 2020 through the merger of the Foreign an ...
, Walsh described the recent joint
GPU A graphics processing unit (GPU) is a specialized electronic circuit designed for digital image processing and to accelerate computer graphics, being present either as a discrete video card or embedded on motherboards, mobile phones, personal ...
and
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
nighttime raid upon the Moscow
Byzantine Rite The Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite or the Rite of Constantinople, is a liturgical rite that is identified with the wide range of cultural, devotional, and canonical practices that developed in the Eastern Christianity, Eastern Chri ...
Dominican convent and illegal
Catholic school Catholic schools are Parochial school, parochial pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest parochial schools, religious, no ...
led by Mother Catherine Abrikosova, followed in the early morning by the arrest of the mother prioress and the sisters. Walsh also described the simultaneous raids and mass arrests of the priests and laity of the
Russian Greek Catholic Church The Russian Greek Catholic Church or Russian Byzantine Catholic Church is a ''sui juris, sui iuris'' (self-governing) Byzantine Rite Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic particular church that is part of the worldwide Catholic Church. Hi ...
throughout Moscow. A copy of Walsh's letter was acquired by the
U.S. State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs ...
and landed across the desk of
U.S. Secretary of State The United States secretary of state (SecState) is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The secretary of state serves as the principal advisor to the p ...
Charles Evans Hughes Charles Evans Hughes (April 11, 1862 – August 27, 1948) was an American politician, academic, and jurist who served as the 11th chief justice of the United States from 1930 to 1941. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
, who was still keeping a very close watch over
religious persecution Religious persecution is the systematic oppression of an individual or a group of individuals as a response to their religion, religious beliefs or affiliations or their irreligion, lack thereof. The tendency of societies or groups within socie ...
in the Soviet Union. Therefore, Walsh's letter very likely played a role in Hughes' continued decision to refuse to grant
diplomatic recognition Diplomatic recognition in international law is a unilateral declarative political act of a state that acknowledges an act or status of another state or government in control of a state (may be also a recognized state). Recognition can be acc ...
to the U.S.S.R. Following his return to the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, Walsh commissioned a painting of Exarch
Leonid Feodorov Leonid Ivanovich Feodorov (; 4 November 1879 – 7 March 1935) was a Studite hieromonk from the Russian Greek Catholic Church, the first Exarch of the Russian Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Russia, and a survivor of the Gulag at Solovki pris ...
from Russian refugee artist Paul Maltzev. The painting was based on a photograph taken of the Exarch as a
political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although ...
at Solovki concentration camp, located above the
Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the northernmost of the five major circle of latitude, circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34' N. Its southern counterpart is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circl ...
. The painting hung in Fr. Walsh's office at
Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...
for the rest of his life and he always spoke of the first Exarch of the
Russian Greek Catholic Church The Russian Greek Catholic Church or Russian Byzantine Catholic Church is a ''sui juris, sui iuris'' (self-governing) Byzantine Rite Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic particular church that is part of the worldwide Catholic Church. Hi ...
with a deep sense of reverence. Fr. Walsh's experiences during the Soviet anti-religious campaign represented a turning point in his life and he continued to vigorously promote
anti-Communism Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism, communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global ...
throughout the rest of his life and career. Soviet Foreign Commissar Georgii Chicherin very likely had the efforts of Fr. Walsh and Captain Francis McCullagh in mind when he confided years later in Bishop
Michel d'Herbigny Michel-Joseph Bourguignon d'Herbigny (; May 8, 1880 – December 23, 1957) was a French Jesuit scholar and Catholic Church, Catholic bishop. He was president of the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome and of the Pontifical Commission for Russia ...
, "We Communists feel sure we can triumph over London
Capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...
. But Rome will prove a harder nut to crack... Without Rome, religion would die. But Rome sends out, for the service of her religion, propagandists of every nationality. They are more effective than guns. It is certain it will be a long struggle."


Later life

Walsh professed his
fourth vow A fourth vow is part of religious vows that are taken by members of some religious institutes in the Catholic Church, apart from the traditional vows based on the evangelical counsels: poverty, chastity and obedience or their equivalents stabili ...
on March 27, 1924. During the
Cristero War The Cristero War (), also known as the Cristero Rebellion or , was a widespread struggle in central and western Mexico from 3 August 1926 to 21 June 1929 in response to the implementation of secularism, secularist and anti-clericalism, anticler ...
, Walsh worked as a
diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...
on behalf of the Vatican to resolve the persecution of the
Catholic Church in Mexico The Mexican Catholic Church, or Catholic Church in Mexico, is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope, his Roman Curia, Curia in Rome, and the national Mexican Episcopal Conference. According to the Mexi ...
by the similarly
Far Left Far or FAR may refer to: Government * Federal Acquisition Regulation, US * Federal Aviation Regulations, US * Florida Administrative Register, US Military and paramilitary * Rebel Armed Forces (Spanish: '), a defunct guerilla organization ...
single party state A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system or single-party system is a governance structure in which only a single political party controls the ruling system. In a one-party state, all opposition parties are either outlawed or en ...
that
Plutarco Elías Calles Plutarco Elías Calles (born Francisco Plutarco Elías Campuzano; 25 September 1877 – 19 October 1945) was a Mexican politician and military officer who served as the 47th President of Mexico from 1924 to 1928. After the assassination of Ál ...
had imposed upon the Mexican Government. Walsh also negotiated with the
Kingdom of Iraq The Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq was the Iraqi state located in the Middle East from 1932 to 1958. It was founded on 23 August 1921 as the Kingdom of Iraq, following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the Mesopotamian campaign of the First World W ...
to establish a
Baghdad College Baghdad College () is an elite high school for boys aged 11 to 18 in Baghdad, Iraq. It was initially a Catholic school founded by and operated by American Jesuits from Boston. The 1969 Iraqi government nationalization and expulsion of Jesuit tea ...
, a Jesuit-run Catholic High School in
Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...
in 1931. On December 5, 1938, Walsh spoke at an ecumenical conference in Washington whose focus was to combat religious and racial intolerance. In October 1941, Walsh publicly criticized
U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
for claiming that the Soviet Government was following its Constitution's guarantees against
religious persecution Religious persecution is the systematic oppression of an individual or a group of individuals as a response to their religion, religious beliefs or affiliations or their irreligion, lack thereof. The tendency of societies or groups within socie ...
. After the Allies' victory 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 ...
, Walsh served as Consultant to the U.S. Chief of Counsel
Robert H. Jackson Robert Houghwout Jackson (February 13, 1892 – October 9, 1954) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician who served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1941 until his death in 1954. He had previously served as Un ...
at the
Nuremberg Trials #REDIRECT Nuremberg trials {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from move ...
. Walsh particularly worked in helping Jackson gather evidence of Nazi religious persecution of German, Austrian, and Polish Christians. One of his duties was to interrogate retired
Imperial German Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the leadership of Kingdom o ...
General and former
University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...
professor
Karl Haushofer Karl Ernst Haushofer (27 August 1869 – 10 March 1946) was a German general, professor, geographer, and diplomat. Haushofer's concept of Geopolitik influenced the ideological development of Adolf Hitler. Rudolf Hess was also a student of ...
to determine whether he should be prosecuted for complicity in
Nazi war crimes The governments of the German Empire and Nazi Germany (under Adolf Hitler) ordered, organized, and condoned a substantial number of war crimes, first in the Herero and Nama genocide and then in the First and Second World Wars. The most notable of ...
. Haushofer's academic philosophy of
Geopolitik was a German school of geopolitics which existed between the late 19th century and World War II. It developed from the writings of various European and American philosophers, geographers and military personnel, including Oswald Spengler (1880– ...
was suspected to have helped to justify both
crimes against peace The crime of aggression was conceived by Soviet jurist Aron Trainin in the wake of the German invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II. Pictured: Stalingrad in ruins, December 1942 A crime of aggression or crime against peace is the p ...
and the
Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
. Walsh ultimately reported to Jackson that Haushofer was both legally and morally guilty of
war crimes A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hos ...
. Citing, "the role of geopolitics in corrupting education into a preparation for war", Walsh considered Haushofer and his academic associates, "basically as guilty as the better-known
war criminals A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostag ...
." In his later memoir of the Nuremberg Trials, Walsh further alleged that, "The tragedy of Karl Haushofer", was his participation in the, "nationalizing", of academic scholarship and weaponizing geopolitics to create, "an allegedly scientific basis and justification for international brigandage." After Haushofer and his wife committed suicide in March 1946, Walsh visited their graves and wrote in his diary, "I could not help but think of the deep tragedy of this death by night, alone, in a lonely gulley, of the last of the geopoliticians! What an inscrutable destiny, that after 19 ears ofteaching and warning heU.S.A. about the teachings of Haushofer, I should today be kneeling over his suicide's body in one of the loneliest spots in Bavaria!" In ''Total Power: A Footnote to History'', Walsh's 1948 account of his role in the Nuremberg Trials, Walsh accused the
single party state A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system or single-party system is a governance structure in which only a single political party controls the ruling system. In a one-party state, all opposition parties are either outlawed or en ...
s in
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
and the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
of embodying the concept of, "power without law." Therefore, the prosecution of those responsible for
Nazi war crimes The governments of the German Empire and Nazi Germany (under Adolf Hitler) ordered, organized, and condoned a substantial number of war crimes, first in the Herero and Nama genocide and then in the First and Second World Wars. The most notable of ...
raised a much deeper issue about the roots of
totalitarianism Totalitarianism is a political system and a form of government that prohibits opposition from political parties, disregards and outlaws the political claims of individual and group opposition to the state, and completely controls the public s ...
in all forms, "What one really beheld in the prisoners' dock at Nuremberg was a logical devolution in the despiritualizing of modern culture and the ultimate expression of an unbalanced and perverted
humanism Humanism is a philosophy, philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and Agency (philosophy), agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The me ...
."


Death

Walsh died of a
cerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as hemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain (i.e. the parenchyma), into its ventricles, or into both. An ICH is a type of bleeding within the skull and one kind of stro ...
on October 31, 1956, at the age of 71, at
Georgetown University Hospital MedStar Georgetown University Hospital is one of the Washington, D.C. area's oldest academic teaching hospitals. It is a not-for-profit, acute care teaching and research facility located in the Georgetown neighborhood of the Northwest Quadrant ...
. In its obituary, the ''New York Times'' remembered Walsh as founder of the School of Foreign Service. The ''Times'' added:
Father Walsh was a long-time leader in the fight against world communism. By the spoken and written word, and with every force at his command, he had uncompromisingly opposed it since the day in 1923 when he returned from Moscow after heading the Paper Relief Mission to the Soviet Union for more than a year.
President
Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...
sent a letter to Georgetown University when Walsh died in 1956, which read in part:


Legacy

After his death in 1956, a new academic building constructed to house the School of Foreign Service was named the Edmund A. Walsh Memorial Building in his memory. Walsh's most enduring legacy is the school he founded, which has become an incubator of leadership in the United States and internationally. Graduates of the School have included U.S. President
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
, U.S. President Barack Obama's Chief of Staff
Denis McDonough Denis Richard McDonough (born December 2, 1969) is an American government official who served as the 11th United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. McDonough served in the Presidency of Barack Obam ...
, U.S. President Donald Trump's Chief of Staff
Mick Mulvaney John Michael “Mick” Mulvaney (born July 21, 1967) is an American politician who served as director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) from February 2017 until March 2020, and as acting White House chief of staff from January 2019 un ...
and the leaders of the U.S. intelligence community (
George Tenet George John Tenet (born January 5, 1953) is an American intelligence official and academic who served as the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) for the United States Central Intelligence Agency, as well as a Distinguished Professor in the Pr ...
), the American labor movement (
AFL-CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) is a national trade union center that is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 61 national and international unions, together r ...
President
Lane Kirkland Joseph Lane Kirkland (March 12, 1922 – August 14, 1999) was an American labor union leader who served as President of the AFL–CIO from 1979 to 1995. Life and career Kirkland was born in Camden, South Carolina, the son of Louise Beardsley (Ri ...
), and the American Catholic Church (
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
Cardinal Archbishop John Joseph O'Connor). Heads of state educated at the School have included
King Abdullah King Abdullah may refer to: *Abdullah II of Jordan (born 1962), king of Jordan since 1999 ** List of things named after King Abdullah II *Abdullah I of Jordan (1882–1951), king of Transjordan *Abdullah Khan II (1533/4–1598), ruler of the Khanat ...
of
Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...
, King
Felipe VI Felipe VI (; Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Grecia; born 30 January 1968) is King of Spain. In accordance with the Spanish Constitution, as monarch, he is head of state and commander-in-chief of the Spanish Armed For ...
of Spain, and
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal-Arroyo (; born April 5, 1947), often referred to as PGMA or GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician who served as the 14th president of the Philippines from Presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, 2001 to 2010 ...
of the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
. The school has been home to several prominent faculty members including the historians
Carroll Quigley Carroll Quigley (; November 9, 1910 – January 3, 1977) was an American historian and theorist of the evolution of civilizations. He is remembered for his teaching work as a professor at the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown Univer ...
, and
Jules Davids Jules Davids (December 10, 1920 – December 6, 1996) was a professor of diplomatic history at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University until his retirement in 1986. A prolific author, his most famous work was undo ...
, the political scientist, and World War II hero
Jan Karski Jan Karski (born Jan Kozielewski, 24 June 1914 – 13 July 2000) was a Polish soldier, Polish resistance movement in World War II, resistance-fighter, and diplomat during World War II. He is known for having acted as a courier in 1940–1943 to ...
, and the first woman Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Körbelová, later Korbelová; May 15, 1937 – March 23, 2022) was an American diplomat and political science, political scientist who served as the 64th United States Secretary of State, United S ...
. On May 29, 2012, both Karski (posthumously) and Albright received the
Presidential Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, alongside the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by decision of the president of the United States to "any person recommended to the President ...
from U.S. President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
. In 2023, a controversial proposal to rename the Georgetown School of Foreign Service after
Madeleine Albright Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Körbelová, later Korbelová; May 15, 1937 – March 23, 2022) was an American diplomat and political science, political scientist who served as the 64th United States Secretary of State, United S ...
over Fr. Walsh's alleged role in
McCarthyism McCarthyism is a political practice defined by the political repression and persecution of left-wing individuals and a Fear mongering, campaign spreading fear of communist and Soviet influence on American institutions and of Soviet espionage i ...
received criticism from Georgetown students. They argued in a petition of their own that Fr. Walsh cannot be blamed for McCarthyism and that the legacy of the School of Foreign Service's founding Dean deserves to be celebrated rather than minimized. Others including students, faculty, and alumni, have argued against the name change based on both opposition to Albright's diplomatic policies and admiration for Fr. Walsh's role in defense of global religious freedom and other human rights. On 10 October 2023, Georgetown University announced that the replacement of Fr. Edmund A. Walsh's name with that of Madeleine Albright was no longer under consideration, but that an alternative means of honoring Albright was still being sought.


Works


Books

* * * * * * * * * "Geopolitics and International Morals," in ''Compass of the New World, Hans Weigert and Vilhjalmur Stefansson, eds.,'' New York: Macmillan, 1944
OCLC 255514571


Articles

* * "The Mystery of Haushofer," Life Magazine, 16 September 1946, pp. 107-120."The Mystery of Haushofer," Life Magazine, 16 September 1946, pp. 107-120.


See also

*
Michel d'Herbigny Michel-Joseph Bourguignon d'Herbigny (; May 8, 1880 – December 23, 1957) was a French Jesuit scholar and Catholic Church, Catholic bishop. He was president of the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome and of the Pontifical Commission for Russia ...
*
Evalyn Walsh McLean Evalyn McLean ( Walsh; August 1, 1886 – April 26, 1947) was an American mining heiress and socialite, famous for reputedly being an owner of the Hope Diamond (which was bought in 1911 for US$180,000 from Pierre Cartier), as well as another f ...


References


Citations


Sources

* * * *


Further reading

* * *


External links

*GCache of th
Digital Georgetown
describing the Walsh Building.
Georgetown University Location map
pinpointing the Walsh Building.
Profile of Fr. Walsh
from the Georgetown University newspaper. {{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, Edmund A. 1885 births 1956 deaths 20th-century American academics 19th-century American Jesuits 20th-century American Jesuits American anti-communists American anti-fascists American people of Irish descent American Roman Catholic clergy of Irish descent American Roman Catholic priests Anti-fascism in the United States Anti-Marxism Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany American critics of atheism Cristero War Critics of Marxism Deans and Prefects of Studies of the Georgetown University College of Arts & Sciences Deans of the Walsh School of Foreign Service Geopoliticians Georgetown University alumni Georgetown University faculty Historians of Nazism International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg Irish-American history Nuremberg trials People from South Boston University of Delaware alumni Woodstock College alumni Writers about communism Writers about the Soviet Union