Martin Ebon (May 27, 1917 – February 11, 2006) was the pen-name of Hans Martin Schwarz, an American journalist and author of non-fiction books and articles from the

paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...

to politics, particularly as an

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 ...

Background

Hans Martin Schwarz was born on May 27, 1917, in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Career

During the 1930s, Schwarz published in ''

Israelitisches Familienblatt ''Israelitisches Familienblatt'' (literally: ''Israelite Family Paper''; originally: ''Israelitisches Familienblatt für Hamburg, Altona und Wandsbek'') was a Jewish weekly newspaper, directed at Jewish readers of all religious alignments. Max L ...

'' among other German-Jewish periodicals. In 1938, Schwarz emigrated to the USA, lived 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 ...

from 1938 onwards, and changed his name from Hans Martin Schwartz to Martin Ebon. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Office of War Information (formed June 1942), the

U.S. Department of State 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 o ...

(as an information officer), and by 1948 had joined the staff of ''

Partisan Review ''Partisan Review'' (''PR'') was a left-wing small-circulation quarterly "little magazine" dealing with literature, politics, and cultural commentary published in New York City. The magazine was launched in 1934 by the Communist Party USA–affi ...

'' magazine. In January 1948, Ebon published his first book in English, ''World Communism Today''. The book reviewed a century of

Marxism Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...

, following the publication of the ''Communist Manifesto'' by

Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

and

Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels ( ;"Engels"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''.Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. Arthur Meier Schlesinger Jr. ( ; born Arthur Bancroft Schlesinger; October 15, 1917 – February 28, 2007) was an American historian, social critic, and public intellectual. The son of the influential historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Sr. and a ...

praised the book as an "outstanding work on communist penetration and strategy." The book was cited as an expert source, e.g., 60,000 members in the Korean Communist Party as of 1949. In March 1948, he appeared on WMAL AM radio in Washington, DC, to discuss "Which Way America – Fascism, Communism, Socialism, or Democracy?" with

Raymond Moley Raymond Charles Moley (September 27, 1886 – February 18, 1975) was an American political economist. Initially a leading supporter of the New Deal, he went on to become its bitter opponent before the end of the Great Depression. Early life and ...

(

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Norman Thomas Norman Mattoon Thomas (November 20, 1884 – December 19, 1968) was an American Presbyterian religious minister, minister, political activist, and perennial candidate for president. He achieved fame as a socialism, socialist and pacifism, pacifis ...

(

Socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

), and Leon Milton Birkhead ( Unitarian). His July 1948 article "Communist Tactics in Palestine" in the ''

Middle East Journal ''The Middle East Journal'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by the Middle East Institute (Washington, D.C.). It was established in 1947 and covers research on the modern Middle East, including political, economic, and social ...

'' received a favorably review as "carefully documented" and "objective and non-partisan." In 1953, his book '' Malenkov:

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 ...

's Successor'' received mixed reviews as "short," quickly published (weeks after Stalin's death), and carefully appraising thanks to the author's previous book on world communism. It drew favorable comparison to Eugene Lyons' ''Our Secret Allies''. Ebon held various positions in book and magazine retailing, including: * Managing Editor of foreign language division, Overseas News Agency;

U.S. Information Agency The United States Information Agency (USIA) was a United States government agency devoted to propaganda which operated from 1953 to 1999. Previously existing United States Information Service (USIS) posts operating out of U.S. embassies wor ...

, New York City * Information Officer on Far Eastern desks, 1950–52;

Hill & Knowlton Hill & Knowlton is an American global public relations consulting company, headquartered in New York City. The firm has over 80 additional offices in more than 40 countries. The company was founded in Cleveland, in 1927 by John W. Hill and is no ...

, Inc. (public relations), New York City * Account Executive, 1952–53;

Parapsychology Foundation The Parapsychology Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 1951 by the medium Eileen J. Garrett and Frances Payne Bolton, Ohio's first female representative in Congress. The foundation is based in New York. They offer grants and schola ...

, Inc., New York City, administrative secretary and editor, 1953–65, working closely with its founder, Eileen J. Garrett * Lombard Associates, Inc. (public relations and publications consultants), New York City, president, 1962–82 * Consulting Editor,

New American Library The New American Library (also known as NAL) is an American publisher based in New York, founded in 1948. Its initial focus was affordable paperback reprints of classics and scholarly works as well as popular and pulp fiction, but it now publi ...

(publishers), 1966–83 * Executive Editor of hardcover book division,

Playboy Press PLBY Group, Inc. is an American global media and lifestyle company founded by Hugh Hefner as Playboy Enterprises, Inc. to oversee the ''Playboy'' magazine and related assets. Its headquarters are in Los Angeles, California. The company is focus ...

, 1971–72 * Lecturer in Division of Social Sciences,

The New School The New School is a Private university, private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for p ...

, 1949–50, 1955–56, 1967 * Consultant, Foundation for Research on the Nature of Man, 1966–67 * Free-lance writer from 1967 on

Personal life and death

Ebon married Chariklia Baltazzi; they had one son. Martin Ebon died age 82 on February 11, 2006, in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

Legacy

The

Center for Jewish History The Center for Jewish History is a partnership of five Jewish history, scholarship, and art organizations in New York City, namely the American Jewish Historical Society, American Sephardi Federation, Leo Baeck Institute New York, Yeshiva Univ ...

houses articles written by Ebon between 1934 and 1938 for German-Jewish newspapers, plus reviews of his German-language books.

Works

Ebon published dozens of books on world affairs and parapsychology. ;Books in German * ''Einer wie Du und Ich'' (1937) * ''Heiteres, Besinnliches, Nachdenkliches'' (1937) ;Books in English *''World Communism Today'' (1948) * '' Malenkov:

's Successor'', McGraw-Hill, 1953 * ''Svetlana: The Story of Stalin's Daughter'', New American Library, 1967 * ''Prophecy in Our Time'', New American Library, 1968. * ''The Making of a Legend'', Universe Books, 1969. * ''Lin Pao: The Life and Writings of China's New Ruler'', Stein & Day. * ''Witchcraft Today'', New American Library, 1971. * ''Every Woman's Guide to Abortion'', Universe Books, 1971. * ''They Knew the Unknown'', World Publishing, 1971. * ''The Truth about Vitamin E'', Bantam, 1972. * ''The Devil's Bride: Exorcism, Past and Present'', Harper, 1974. * ''The Essential Vitamin Counter'', Bantam, 1974. * ''Which Vitamins Do You Need?'', Bantam, 1974. * ''Saint Nicholas.- Life and Legend'', Harper, 1975. * ''The Satan Trap: Dangers of the Occult'', Doubleday, 1976. * ''What's New in ESP?'', Pyramid, 1976. * ''The Relaxation Controversy'', New American Library, 1976. * ''The Evidence for Life after Death'', New American Library, 1977. * ''Miracles'', Signet, 1981. * ''Psychic Warfare: Threat or Illusion'', McGraw-Hill, 1983. * ''The Andropov File'', McGraw-Hill, 1983. * ''Nikita Khrushchev'', Chelsea House, 1986. * ''The Soviet Propaganda Machine'', McGraw-Hill, 1987. * ''KGB: Death and Rebirth'', Greenwood/Praeger, 1994 ;Books as "Eric Ward" * ''The President's Daughter'' with Ursala Russell, Bantam, 1973 ;Articles * "World Communism Has Passed Its Peak," ''American Mercury'' (January 1948) * "Communist Tactics in Palestine," ''

'' (July 1948) * "Psychic Studies: The Soviet Dilemma," ''Skeptical Inquirer'' (1985) ;Miscellaneous * Letter to

Joshua Lederberg Joshua Lederberg (May 23, 1925 – February 2, 2008) was an American molecular biology, molecular biologist known for his work in microbial genetics, artificial intelligence, and the United States space program. He was 33 years old when he won t ...

(15 November 1985)

References

External links

Guide to the Hans Martin Schwarz collection
at the

Leo Baeck Institute The Leo Baeck Institute, established in 1955, is an international research institute with centres in New York City, London, Jerusalem and Berlin, that are devoted to the study of the history and culture of German-speaking Jewry. The institute was ...

, NY. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ebon, Martin 1917 births 2006 deaths 20th-century American male writers American health and wellness writers American male non-fiction writers American occult writers American occultists American parapsychologists American political writers Emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United States People of the United States Office of War Information Writers from Hamburg