Stephen Fritchman: The American Unitarians and Communism

Stephen Fritchman: The American Unitarians and Communism – A History with Documents. Author Charles Eddis, who was there, tells in detail how the American Unitarians struggled to reconcile hopes and good intentions with painful political realities emerging after World War II. The AUA (American Unitarian Association) awoke to find powerful pro-Soviet supporters — including Fritchman — in charge of their official magazine, their youth program, and their relief work in postwar Europe. The book’s broad historical canvas includes the FBI, the OSS (predecessor of the CIA), Soviet spies and agents, Stalin, and the US Communist Party set in the context of the ongoing evolution of American political radicalism. "A very credible, accurate, well-balanced and humane study of the people who figured in this chapter in American Unitarian history, the issues at stake, the drama that unfolded." J. Ron Engel. retired professor, Meadville/Lombard Theological School, University of Chicago.