17,394
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Line 1:
Line 1: − + − + − Niles served as both the Associate Director and Director of Boston's Ford Hall Forum (1921-1952), the Director of the American Business Census in Massachusetts (1933-1934), a consultant, director, and assistant administrator of the [[Works Progress Administration]] (1936-1939), Special Assistant to the Secretary of Commerce (1939-1940), as well as a consultant and advisor to the Office of Production Management and [[War Production Board]] before becoming a presidential advisor.+ + + − + + + + + + Line 29:
Line 36: − == References == − * Michael J. Cohen, ''Truman and Israel,'' (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1990). + Line 41:
Line 47: + +
update
[[Image:Osc04e.jpg|thumb|150px|right|[[KGB]] Agent and [[Democratic]] Presidential Adviser, David K. Niles.]]
[[Image:Osc04e.jpg|thumb|150px|right]]
'''David K. Niles''' (November 26, 1890–September 28, 1952; Boston, Massachusetts) was a political advisor who worked in the White House from 1942–1951 for the administrations of [[Franklin Roosevelt]] and [[Harry Truman]]. Niles was one of only two Roosevelt aides retained by Truman upon his assumption of the presidency. Niles was instrumental to the attempts of the [[Zionist]] lobby to gain United States support for the creation of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. [http://www.trumanlibrary.org/oralhist/wright.htm] Niles was often capable of bending the president's ear to Zionist arguments. In 1947, President Truman awarded him the Medal for Merit.
'''David K. Niles''' (November 26, 1890–September 28, 1952) was a political advisor who worked in the White House from 1942–1951 for the administrations of [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] (1942-45) and [[Harry Truman]]. He was concerned chiefly with issues of civil rights, immigration, Jewish affairs, welfare, and Democratic Party politics. He was the White House planner for FDR;s third term campaign in 1940.
==Career==
Born in Poland of Jewish parents, Niles grew up in Boston. He could not afford college and became a political activist by 1924. He played a major role in every Democratic National Convention from 1928 through 1952. He had what [Roosevelt called a "passion for anonymity" and was seldom mentioned in the press.
Niles directed the Boston's Ford Hall Forum (1921-1952), a lecture service. He directed the American Business Census in Massachusetts (1933-1934). Moving to Washington in 1934 he moved up rapidly in the [[New Deal]] under the patronage of [[Harry Hopkins]], becoming an assistant administrator of the [[Works Progress Administration]] (1936-1939), Special Assistant to the Secretary of Commerce (1939-1940). In 1940 he handled patronage for the Census Bureau, which hired 100,000 people to conduct the census that year. He worked for the Office of Production Management and [[War Production Board]] before becoming a presidential advisor.
== Communist connections ==
==Truman aide==
Niles was one of only two Roosevelt aides retained by Truman upon his assumption of the presidency. Niles handled minority affairs, civil rights and Jewish issues. He was instrumental in Truman's decision to recognize the new state of Israel in 1948 and thereby solidify the Jewish vote in the 1948 election. He retired in 1951.
== Communist target==
{| cellpadding="1" style="float: right; border: 1px solid #8888aa; background: #f7f8ff; padding: 5px; font-size: 85%; margin: 0 15px 0 15px;"
{| cellpadding="1" style="float: right; border: 1px solid #8888aa; background: #f7f8ff; padding: 5px; font-size: 85%; margin: 0 15px 0 15px;"
| style="background: #ccf; text-align: center;" | '''This article is part of the'''<br>'''[[Venona project|Venona]]'''<br>'''series.'''
| style="background: #ccf; text-align: center;" | '''This article is part of the'''<br>'''[[Venona project|Venona]]'''<br>'''series.'''
(Romerstein and Breindel, p. 180.)
(Romerstein and Breindel, p. 180.)
== Further reading ==
== Further reading ==
* Michael J. Cohen, ''Truman and Israel,'' (1990).
* Herbert Romerstein and Eric Breindel, ''The Venona Secrets, Exposing Soviet Espionage and America’s Traitors,'' (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1997).
* Herbert Romerstein and Eric Breindel, ''The Venona Secrets, Exposing Soviet Espionage and America’s Traitors,'' (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1997).
* Cornell Simpson, ''The Death of James Forrestal,'' (Belmont, MA: Western Islands Publishers, 1966).
* Cornell Simpson, ''The Death of James Forrestal,'' (Belmont, MA: Western Islands Publishers, 1966).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Niles, David}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Niles, David}}
[[Category:KGB Agents and Sources]]
[[Category:KGB Agents and Sources]]
[[Category:New Deal]]
[[Category:Israel]]