DODD'S TIES TO KLEIN STILL ARE PUZZLE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00149R000200290056-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: November 11, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 2, 1999
• Sequence Number: 56
• Publication Date: July 20, 1966
• Content Type: NSPR

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-l 1 - ".L U1N YL)S f
AND TIMES HERALD
Approved For Release141999001i667 : CIA-RDP75-0
STATINTL
The Washington Merry-Go-Rounc1
Dodds'Ties to Iaein, Still 1j ?. Y
A BY Drew. Pearson
And Jack Anderson
Of the many lobbyists we
have known in Washington,
Maj. Gen. Julius Klein of the
'Illinois National Guard, re-
tired, is one of the most
unique. His uniqueness' lies in
the fact that he has such close
relations with Sen. Tom Dodd
(D-Conn.), the West Germans,
and did have them for a time
with other Senators.
His relations with the Ger-
mans can'be explained by the
fact that they were anxious to
live down their anti-Jewish
stigma of the war, and. Klein
was a Jew who appeared to
have powerful friends in pow-
1 erful places.
But Klein's relations with
Tom Dodd, a prosecutor, a for-
.mer U.S. attorney, a keen in
Wvestigator, supposedly a root-
..'or-out of evil, the mainspring
.of the Internal Security Com-
mittee, are hard indeed to un-
'derstand.
j Dodd was not a champion of
'the Jewish minority, in fact
he once incurred 'Jewish re-
:sentment by inserting . the
spurious Protocols of the Wise
Men of Zion in the Congres-
sional,Record on the strange
excuse that he, was exposing
anti-Semitism.
Nevertheless, Dodd enjoyed
an intimate relationship with
Klein. Meanwhile, many other
Senators had got wise to him,
arid frowned on his activities.
So did the members of his
'own profession.
,..:
to attempt to get resolution of
support in the Dodd case. He
was ruled off the agenda and
denied the right of support."
This came after officers of
the Jewish War Veterans many
times made it clear through
letters to editors and public
statements that they strongly
disapproved Klein's use of his
position as past national com-
mander to bolster his public
relations business.
As early as 1956, ten years
ago, before Tom Dodd was
elected to the Senate, this col-
umn began calling attention
to the powerful lobby for the
return of war-seized Nazi prop-
erty., Klein became identified
with this fobby,in 1957, despite
the fact that the great major-
ity of American Jews and Jew-
ish War Veterans Were op-
posed to returning this prop-
erty which, under the peace
treaty, was to pay the claims
of Americans against Ger-
many. "
This column publicized in
about 600 newspapers the fact
that Herman Abs, formerly
managing director of Hitler's
Deutsche Bank, was the 1957-
58 spearhead of this lobby. Im-
mediately after' publication,
Gen. Klein wrote indignant let,
ters to the ? 600 newspapers
denying that'Abs'had any Nazi
connections, and; vigorously
championing the return of for-
mer Nazi property.
Klein failed to report, that
Drd Abs participated in wrest-
ing property away from the:
Jews under Hitler.
$4.0,000 Fee
Klein at that time was get-
ting $40,000 for his alien prop=
erty public relations, though;f
he did not at first register
with the Justice Department-,
.as a foreign agent.
In fact, he did not register
until after publicity had been
given to his activities, and
after the Jusbice Department
notified him that he must reg-
aster. .
Klein, however, did a good a
job for, his clients. Dr. Abs
had come to the United States
in 1950, but beat a hasty rej?
treat after Sen. Guy Gillette'..
of Iowa exposed his pro-Nazi'
past. When he carne again in!
1957, however, he. was smart'
enough ? to hire the former
commander of the Jewish War
Veterans as his public rela-
tions agent. ' This time Abs;
remained In the United States.
And after .4iany years of
propagandizing, the German''
prop rty, chiefly the I. G. Far-"
ben ubsidlary, General Ant. !
line and Film, was finally',
sold-with about $100 million
going back to Europe.
Gen. Klein was partly re-
sponsible. , "I "
During ' all this ' period,
Klcin's operations' were well'
publicized by this column and.
other news. media. What he
did was no secret to the sup-;'
posedly discerning' Senatdr;
from Connecticut,' -a former':
prosecutor at liho Nutremberg?,
trials.' ;
Approved For Release 1999/09/17 : CIA-RDP75-00149R000200290056-1
For instance, Klein Is, one i on a plea of personal privilege
of the few members of ' the
Public . Relations Society of
America who have been of-
ficially censured.' On Sept. 23,
1963, Ward B, Stevenson, then
president of the Society, sent
out a notice "to all members"
stating that "in accordance
with the by-laws, I have been
instructed by the board of di-
rectors of the Public Relations
Society of America, Inc., to
give you notice of a resolution
of censure adopted ' by the
board at its meeting on Sept.
20, 1963. . I
"The resolution, wh',.(.-,h was
adopted by the" afLrmative
vote of two thirds of the en-
tire board of directors, follows:
' "'Resolved, ? t h a t Julius
Klein, a member of the Pub-
lie Relations Society of Amer-
ica, Inc., be and he hereby is
censured for his 'violation of
paragraphs 1 and 13 of the
Society's Code of Professional
Standards for t l) Practice of
Public Relations. "
This occurred, just six
months before Sen. Dodd went
to Germany an behalf ' of
Klein.
Alien Property Lobbyist
The Jewish War Veterans'
national executive (committee
oil April 30; 1966, officially
went on record as refusing
Klein Its support.
The mimeographed summary
of the JWV meeting states
"Item 7 - Gen. Julius Klein
Ruled Off' Agenda by Chair
man.-, Klein aought . the floor