Legacy of a False Promise: A Daughter's Reckoning

by Margaret Fuchs Singer

The compelling story of a teenage girl caught up in the throes of the McCarthy era.

Margaret Fuchs was thirteen in June 1955 when she learned that her parents had been Communists while working for the U.S. government in the 1930s and '40s. This book chronicles the years during which her parents were exposed and her father was subpoenaed before the House Un-American Activities Committee. Eventually he named names, and subsequently lost his job as a law professor at American University, and was blacklisted from teaching ever again. Legacy of a False Promise also details the author's quest as an adult to learn whether or not her parents ever spied for the Soviet Union.

Based on eight years of research using family records, FBI files, American University archives, personal interviews, and the recently declassified Venona cables, Legacy of a False Promise offers unique insights into the McCarthy Era. Most "red-diaper babies" who have written on the subject had parents who refused to give in to HUAC's demands. Singer's work instead recounts the shame and series of betrayals that her father's decision to name names brought to her family. Furthermore, it explores the campaign of the liberal anti-Communist movement to publicize its political position while defending a fired ex-Communist professor, the nature and activities of secret Communist underground cells, and the motivation of New Deal government workers who spied for the Soviets.

This is a poignant meditation on family secrets, father-daughter relationships in times of crisis, teenage loneliness in the midst of trauma, and the effects of parents' actions on the lives of their children. It also serves as a timely reminder of the dangers of sacrificing civil liberties in the name of national security.

264 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Margaret Fuchs Singer was thirteen years old when her college law professor father was asked to testify before the House UnAmerican Activities Committee regarding Communists working in the federal government. She did not know that both her parents used to be members of the Communist party.

Legacy of a False Promise: A Daughter's Reckoning is her recounting of that period of her life. Sometimes books such as this tend to be not so well written, and a bit dry, but Fuchs writes a powerful, interesting story of her search for the truth about her parents.

Fuchs' parents worked in the federal government in the 1930s and 1940s while members of the Communist party. While they believed in their cause, they still kept their politics hidden from their employers, something that I found intriguing. Singer writes
My father did not see in his Party membership a conflict of loyalties or a threat to the United States, but, instead, a way to participate in the nation's economic and social recovery.(p. 117)
That seems to me like a rationalization. If you believe you are truly doing good, you wouldn't have to hide your beliefs.

The Fuchs attended meetings, recruited other Communist Party members as federal employees, and reported back to a man higher up in the Party. When they became discouraged by events in Russia, they left the party. While they thought they had left it behind, when the government held hearings before Congress in the 1950s, Herbert Fuchs was called as a witness.

The government wanted Fuchs to name other Communists who worked in the federal government, but he did not want to betray his former friends. His employer, American University, promised him that he could keep his job if he cooperated. He was told that his wife would be called to testify if he did not cooperate.

With the memory of the execution of accused Russian spies Ethel and Julius Rosenberg fresh in his mind, Fuchs reluctantly appeared before the Committee and gave them the information they asked for, to protect his wife, his children and his job. He agonized over the decision, but felt he had no choice.

The dean of American University reneged on his promise and forced Fuchs out of his job. Many people felt that Fuchs was a traitor to his country, and others felt that he betrayed his friends by naming names. It was a no-win situation for Fuchs.

Singer vividly brings to life that time period in our history through her family's story. Her description of what it felt like as teenage girl, so confused by what was going on, her relationships with her family, and the fallout from her father's decision are heartfelt.

As an adult, Singer works to find out the truth about her parents, seeking out documents and people who can help her. She is conflicted about this, even fearful about what she may find, but can't come to terms with what happened to her family until the truth is known.

Legacy of a Promise will appeal to many different readers; fans of history and politics, as well as those who like personal stories about family and a search for identity.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read this book twice and highly recommend it. It is suspenseful (even when read the second time!), starting with the first paragraphs where the author's father discloses that he and her mother had been members of the Communist Party in the '30s and '40s, and because of this, he has been subpoenaed to testify in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). He and her mother could be taken away, incarcerated or worse. Most difficult of all, this 13-year old is admonished that "there may be publicity," and "not to discuss this with anyone." On another level, this is a story about a teenage girl and her relationships with her family members. Adolescence is complicated under the best of circumstances, but the fear and shame that came with her father's disclosure made life much more complex for this girl. Ms. Singer does a great job of sharing her thoughts as a teenager and how she and her family coped with their new world. In the second half of the book, when as an adult she decides to write this story, we learn how past emotions and family dynamics are again stirred up. Finally, this is an interesting work about a time in our nation's history about which we should all know. For those who are already familiar with the HUAC era, this book adds another, less-heard story of an individual who _did_ decide to name names, and his reasons for doing this. This is a well-written, very readable and entertaining book. I would enjoy talking with others about this work.

[David J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an important book. It deals with basic values - integrity, truth, courage, and compassionate respect -- and tells the story of one woman's life-long struggle to maintain fidelity to those values even as she comes face to face with the tabooed reality behind her much admired father's coerced betrayal of those same values as he named names before HUAC and condemned his family to social ostracism, shame, and fear of exposing the truth. Margaret Singer's gentle, at times even lyrical, voice compels the reader to listen carefully as one is drawn initially into her adolescent and later her adult efforts to balance her love and respect for her parents with her tumultuous feelings of betrayal, shame and anger that come with having to endure the pain of social isolation, the familial contract to hide the unspeakable traumatic tragedy that engulfed them all, and the emotionally disfiguring effects on a family's life that come from a father's having to betray the core values of his identity. Legacy of a False Promise addresses all these difficult issues with courage, dignity, compassion, respect and intelligence, and in the process shows how one courageous woman faced the possessive demons of her past and claimed her life as her own. Read it.

David J, Eger, Ph.D.

[Sherrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a memoir of Margaret Fuchs Singer. Margaret is what they called a Red-Diper Baby. She is the child of parents that were members of the Communist Party. They worked in the government at the time. Eventually they were exposed and appeared before the House Un-American Activities Committee. During this time period Margaret was a teenager. She was told not to talk to anyone about this. So she pretty much kept everything that was going on in her family to herself. She didn't have anyone to talk to about all this. As she grew into an adult the started researching about all this and decided to write a book. Thinking this would help her deal with this. She wanted to find if her parents were actual spies and gave away secrets to Russia. If you have never read anything about the Macarthy Era and the people involved in this, this would be a great books to read. Margret has lots of info in this book about all of this. Very interesting book!!