HUAC’s continued targeting of activists spread to Jewish Americans and others at the forefront of the anti-Vietnam War movement. In 1967 - a year that would become one of the deadliest for U.S. military casualties as more than 11,000 American soldiers perished - counterculture activists Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin were among those subpoenaed. In response, Hoffman and Rubin were openly defiant, and their highly visible antics, which included arriving dressed in outrageous costumes and waving toy guns, helped to further erode the public’s trust in the committee. Narrated by Rebecca Naomi Jones and featuring Gemma R. Birnbaum, executive director of the American Jewish Historical Society.
Episode Image: Yippie activists Abbie Hoffman (left) and Jerry Rubin arrive at the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) hearing October 1, 1968 investigating the clashes at the 1968 Democratic Convention. Photograph by Joseph Silverman. The image is courtesy of the D.C. Public Library Washington Star Collection © Washington Post.
The Wreckage is made possible by funding from the Ford Foundation.
Additional funding is provided through the American Jewish Education Program, generously supported by Sid and Ruth Lapidus.
