Leo Krzycki
Leo Krzycki | |
|---|---|
 Krzycki c. 1922 | |
| National Chairman of the Socialist Party of America | |
| In office October 29, 1933 – July 16, 1936 | |
| Preceded by | Morris Hillquit |
| Succeeded by | Norman Thomas |
| Vice President of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America | |
| In office 1920–1947 | |
| Member of the Milwaukee Common Council | |
| In office April 17, 1912 – April 18, 1916 | |
| Personal details | |
| Pronunciation | k-ZHIT-ski |
| Born | Leo C. Krzycki August 10, 1881 Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Died | January 22, 1966 (aged 84) Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Political party | Socialist (before 1936) American Labor (after 1936) |
| Spouse |
Anna Kadau (m. 1909) |
| Children | Leona Eugene John Victor Leo |
| Parent(s) | Martin Krzycki, Katherine Wobszal |
| Occupation | Union leader, Socialist leader, activist |
| Awards | Order of Polonia Restituta (1946) |
Leo Krzycki (also known as Leon Krzycki in Polish; 1881–1966) was an American socialist and labor leader of Polish descent who served on the Milwaukee Common Council from 1912 to 1916,[1] as vice president of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America from 1920[2] to 1947,[3] and as national chairman of the Socialist Party of America from 1933[4] to 1936.[5]
Early life
[edit]Leo C. Krzycki was born on August 10, 1881,[6][7] in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Martin Krzycki and Katherine Wobszal.[8] He was involved with the labor movement from a young age, leading an unnsuccessful lithographers' strike at 15 which keft him blacklisted by the company. He spent the next several years working odd jobs and became radicalized, returning to Milwaukee and becoming vice president of the Lithographic Press Feeders Union in 1904.[1]
Political career
[edit]Krzycki was elected to the Milwaukee Common Council in 1912,[1] serving four years before running unsuccessfully for city comptroller in 1916.[9] Thereafter, he served as an undersheriff.
In 1918, Krzycki ran for Congress in Wisconsin's 8th congressional district, losing to incumbent Edward E. Browne. In 1924, he ran again in the 4th district, losing to incumbent John C. Schafer.[10] He then ran for U.S. Senate in 1926, losing to John J. Blaine, and for Secretary of State of Wisconsin in 1928, losing to incumbent Theodore Dammann.
Krzycki was involved in the 1926 Passaic textile strike, and appeared in the silent film released the same year which dramatized the events surrounding the strike.[11]
On October 29, 1933,[4] Krzycki was elected chairman of the national executive board of the Socialist Party of America, succeeding the lately deceased Morris Hillquit.[6] He held the post until 1936, when he left the party to join Sidney Hillman in the American Labor Party.[12] His opponents in the Old Guard faction included Louis Waldman and Charles Rozmarek.
Krzycki's involvement in the 1937 Little Steel strike was criticized, especially regarding the "march" forward that the strikers took towards the plant gates. One first-hand account stated that he knew beforehand that the police captain was a "sadist" and stayed on-stage, trying in vain to dissuade the protests from going forward.[13] Krzycki was also a key figure in organizing the 1937 strike against Ford Motor Company, and shares a historic image leading the strikers with labor leaders Richard Frankensteen and Ed Hall.[14]
In the wake of the Nazi invasion of Poland in September 1939, many pro-Polish organizations formed in the UK and USA. In late 1941, the Soviets formed an All Slav Congress. In April 1942, Krzycki accepted the presidency of an American Slav Congress (ASC), allegedly as "front man" for Boleslaw Gebert of the Soviet's All Slav Congress. After news of the 1940 Katyn Massacre emerged, Krzycki's ASC broke with the Polish government in exile in London and stood with the Soviets, their Committee of Polish Patriots (a precursor to the post-war, Soviet-backed Polish government), and the Soviet-proposed changes to Poland's borders to the west and east. Both the FBI and OSS (and then the CIA) followed ASC activities, which was later questioned before Congress, leading to Krzycki's resignation and the organization's dissolution by 1951.[15][16]
In 1944, Krzycki, by then "a noted one-time socialist leader," also became president of the American Polish Labor Council (APLC), appended to the CIO PAC to support Franklin Delano Roosevelt's 1944 presidential campaign.[16]
Personal life and death
[edit]In 1909, Krzycki married Anna Kadau, a neighbor; they had three children.[6][8]
Krzycki was a member of the American Committee for Protection of Foreign Born.[17][18]
Leo Krzycki died age 84 on January 22, 1966, in Milwaukee.[6][8]
Awards
[edit]Works
[edit]- The Polish Worker's Day. New York, 1942.
See also
[edit]- Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America
- Wisconsin Labor History Society
- Socialist Party of America
- Joseph Catalanotti (contemporary ACWA EVP)
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Miller, Eugene (Autumn 1976). "Leo Krzycki: Polish American Labor Leader". Polish American Studies. 33 (2): 52–54.
- ^ "Leo Krzycki, Progressive Labor Leader, Dies at 84". Daily World. New York. 8 February 1966. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
- ^ "Fete for Labor Leader May Bare Wallace Aim". Detroit Free Press. Detroit. 18 January 1948. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
- ^ a b "Krzycki Takes Hillquit Post". Kenosha News. Kenosha. 30 October 1933. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
- ^ Ross, Jack (2015). The Socialist Party of America: A Complete History. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. p. 371. ISBN 978-1612344904. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
- ^ a b c d Binkowski, Don (2002). "Leo Krzycki: no one like this Milwaukee Polish leader". Wisconsin Labor History Society Newsletter. Wisconsin Labor History Society: 3–4.
- ^ "Krzycki, Leo". Our Campaigns.com. Retrieved 2013-06-23.
- ^ a b c Binkowski, Don (2001). Poles Together: Leo Krzycki and Polish Americans in the American Labor Movement. XLibris. p. 554.
- ^ "Hoan;s majority in the Cream City is given at 3,157". Racine Journal Times. Racine. 6 April 1916. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
- ^ "Krzycki, Leo". Political Graveyard. Retrieved 2013-06-23.
- ^ "The Passaic Textile Strike". imdb.com. IMDb. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
- ^ Johnpoll, Bernard (1970). Pacifist's Progress: Norman Thomas and the decline of American Socialism. Chicago: Quadrangle Books. p. 246. ISBN 0812901525. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
- ^ Arthur G. McDowell. Labor History. Volume 6. Fall 1965. pp. 274–275.
- ^ Patricia Zacharias (1997-10-22). "Richard Frankensteen, the UAW's 'other guy'". Detroit News. Archived from the original on 2012-07-09. Retrieved 2013-11-26.
- ^ David Stefancic (22 December 2010). "American Slavic Congress". In James S. Pula (ed.). The Polish American Encyclopedia. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. pp. 12–13. ISBN 978-0-7864-3308-7.
- ^ a b Don Binkowski (22 December 2010). "American Polish Labor Council". In James S. Pula (ed.). The Polish American Encyclopedia. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. pp. 12–13. ISBN 978-0-7864-3308-7.
- ^ Report on the American Slav Congress and Associated Organizations. USGPO. 26 June 1949. p. 34. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
- ^ Communist Political Subversion: The Campaign to Destroy the Security Programs of the United States Government. USGPO. 16 August 1957. p. 70. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
- ^ Binkowski, Don (2001). Leo Krzycki and the Detroit Left. XLibris. pp. 159 (Restituta).
External links
[edit]- Guide to the Don Binkowski Collection Of Leo Krzycki Memorabilia, held at Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library
- FBI records on Leo Krzycki
- The Passaic Textile Strike - Samuel Russak - 1926
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