Recht, Charles, 1887-1965

Charles C. Recht (1887-1965) was born in Bohemia to Jewish parents, emigrated to the United States at age thirteen, and graduated from New York University Law School in 1910. He served as general counsel for the New York Bureau of Legal Advice, which provided free legal service to men who resisted the new draft laws related to the entry of the United States into World War I. Recht also represented many radicals who faced deportation at that time, and later served as an officer of a Communist Party, USA-related organization, the American Committee for Protection of Foreign Born, although he claimed to have never been a Party member. From 1921, when the Soviet Union's representative, Ludwig Martens was deported, until 1933, when diplomatic relations were established, Recht officially represented Soviet interests in the U.S., and thereafter he continued to represent many Soviet citizens and organizations. Recht published two novels, Rue with a Difference (1924) and Babylon on Hudson (1932), and a book of poems, Manhattan Made (1930). He also translated the work of August Strindberg and other playwrights, and wrote widely on law, politics, theater and Jewish history. His wife, Aristine Munn Recht, a physician, was at one time Dean of Women at NYU's Washington Square College.