World War II
During World War II, Blaustein was president and chairman of the Overseas News Agency and Jewish Telegraphic Agency which reported on antisemitic and other minority crimes taking place around the world.[15] During the war, Blaustein was also the acting chairman of the marketing committee of the U.S. Petroleum Administration for War, and a member of its committees on supplies, distribution, and joint use of facilities. Blaustein was a key member of the National Petroleum Council which served as a trusted advisor to the federal government on petroleum and gas matters of international significance during the war.[1]
Blaustein traveled on a post-war mission to Germany in 1946 at the invitation of Commanding General of the United States Forces in the European Theater Joseph T. McNarney, he made a survey of Displaced Persons Camps.[5]
Holocaust reparations
After World War II, Blaustein advocated for reparations for the surviving victims of the Holocaust and helped to negotiate a $10 billion victim reparation plan with the Government of West Germany and Chancellor Konrad Adenauer. Blaustein led the American Jewish Committee's (AJC) Delegation to the Paris Peace Conference where he advocated for the strengthening of human rights clauses in the treaties and the inclusion of guarantees to aid victims of persecution through reparations.[16]
Blaustein served as Senior Vice President of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany which was opened in New York City in order to help with individual claims. The organization functioned for a period of 15 years from 1951 to 1966. Through negotiations, a total sum of $845 million direct and indirect compensations was disbursed. In 1956, Blaustein testified regarding the organization's progress to the United States Senate Committee on Appropriations.[17]
In 1960, Blaustein negotiated with the manufacturers of Krupp armaments to award compensatory damages for each slave laborer employed in their factories during the war.[2]
United Nations
Blaustein was an influential leader within the United Nations from its inception through the rest of his life. In March 1945, just one month before his death, President Franklin D. Roosevelt met with Blaustein and appointed him to represent the United States as a consultant delegate at the founding meetings and San Francisco Conference of the United Nations in San Francisco.[18] While he was at the San Francisco Conference, Blaustein helped to convince Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov to accept the human rights articles of the UN Charter.
Blaustein was an active advocate for the civil and religious rights of Jewish Americans and promoted tolerance among religious groups. Blaustein participated in a number of peacekeeping missions and negotiations on behalf of the United States government. Blaustein was an astute and trusted dealmaker and undertook diplomatic missions to Germany, Israel, North Africa, Morocco, Turkey, Greece, Poland, and South America on behalf of the United States.
In 1955, President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed Blaustein as a regular member of the United States delegation to the United Nations.[19]
Israel-U.S. relations
Blaustein was active in the creation of the nation of Israel, the 1947 partition of Palestine through the United Nations, and for American recognition of the new state.[26] He served as president of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) from 1949 to 1954.[27]
During his time as leader of the AJC, the organization took the position that fighting prejudice towards Jews in the United States could best be achieved by working to advance equality of all Americans.[28] Blaustein commissioned social science research into the causes of and solutions to address prejudice in the United States, and forged alliances with other associations including the United Negro College Fund, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Catholic Association for International Peace, and the General Federation of Women's Clubs.[29]
The AJC's social science research was cited in the 1954
Federal service
Blaustein served as an informal and trusted advisor to a number of US presidents, including Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon B. Johnson.[5][37][38] Blaustein also brief representatives in the United States Department of State after his foreign trips, and developed a close working relationship with United States Ambassador to the United Nations Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.
President Truman appointed Blaustein to serve on his National Advisory Board on Mobilization Policy during the Korean War, which met in the Cabinet Room of the White House.[39] President Truman became a close personal friend of Blaustein,[40] often asking him to report directly to him after his foreign trips and advise him on international and domestic issues.
