Blank Pages from Lab history: The Lavender Scare
In the wake of Soviet development of atomic weaponry and revelations about Soviet espionage during and immediately after World War II, the United States was caught up in a wave of anti-Communist hysteria – the “Red Scare” – that defined the early years of the Cold War. Between 1950 and 1954, the House of Representatives’ Un-American Affairs Committee, led by Senator Joseph McCarthy, launched thousands of “loyalty investigations” targeting individuals across government agencies, academia, and the Hollywood film industry (famous targets included Charlie Chaplin and Lucille Ball). Any behavior outside of societal norms was viewed as a potential sign of closet communism. Careers — and lives — were ruined as a result.
96 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION↗