{{Short description|American socialist activist, writer and biographer (1914–2004)}}
{{Infobox person | name = Harry Fleischman | image = | alt = | caption = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1914|10|3|df=yes}} | birth_place = The Bronx, New York City, United States | death_date = {{death date and age|2004|11|7|1914|10|3|df=yes}} | death_place = Manhattan, New York City, United States | occupation = Political activist, author | known_for = Socialist Party leadership, biographer of Norman Thomas | spouse = {{ubl | {{marriage|Natalie Wiencek|1937|1989|end=died}} | {{marriage|Ethel Kahn|1994}}<ref name="wedding">{{cite news |title=WEDDINGS; Ethel D. Kahn, Harry Fleischman |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/10/30/style/weddings-ethel-d-kahn-harry-fleischman.html |access-date=18 October 2025 |work=The New York Times |date=October 30, 1994}}</ref> }} | children = 3 }}
'''Harry Fleischman''' (3 October 1914 – 7 November 2004) was an American socialist activist, labor rights advocate and author. He was executive secretary of the Socialist Party of America during the 1940s and wrote a biography of Norman Thomas in 1964.<ref name="guardian">{{cite news |last=Buhle |first=Paul |title=Harry Fleischman |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2004/nov/16/guardianobituaries.usa |work=The Guardian |date=17 November 2004 |access-date=17 October 2025}}</ref><ref name="nyt">{{cite news |last=Fox |first=Margalit |title=Harry Fleischman, 90, Writer Of Norman Thomas Biography |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/07/obituaries/arts/harry-fleischman-90-writer-of-norman-thomas-biography.html |work=The New York Times |date=7 November 2004 |access-date=17 October 2025 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>
== Early life == Fleischman was born in the Bronx to Jewish immigrant, working-class parents.<ref name="guardian" /> As a teenager he became active in the labor movement. Fleischman lost his first job in a wire hanger factory after attempting to organize a union, and later successfully organized a strike in a window-blind factory.<ref name="nyt" /> He was drawn to moderate socialist electoral politics during the Great Depression, rather than to the Communist Party USA.<ref name="guardian" />
== Political and labor activism == Fleischman became national secretary of the Socialist Party of America in 1942, holding the position until 1950. He also served as campaign manager for Norman Thomas during the 1944 and 1948 presidential campaigns.<ref name="nyt" /> During the Second World War, Fleischman was active in the Workers Defense League (WDL), which defended union rights, civil liberties, and racial equality.<ref name="guardian" />
In 1964 his book ''Norman Thomas: A Biography'' was published. It received praise from Upton Sinclair for its depiction of American social and political life. He also authored ''Let's Be Human'' (1960), a collection of columns on civil rights and human relations.<ref name="nyt" />
Fleischman worked as labour editor for Voice of America and directed the American Jewish Committee's National Labor Service between 1953 and 1979.<ref name="guardian" /><ref name="nyt" /> He also frequently advocated civil liberties during the McCarthy era.<ref name="nyt" />
== Later life and death == In later years, Fleischman chaired the WDL for more than two decades, supporting racial integration in labor and expanding the organization's reach to new social movements. He was associated with the Democratic Socialists of America, contributing regularly to its magazine ''Democratic Left''.<ref name="guardian" />
Fleischman died of cancer at his son's home in Manhattan on 7 November 2004, aged 90. He was survived by his second wife, Ethel Kahn, three children from his first marriage and three stepchildren.<ref name="nyt" />
== References == {{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fleischman, Harry}} Category:1914 births Category:2004 deaths Category:Jewish American socialists Category:American socialists Category:Trade unionists from New York (state) Category:Civil rights activists from New York (state) Category:Writers from the Bronx Category:Deaths from cancer in New York (state)