A Daughter’s Take on Her Red Father

“Red Father” documents the life of Bernard Ades, American Communist, with the major voice that of his daughter Janet Ades.

The son of a Russian immigrant who was the first Jew to own a bank in Baltimore, Bernard Ades was galvanized by the Depression to become a Communist. With a law degree from the University of Maryland, he joined the Communist Party’s International Labor Defense anti-lynching campaign, defending African Americans in the South. He fought in the Spanish Civil War as a member of an elite Communist cadre. Right up to his death in 1986, he remained an unflinching party loyalist, never faulting Stalin.

The 55-minute documentary by Tova Beck-Friedman is the Israeli-born sculptor’s first major film, and it’s been getting a good run at special event screenings.

FK – My, the things one runs across out here on the world wide web. Time for some more blind loyalty to god’s chosen?

In a free country there’s no such thing as a group whose motives cannot be questioned.

Jews should follow Muslims’ lead

FK – Gee, I’m startin’ to get confused…