Casimir Pilenas
Encyclopedia
Casimir Pilenas, a.k.a. Casimir Palmer, and a.k.a., Casimir Palmer-Pilenas, was a private investigator
, a British
intelligence agent, and a "spotter
" for Scotland Yard
.
and was recruited by Pyotr Rachkovsky
as an informant for Russian Okhrana to work among the Latvian terrorists.
In 1911 Casimir Pilenas testified at the Houndsditch murders
trial. His occupation was given as interpreter in Thames Police Court.
In 1917, as a British
intelligence informant, he caused the arrest of Leon Trotsky
in Nova Scotia
by British naval authorities acting on instructions from Britain's Admiralty's Naval Intelligence Division. Palmer-Pilenas accused Trotsky of carrying $10,000 which he alleged had been provided by pro-German sources. But no such money was found on Trotsky, or his five companions at the time of his arrest and subsequent internment.
John Higham
, in his work, Strangers in the Land, says:
However, this claim of "extortion" is not supported by the actual file on Pilenas held by the AJC. And in fact these records show that his motives were not regarded as malicious by the AJC, and that he apparently acted as an informent for the AJC, regarding antisemtism, and antisemites, for some years thereafter, and that he apparently wanted to sell his services, and the records which he obtained, to the ADL. He also sought assistance from the AJC in having his material on antisemitism published.
In 1923 Pilenas wrote comment to NYT on Lithuanian annexation of Memel.
In 1933 Casimir Palmer, a resident of 11 West 108th Street in Manhattan
at the time, appeared as witness in court during the hearings in the Russian Volunteer Fleet Corporation case. Palmer was called as a witness by Charles Recht, who assailed credibility of Boris Brasol
, expert witness in the case.
On the stand Pilenas-Palmer described himself as a former agent of the British military intelligence service and as a former employee of the United States
military intelligence division. He answered questions regarding his investigation of reports made by Boris Brasol
to the War Department
"regarding alleged radical activities by Jews during the war." Pilenas testified that he requested and received from Brasol a copy of the "Protocols of the Wise Men of Zion." Pilenas further testified that Brasol had written on several occasions to the US intelligence department concerning "radical movements among the Jews".
He allegedly worked as a "government intelligence agent" and by 1937 attempted to expose the link between Henry Ford
and the Nazis. Says Albert Lee
, in his Henry Ford and the Jews:
Private investigator
A private investigator , private detective or inquiry agent, is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private detectives/investigators often work for attorneys in civil cases. Many work for insurance companies to investigate suspicious claims...
, a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
intelligence agent, and a "spotter
Spotter
A spotter is someone trained to look for something. The term has the following special meanings.*Weather spotter, an individual who observes the weather to inform other groups.*Storm spotter, a weather spotter who observes specific weather events....
" for Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
.
Biography
According to study by Rita T. Kronenbitter, Pilenas was spotter for Scotland YardScotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
and was recruited by Pyotr Rachkovsky
Pyotr Rachkovsky
Pyotr Ivanovich Rachkovsky was chief of Okhrana, the secret service in Imperial Russia. He was based in Paris from March 1885 to November 1902.-Activities in 1880s-1890s:...
as an informant for Russian Okhrana to work among the Latvian terrorists.
In 1911 Casimir Pilenas testified at the Houndsditch murders
Siege of Sidney Street
The Siege of Sidney Street, popularly known as the "Battle of Stepney", was a notorious gunfight in London's East End on the 2nd of January 1911. Preceded by the Houndsditch Murders, it ended with the deaths of two members of a supposedly politically-motivated gang of burglars supposedly led by...
trial. His occupation was given as interpreter in Thames Police Court.
In 1917, as a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
intelligence informant, he caused the arrest of Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky , born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army....
in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
by British naval authorities acting on instructions from Britain's Admiralty's Naval Intelligence Division. Palmer-Pilenas accused Trotsky of carrying $10,000 which he alleged had been provided by pro-German sources. But no such money was found on Trotsky, or his five companions at the time of his arrest and subsequent internment.
John Higham
John Higham (historian)
John William Higham was an American historian, scholar of American culture and specialist on issues of ethnicity.-Life and career:...
, in his work, Strangers in the Land, says:
The "Protocols" reached America in 1918 through Czarist army officers who had come to this country on a military mission, notably through Lieutenant Boris BrasolIn making this claim Higham relies on archival material cited in his end notes, material described as records of the AJC.Boris BrasolBoris Leo Brasol , lawyer and literary critic, was a White Russian immigrant to the United States.-Biography:...
. Brasol foisted upon the Military Intelligence Division of the United States Army an English translation of the "Protocols" and started typewritten copies circulating in other influential circles in Washington, D.C. A renegade associate, one Casimir Pilenas, tried to extort $50,000 for the manuscript from the American Jewish CommitteeAmerican Jewish CommitteeThe American Jewish Committee was "founded in 1906 with the aim of rallying all sections of American Jewry to defend the rights of Jews all over the world...
(AJC).
However, this claim of "extortion" is not supported by the actual file on Pilenas held by the AJC. And in fact these records show that his motives were not regarded as malicious by the AJC, and that he apparently acted as an informent for the AJC, regarding antisemtism, and antisemites, for some years thereafter, and that he apparently wanted to sell his services, and the records which he obtained, to the ADL. He also sought assistance from the AJC in having his material on antisemitism published.
In 1923 Pilenas wrote comment to NYT on Lithuanian annexation of Memel.
In 1933 Casimir Palmer, a resident of 11 West 108th Street in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
at the time, appeared as witness in court during the hearings in the Russian Volunteer Fleet Corporation case. Palmer was called as a witness by Charles Recht, who assailed credibility of Boris Brasol
Boris Brasol
Boris Leo Brasol , lawyer and literary critic, was a White Russian immigrant to the United States.-Biography:...
, expert witness in the case.
On the stand Pilenas-Palmer described himself as a former agent of the British military intelligence service and as a former employee of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
military intelligence division. He answered questions regarding his investigation of reports made by Boris Brasol
Boris Brasol
Boris Leo Brasol , lawyer and literary critic, was a White Russian immigrant to the United States.-Biography:...
to the War Department
United States Department of War
The United States Department of War, also called the War Department , was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army...
"regarding alleged radical activities by Jews during the war." Pilenas testified that he requested and received from Brasol a copy of the "Protocols of the Wise Men of Zion." Pilenas further testified that Brasol had written on several occasions to the US intelligence department concerning "radical movements among the Jews".
He allegedly worked as a "government intelligence agent" and by 1937 attempted to expose the link between Henry Ford
Henry Ford
Henry Ford was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry...
and the Nazis. Says Albert Lee
Albert Lee
Albert William Lee, born 21 December 1943 in Leominster, Herefordshire, England, is an English guitarist known for his fingerstyle and hybrid picking technique. Lee has worked both in the studio and on tour with some of the most famous musicians which stretch through a very wide of genres...
, in his Henry Ford and the Jews:
Detective Casimir Palmer who had been involved as a government intelligence agent since Boris BrasolBoris BrasolBoris Leo Brasol , lawyer and literary critic, was a White Russian immigrant to the United States.-Biography:...
brought the Protocols to America, wrote to Professor Nathan Isaacs in 1937 that "Henry Ford and his subordinates Ernest G. Liebold, Harry BennettHarry BennettHarry Bennett , a former boxer and ex-Navy sailor, was an executive at Ford Motor Company during the 1930s and 1940s. He was best known as the head of Ford’s Service Department, or Internal Security. While working for Ford, his union busting tactics, of which The Battle of the Overpass was a prime...
, and others have turned the Ford Motor Company Chemical DepartmentFord Motor CompanyFord Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
into the headquarters of the Nazis here. [p. 95]