Nat Lewin, from Polish refugee to first class lawyer

Ideas and Lives

Nathan Lewin describes his family's escape from Poland soon after the 1938 Kristallnacht pogrom against Jews through Japan to the US. He recounts how his father, an important rabbi in Poland, transitioned to become a noted writer and professor and influenced the UN resolutions on freedom of religion. We hear of Mr. Lewin's decision to attend Harvard Law school and work on the law review. He discusses how he faced explicit discrimination but ended up helping him become a clerk to Supreme Court Justice John Harlan and ultimately important positions in the Department of Justice headed by Robert F. Kennedy. Nat recalls some of his important cases, nearly 30 of which he argued in the Supreme Court.