Herbert B. Ehrmann (HBE) (December 15, 1891 – June 17, 1970)[1] was an American lawyer and activist. He gained fame also for authoring books on the famous Sacco and Vanzetti case.
Ehrmann was born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1891,[2] graduated from Harvard College in 1912[3] and got his law degree from Harvard University Law School.[4]
In October, 1914, Ehrmanm joined the Boston Legal Aid Society.[5]
During World War I, Ehrmann was the director of the industrial relations division of the United States Shipping Board and a member of the War Labor Policies Board.[4]
Ehrmann was active in Jewish human rights and civic affairs and in Jewish organizational life.[2] He was a trustee of the Combined Jewish Appeal, honorary trustee of the Associated Jewish Philanthropies in Boston[1], honorary president of the American Jewish Committee[4] in April 1959 and has served in that capacity until 1961.[2] He began his activism already as student at Harvard.[6]
In 1957 Ehrmann was a member of a Fact‐Finding Group, a nine-man delegation, conductinv a 15,000-mile fact-finding survey meeting government leaders in France, Italy, Tunisia, and Morocco, and Israel. The delegation was granted a special audience with Pope Pius XII.[4][2]
Ehrmann was president of the Hale House Association in Boston.(1934-1937[7]) He served on the Massachusetts Judicial Council and the Massachusetts Civil Service Commission.[4]
After the trial of Italian immigrants Sacco and Vanzetti, Ehrmann wrote two books about the case: The Untried Case and The Case That Will Not Die—Commonwealth vs. Sacco and Vanzetti - the book [2] for which in 1969 he won the Edgar Award for the best fact crime book of the year.[4][8] In addition, Ehrmann wrote articles. Ehrmann also wrote the book, and play, Under this Roof.[9] It appeared at Windsor theatre in 1942.[2][4][10][11][12]
Ehrmann translated poetry from Hebrew into English.[2][6]
Herbert's wife, Sara R. Ehrmann (1895-1993) was a Boston-area civic leader. She is best known for her work as an avid opponent of capital punishment. A career she began when Herbert became an associate counsel for Sacco and Vanzet in 1925.[13]