News:

NYT's Linda Greenhouse: An Invisible Chief Justice

Book Review: Recalling Friendship and Politics

Judge for Yourself: A Review of Rehnquist

Documents:

Herman Obermayer Full Bio

Rehnquist Official Site

Video:

Books:

Herman J. Obermayer, a former editor and publisher of daily newspapers in suburban Washington and suburban New York, is the author of two critically-acclaimed and commercial blockbuster memoirs, Soldiering for Free­dom:  A GI's Account of World War II and REHNQUIST: A Personal Portrait of the Distin­guished Chief Justice of the United States.  Highly personal and elegantly written, they are unique, insightful commentaries on con­temp­o­rary history.

Obermayer is estimated to be the only person still alive who was in the Nuremberg courtroom when Allied prosecutors presented the Inter­national Military (war crimes) Tribunal with unrefuted documentary evidence that in five short years the Nazis had killed six million Jews.  His descriptive letters written while at the trial are archived at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans.  Obermayer's book REHNQUIST is the only biography or memoir ever published about the sixteenth Chief Justice of the United States, cementing its status as an important contribution to American history.  An accomplished and polished speaker, Obermayer offers fascinating anecdotes, an engaging style and sparkling wit that never fail to enthrall, energize and inspire any audience.

SPEAKER TOPICS
ABOUT Herman J. Obermayer   (+/-)

Experienced Newsman, In-Demand Speaker

For over thirty years, Herman Obermayer served as the editor and publisher of community oriented daily newspapers in suburban Washington and New York.  During that time, he spoke to organized groups almost weekly on a wide range of topics.  Since his retirement from the publishing business, he has been a highly-sought speaker for many organizations and is a perennial favorite with college and university audiences. 

Distinguished Professor and Scholar

For eight semes­ters, Obermeyer taught journalism at the University of Maryland's College of Jour­na­lism, and for two semesters, he was a visiting professor at the University of the West Indies' Caribbean Institute of Mass Com­muni­cations.  Between 1992 and 2002, the State Department sent him on eighteen teaching missions to thirteen Eastern European countries where speaking to large audiences about press freedom and the future of newspapers was part of the assignment.  Not only an educator of the media, Obermayer has also been featured in the media including a recent appearance on C-SPAN's "Book TV" discussing his bestseller Rehnquist.

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SPEAKER TOPIC DESCRIPTIONS    (+/-)

The Man Behind the Robe: Chief Justice William Rehnquist

The impact of Chief Justice William Rehnquist – who served as a Supreme Court justice for a third of a century and headed the federal judiciary under four presidents -- cannot be overstated.  His strong opinions on such issues as freedom of the press, school prayer, and civil rights would guarantee his memory on their own; however, he will always be remembered for his highly visible role in two of the most important and contentious political events of recent American history: the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton and the Supreme Court’s decision that made George W. Bush the victor in the presidential election of 2000.

Despite his importance as a public figure, Rehnquist scrupulously preserved his private life.  During the last decades of his life, Obermayer was his closest friend.  He—and he alone – is in a position to tell the history of the man behind the robe.  In this compelling presentation, Obermayer candidly details their deep and abiding friendship for nearly two decades, revealing an intensely personal and unseen portrait of one of the most influential men in American judicial history.

I Watched Hitler’s Top Brass Squirm

Obermayer's presentation "I Watched Hitler's Top Brass Squirm" is riveting.  It is an account of an historic event by the last eyewitness capable of publicly discussing the Nuremberg war crimes trial, who by quirk of circumstances, was in the court­room on the day the Allied prosecutors proved the Nazis had cold-bloodedly killed six million Jews.   Obermayer bears witness to the reactions and responses of Hitler's innermost circle when they were confronted with factual proof of the Holocaust's horrors --- and their roles in organizing, promoting and perpetuating it.

In addition to describing his experiences and observations at the trial, Obermayer dis­cusses both the contemporary and historic significance of victorious nations trying the leaders of a vanquished nation for crimes against humanity in a new and special court with its own new and special laws.

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