In his autobiography, Conant discussed the event in question. “My response was cold; I did not return the greetings,” he wrote.

University spokesman Wrinn said, “Harvard tradition is to invite all members of the class back for its 25th reunion, and that should not be read as a show of support” for Nazism.

When anti-Nazi student groups protested Hanfstaengel’s presence on campus, according to contemporary articles in The Crimson, several protesters were arrested.

But Norwood cites Crimson editorials of the time as evidence of pro-Nazi sentiment on campus.

In a June 13, 1934 editorial, Crimson editors spoke out in favor of Hanfstaengl’s appearance, arguing that “if Herr Hanfstaengl is to be received at all, it should be with the marks of honor appropriate to his high position in the government of a friendly country...a great world power.”

In May of 1934, a Nazi naval ship arrived in Boston harbor to protests from anti-fascist groups and greetings from prominent Boston politicians, according to Norwood. The paper editorialized against students who protested the sailors’ presence.

“Obviously the positions taken by The Crimson in the 1930s are pretty regrettable, and I’m sure current members of The Crimson would find these views abhorrent,” said The Crimson’s Managing Editor Elisabeth S. Theodore ’05, a panelist at yesterday’s talk.

—Staff writer Michael M. Grynbaum can be reached at grynbaum@fas.harvard.edu.