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A lifelong Democrat, William M. Citron served as a member of the Connecticut State Assembly, Connecticut State Legislature, and had two terms in the United States Congress as a representative for Connecticut. He served in the Army in both World War I and World War II. Citron was an outspoken opponent of anti-semitism and, in 1935, wrote to the U.S. Olympic Committee to urge that American athletes boycott the Olympics scheduled to take place in Berlin in the summer of 1936. He also made remarks (printed in the Congressional Record), that the United States' attendance at the Olympic events would give tacit approval to the racist practices of the Nazi government. In addition, Citron introduced legislation to regulate development along the Connecticut River and to provide flood control. His career was most active during the Great Depression, and he was a participant in the New Deal.