Arf

May 14, 1943

DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE and The Legal Chronicle

4

Detroit Jewish Chronicle

I Am An American

Plain Falk.„

I Am An American Day will be cele-
brated throughout the land on Sunday,
by Al Segal
Pres.-Gen. Mgr.
JACOB H. SCHAKNE
May 16.
Editor
JACOB MARGOLIS
This day has a special significance in
•
General Offices and Publication Bldg., 525 Woodward Ave.
this
second
year
of
a
global
war
that
Telephone: CAdillac 1040 Cable Address: Chronicle
$3.00 Per Year has had greater cataclysmic repercussions
Subscription in Advance
Debby and Olivia
To insure publication, all correspondence and news matter than has any conflict in the grim history
must reach this office by Tuesday evening of each week. of mankind.
When mailing notices, kindly use one side of paper only.
Our new citizens from many foreign A GENTLEMAN who, for con- "What did Debby say?"
The Detroit Jewish Chronicle invites correspondence on sub.
venience, shall be called
"Debby," she replied, "called
jects of interest to the Jewish people, but disclaims respon- lands need hardly be told how fortunate
Thirkettle, because it has a mu- me a nigger."
sibility for an endorsement of views expressed by its writers
they are to be living in this land that sical sound, reports an incident Mr. Thirkettle felt stunned. It
Entered as Second-class matter March 3, 1916, at the Post- still plans and works to make the Found- in his house which distressfully was as if he had found a blem-
revealed to him how prejudice ish on Holy Writ. Debby was an
office at Detroit, Mich., under the Act of March 3, 1879.
gets started. 'Finis particular pre- expression of divinity, like Holy
ers' dream a reality.

and THE LEGAL CHRONICLE

Published Weekly by Jewish Chronicle Publishing Co., Inc.

A

Sabbath Readings of the Law

Among all those who have become
Pentateuehal portion—Leviticus 21:1-24:23.
citizens there are none who appreciate
Prophetical portion—Ezekiel 44:15-31.
the blessings conferred upon them more
IYAR 9, 5703
MAY 14. 1943
than do our Jewish citizens. Not only is
this true for those who have escaped
Germans Are Dazed
from the Axis terror but it is equally true
According to reports from Berne, for those who come from other lands of
Switzerland, the German people were tyranny and despotism where freedom
dazed by the news of the defeat of the and equality were derided as fanciful and
outmoded.
Axis troops in Tunisia.
There is every reason to believe that
Our native born need to be reminded,
this is so, inasmuch as the people of the however, that the freedom and equality
Third Reich were assured that under no they enjoy has not always been part of
possible circumstances could the United the American way of life but has been
Nations get the needed supplies to their achieved only because those who have
armies in Tunisia, because of the effec- gone before have labored diligently and
tiveness of the submarine attacks.
ceaselessly to extend the areas of politi-
cal,
economic and social freedom and
This is a case of propaganda that has
equality.
backfired. And it shows to what lengths
Joseph Goebbels is compelled to go to
All of us, the new citizens as well as
keep up the ever-diminishing morale of the native born, need be reminded in this.
the German people. He has to give them day that the struggle has not ended
larger and larges doses of pure, unadul- and shall not end until political, racial,
terated propaganda because the factual economic and social equality has become
situation is worsening every day.
a reality for all peoples, not only in this
A people in a dazed, dispirited and land but in all lands.
hopeless condition is a good subject for
It is comforting in this day to know
the injection of some doses of hope and that the forces of reaction and regression
promise of release. The German people are not ascendent in this country,, and
must be in this condition after the re- that before another I Am An American
verses in Tunisia and Russia. They must Day rolls around, that all the forces of
have reached the point of such weariness reaction and regression may play such
and indifference that the only thing that subordinate roles in the drama of man-
most of them wish for is the end of the kind that nobody will pay any attention
obscene war business.
to their pieces of hate and discrimination.
If such is the case, and we believe it is,
now is the time to concentrate on the
weak spots in the armor of the masses.
Herbert Lehman's Job
We must assure them that surrender is
More than 30,000 Jews were liberated
the only way out for them, and that they
when the American, French and British
will not be punished for the crimes of
armies entered Bizerte and Tunis. Among
their arrogant, brutal Nazi and militarist
all those who were overjoyed by the
leaders.
collapse of the Nazi armies, none were
It is well to remember that the break- happier than the Jews of Tunis, and they
down on the home front preceded the had good reason to be happy, for duriing
military debacle in the last war. The same the occupation by the Nazis all the evil
thing can happen again this time, and practices of Nazism were put into effect.
we would be shortsighted if we did not Hundreds of Jewish homes were com-
take advantage of the present low morale mandeered by the Nazi military authori-
that now must be universal in the Third ties and converted into barracks. Their
Reich.
wealth was confiscated and they were
What is true for Germany is probably compelled to wear the badge of the Star
even more true for Italy and for Bulgaria, of David.
Rumania and Hungary. If the anecdotes
These victimized Jews of Tunisia will
now current in Italy are a yard stick by now be able to contrast United Nations
which to measure the despair and gloom
of that country, the following is a fine treatment with Axis treatment, for it is
reported that the first job of relief and
specimen:
rehabilitation, under the directorship of
In Italy an optimist is one who knows former Governor Herbert Lehman, will
that Italy has lost the war, but a pessi- be undertaken there.
mist is one who wants to know how soon.
Tunisia will be a testing ground where
The spirit of the Italian soldiers is re-
vealed by the answer of the captured the relief and rehabilitation personnel
Italian soldier to a group of American will have an opportunity of findiing out
soldiers who were in high spirits and were how well it can function.
poking fun at the bedraggled Italians.
We say "testing ground" advisedly for
it
must
be remembered that the Nazis
The Italian soldier did not get angry ;
in fact, he was rather happy to be cap- did all within their power to ingratiate
tured, for he said to the Americans, themselves with the Arabs. Now that the
"What are you laughing about? We are Arabs will not get any special privileges
on our way to New York and you are it will be one of the jobs of the relief
and rehabilitation agency to satisfy what-
on your way to Italy."
ever dissident and recalcitraant elements
We should exploit all the weariness, they may find among them.
resentment and sense of futility among
all the Axis people to the utmost. They We are confident that the good will
must be made to feel that we, and not and sound judgment and kindliness of
their psychotic, brutal leaders, are their Mr. Lehman will make the Tunisians
friends. helpful allies.

judice had nothing to do with
Jews; but, as a Jewish gentleman
Thirkettle was disturbed,
since he well knew that by the
same simple process the preju-
dice against Jews is started and
kept going.
Yet Mr. Thirkettle could get
some comfort from discovering
how casually prejudices start: If
it is so easy to start a prejudice
in a child's mind it should be just
as easy to plant there the idea of
decently respecting people of
other races or religions.
The matter had to do with his
small daughter Debby. Debby has
been like the loveliest of lilies—
a creature untouched by the
smudge of human character as
manifested in the outside world
from which Mr. Thirkettle had
hoped to shelter her at least in
her childhood.
If he could have his whimsical
way he would keep her forever
untouched of dirty hands, and
she would remain the lovelieA
of all beings. But this is only a
momentary fantasy•he plays with
when he is kneeling on the floor
before her, pushing a toy train.
On those occasions Mr. Thirkettle
feels reverential, like a worship-
per kneeling at a shrine.
He knows very well that a par-
ent's love holds a child fast with
one arm even while with the
other it must push him out into
the world, to face the dreadful
realities and somehow slap clown
the dirty hands. Still it did hurt
him to discover the lovely crea-
ture smudged so young by one
of the filthy prejudices that go
around.
Mr. Thirkettle was himself
moved almost to tears when,
coming home one evening recent-
ly, he found their Negro maid,
Olivia, in tears and heard the
explanation. His wife and Olivia
had been crying practically all
afternoon.

1 1 f

O

LIVIA said it was the most
terrible thing that had hap-
pened to her all her life. It
wouldn't have mattered so much
if somebody she didn't love had
done it but she loved Debby more
than anybody in the world . . .
"And to think• of her saying
that!"

Writ, and there she stood pro-
faned, all unconscious, though, of
the dreadful thing that had hap-
pened to her; This seed of a
prejudice falling on her mind.
Unaware of crisis, Debby was
playing with her (lolls.
Mr. Thirkettle laid himself al-
most prostrate with humble apolo-
gies to Olivia . . ."But Debby
didn't know what she was saying,
Olivia. She doesn't know what
the word means She said it
without knowing what it meant."
Olivia replied yes, but that's
the way it all begins. It begins
with a word and from that it
grows.
Mr. Thirkettle couldn't deny
the wisdom of this.
Debby never had noticed that
Olivia's complexion was different
from hers, though Olivia's skin
was very dark. Debby had taken
variety in• complexions for grant-
ed, and didn't think of asking
questions about Olivia's com-
plexion, though all day she kept
asking questions about many
other things.

1 1 1

OW this hateful word had
arisen to establish a dif-
ferentiation in Debby's mind. She
had taken the word into her
mouth and like Eve, after eating
the serpent's apple, she had lost
a portion of her innocence and
had become vaguely conscience
of a difference between black
and white skins.
Mr. Thirkettle was troubled
lest Olivia think Debby had got
the word from her parents. In
fact, Olivia was intimating as
much. She said, to think that a
lovely child like Debby could
pick up such a word in this
house. She had always thought
she was respected in this house
in the three years she had been
working for the Thirkettles.
Mr. Thirkettle was sure that
neither he nor Mrs. Thirkettle
ever had uttered the word in
the presence of Debby or even
when she wasn't around, for that
matter. Later on he was able to
prove to Olivia that Debby hadn't
learned the word at home. She
had heard it first from the white
maid next door who in Debb's

See

SEGAL—Page 13

Refugee Youngsters, Aided by NRS
Are Happy to Be in Free America

On their first day In free America
these refugee youngsters who arrived
on the Serpa Pinto recently laugh
and play, sing happy songs, eat satis-
fying meals. Since their arrival they
have been placed in selected foster
homes by the European-Jewish Chil-
dren's Aid, National Refugee Service
affiliate, in cooperation with local
child-care agencies. These children
are among the 84 who have been
brought here since the first of the
year on affidavits of the U. S. Com-
mittee for the Care of European
Children.
The National Refugee Service and
the Joint Distribution Committee
with the United Palestine Appeal,
receive their funds from the United
Jewish Appeal.