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DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE and The Legal Chronicle
Detroit Jewish Chronicle
and THE LEGAL CHRONICLE
Published Weekly by Jewish Chronicle Publishing Co., Inc.
JACOB H. SCHAKNE
Pres.-Gen. Mgr.
JACOB MARGOLIS
Editor
CHARLES TAUB
Advertising Mgr.
General Offices and Publication Bldg., 525 Woodward Ave.
Telephone: CAdillac 1040
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sibility for an endorsement of views expressed by its writers.
entered as Second-class matter March 3, 1916, at the Post-
office at Detroit, Mich., under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Sabbath Readings of the Law
Pentateuchal portion—Ex. 38:21-40:38.
Prophetical portion—II Kings 12:1-17.
MARCH 24, 1944
ADAR 29, 5704
Hungarian Jewish Tragedy
With the occupation of Hungary by the
Nazi hordes, we must be prepared for
tragic news. There are reported to be
800,000 Jews in Hungary. Their lot has
not been the happiest, but yet the regime
of Admiral Horthy never imposed the
cruel Nuremberg laws upon the Jewish
citizens of his land.
It would seem that the catastrophic
events that compelled the Nazis to occupy
Hungary would keep them so busy with
defensive measures that they would have
no time for anti-Semitic orgies. Those who
think in this fashion forget that there
is a special anti-Semitic section of the
Gestapo that has no other function than
that of enforcing the Nuremberg laws
wherever the Nazi gangsters get control.
This section carries out the policy " of
planned and systematic terror which is the
very basis of Nazi theory. However, it is
possible that the Nazis may not impose
the Nuremberg laws upon Hungarian
Jewry, because it may arouse too much
opposition on the part of the Hungarian
people who to date have refused to en-
force these laws themselves.
Certainly President Franklin D. Roose-
velt, Prime Minister Winston Churchill
and Premier Joseph Stalin should warn
the Nazis that they will be held respon-
sible for any brutalities against the now
helpless Jews of Hungary.
The Nazis are much more likely to be
influenced by those considerations that
will strengthen them in their present diffi-
cult struggle with the armies of the So-
viets, than by any threats or warnings
that may be sent them by the leaders of
the United Nations. The Nazis know that
they are classed as war criminals and,
if they were to be tried before the occupa-
tion of Hungary, that they would have all
been convicted for crimes already com-
mitted.
Let us hope that the Hungarians will
make it clear to the Nazis that they are
opposed to the enforcement of the Nurem-
burg laws, and further let us hope that
the Nazis will find that in this instance
nothing can be gained by the enforcement
of those cruel, ruthless edicts that have
aroused the enmity of decent human' be-
ings all over the world against them.
The problems facing Hungarian Jewry,
because of Nazi occupation of their land,
are acute and difficult, but not nearly so
acute and difficult as those of the refu-
gees who found asylum in Hungary. For
a time it seemed that the Refugee Board
now working in Europe would be able
to rescue some of the refugees. Hungary
was not unwilling to cooperate with the
refugee agency, but now that their coun-
try is occupied it is doubtful whether fur-
ther negotiations will be carried on with
the new puppet government which the
Nazis will no doubt install.
The tragi-comedy of playing at being
a sovereign state has ended for Hungary.
She must have known all along that the
Nazis would take her over when it suited
their purposes. But for the Jews of Hun-
gary it is simply catastrophic.
Stalin Acts Again
The unilateral action of the Soviet gov-
ernment in recognizing the Badoglio re-
gime in Italy has puzzled and disturbed
many Americans, and yet if one has
ollowed Soviet foreign policy with any
care he will note that, despite its apparent
zigzag character it is a realistic, oppor-
tunistic policy with special regard for
and emphasis upon Soviet interest and
advantage.
While Washington and London were
hesitating, Moscow acted. Obviously Mos-
cow thought that Badoglio and King
Victor Emanuel were the only ones with
any real authority in Italy and conse-
quently, since they had this authority,
they were the only ones who could organ-
ize the remnants of Italian military power
and use this power to help hasten the
defeat of the Axis. It seems to us that the
Soviets are primarily interested in ending
the war as soon as possible. The matter
of ideology has been of secondary con-
sideration in Soviet foreign policy since
Stalin came to power.
If they were not always friendly with
the capitalist nations, and if from time
to time diplomatic relations were severed
with one or more of these nations, it was
not because of ideological differences. Jos-
eph Stalin made it abundantly clear that
he believed that Russia could remain a
Socialist State in a capitalistic world. He
had hoped to make Russia a prosperous,
powerful country and was ever ready and
willing to deal with and even make alli-
ances with countries whose ideologies
were basically different from the Soviets,
if such alliances would save the Soviets
from attack.
Will it benefit the Soviets, and will it
be in their interest and to their advan-
tage, are the only questions the Soviets
ask. The recognition of the French Com-
mittee of Liberation; of Tito's Yugoslav
government; of the Czechoslovak Govern-
megt in Exile of Benes; and now Badoglio,
are all consistent with the Soviet foreign
policy.
Monarchists, ex-Fascists, Communists
and Republicans are all alike to the So-
viets. Can they help win the war and
bring a speedy peace is all that interests
Joseph Stalin.
Even those who are best informed on
Soviet policy are often surprised by the
action taken by Stalin, and for the very
good reason that these well informed per-
sons do not always know what Stalin con-
siders to be for the best interest of the
Soviets.
A case in point is the vitriolic attack
upon Badoglio and King Victor Emanuel
that appeared in the Masses of March 14.
The faces of the editors of that periodical
must have been very red. They did not
and hardly could have known that Stalin
would recognize the Badoglio regime.
We do not believe that the Soviets have
repudiated the Mascow and Teheran
agreements. It may have been better if
Moscow had not taken unilateral action.
It may have been better if Britain, United
States and the Soviets, through the Ad-
visory Counciil, had recognized Badoglio.
However, despite all the unilateral acts
of the Soviets, one can hardly charge them
with seriously damaging the United Na-
tions' cause and effort.
The Palestine Problem
The statement of President Roosevelt
that the United States Government never
approved the White Paper has had a
cheering effect upon the Jews of Pal-
estine, as is evidenced by editorial com-
ment in the Palestine press.
Haaretz, one of the leading dailies,
expressed the view that -the President's
statement will have the effect of "con-
siderably purifying the bad atmosphere
which began to oppress all those seeking
a fair and decent solution of the Palestine
problem".
There are many outside Palestine who
want a fair and decent solution of the
Palestine problem, and we are persuaded
that the problem can be solved if the
responsible leaders of America let the
British know that they do not consider
the White Paper a proper solution.
It should not be forgotten that Britain
has the tough problem of keeping friendly
an Arab world which has shown marked
hostility to any plan that would open
the gates of Palestine. Britain cannot dis-
miss all Arab protests, but she can, and
we think she will, heed the wishes and
requests of the American people as ex-
pressed by President Roosevelt; will weigh
the whole matter and attempt to solve
the problem fairly and decently.
March 24, 1944
Plain Talk...
by Al Segal
•
MR. HILLEL AGAIN
BUSINESS MAN who calls
T HE
himself Mr. Hillel contributes
Column No. 2 to his effort to be
our guest conductor. To those
who may have missed him the
first time, it should be explained
that Mr. Hillel has two purposes:
1, to relieve me every so often
of my duties which he thinks are
too onerous; 2, to provide himself
with a forum for self-expression,
since he is one of those meeker
people who never can manage
to get the floor at Jewish meet-
ings.
The air already is sweet with
intimations of springtime. Below
my window a lilac bush burgeons.
I saw tulips arising from their
bed yesterday morning. So I am
not averse to leaving Mr. Hillel
with this column while I go
strilling with my granddaughter
Ellen on this quiet (lay:
I
I
I
By Mr. Hillel
enjoyed my first column very
I much
At last I was making
myself heard in Israel. In the
conovcations of Israel I always
had been a frustrated man while
the more aggressive and 'vocal
members held the floor all eve-
ning. I never could get in a word
edgewise.
To a meek man like me it is
most aggravating to go to a
Jewish meeting. In our town Mr.
Zilch and associated Zilches grab
the foor early in the meeting
and hold it practically all eve-
ning. (I hope Mr. Segal will for-
give me for taking the name of
his favorite character to my own
purposes.)
I know Zilch from my high
school days. He won the ora-
torical contest and that set him
going on the idea that he was
ordained to be a spokesman. It
started him also toward the pur-
pose of being a lawyer. He has
been talking ever since.
Everybody who ever attended
a Jewish meeting anywhere knows
a Zilch. There are generally a
half-dozen of the Zilches at every
meeting.
Zilch is on his feet as soon
as the minutes of the previous
meeting have been read. He rises
to ask a question. Did the secre-
tary use a comma or a semi-
colon to indicate a pause in a
certain sentence in the minutes
of the previous meeting? Zilch
is for a semi-colon.
"Gentlemen," he says with all
the fervor at his command, "we
as Jews must be careful. We
have a special duty to dot every
I and to cross every T, to have
every comma or semi-colon in
its proper place. This is one of
the compulsions of our Jewish
ma#6, A
i
.*P
destiny and our destiny should
be a haunting fact in the life of
each of us—whether one consid-
ers himself to be a Jew by na-
tionality, race or religion. This
reminds me that the other after-
noon I met a certain friend of
mine at Fourth and Vine and we
spent an hour debating whether
we were a nationality, race or
religion."
Mr. Zilch then goes on to
examine every facet of the ques-
tion this way and that. He re-
calls the glory of Israel as a
nation, Israel's religious contribu-
tion to mankind, the anthropologi-
cal date that may or may not
suggest Israel is a race . . .
"and now, Mr. Chairman," he
conclules, "I move that the sec-
retary be instructed to place a
semi-colon where inadvertently, I
hope, lie has written a comma."
Where does all this leave me?
I am burning up with things to
say. Several times I arise timidly
. . . "Mr. Chairman" . . . Per-
haps my voice isn't loud enough.
I have never been a loud voice
in Israel The chairman seems not
to notice me. If his glance wan-
ders my way it turns away,
rather contemptuously, I think.
as if to say, "Who are you to
want to speak here? Are you a
Zilch?"
If he gave me a chance I
could show them things. I would
say that Jewish life is too full
of spokesmen who grab the floor,
too many self-appointed states-
men, to many who think of Jew-
ish life as a political parliament,
too many who think it's all a
fight, too many Zilches, too many
leaders who don't seem to be
leading us anywhere but away
from the essentials of Judaism.
Can we keep our children in-
terested for long in Judaism if
being a Jew is to be a politician
jockeying for advantage, to be a
loud voice in an awful Babel.
No! Our children want none of
that.
My own 17-year-old son asks
me what's all this fussing about,
but when I try to tell him he
doesn't get at all excited, as if
it were foreign to him and his
thinking. He is a most -intelli-
gent lad and has definite ideas
of what being a Jew is. To his
mind being a Jew mainly has to
do with keeping a lofty char-
acter. By this consciousness of
being a Jew he guides himself in
all his relations at school, in all
his conduct in the Boy Scouts,
even in the strenuousities of the
football field. This is what most
children believe about Judaism
See SEGAL—Page 9
M
M. CROSS
Aso*
olley
FAMILIES OF
SERVICEMEN
DISCHARGED FOR
DISABILITY MAY
OBTAIN FROM
THE RED CROSS
FINANCIAL ASSIST•
ANCE,NEWED
DURING THE
TEMPORARY PERIOD
WHILE CLAIMS
fOR PENSIONS
ARE PENDING
tr)
( //)'
EVERY WEEKDAY 600 VOLUNTEERS IN
AMERICAN RED CROSS PACKING CENTER
MAKE FOOD PARCELS SENT
THROUGH INTERNATIONAL
RED CROSS TO AMERICAN4- 4,
AND AWED WAR
PRISONERS ALL
OVER THE
WORLD
ONE VOLUNTEER RED CROSS NURSE
AIDE HAS GIVEN MORE THAN 4,000 HOURS
OF HOSPITAL SERVICE SINCE TAKING- TRAINING;
25 HAVE GIVEN MORE THAN 2,000 A YEAR;
10Q000 NOW GIVE AT LEAST 150 PER YEAR