American ,Jewish Periodical Colter

Friday, May 17, 1946

CLIFTON AVENUE - CINCINNATI 20, 01110

DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE and The Legal Chronicle

The Voice of the
Man in the Street

REPORT FROM
GERMANY

By IRVING HAYETT

Jewish Chronicle Foreign Correspondent

(Copyright 1916, All Rights Reserved)

This series of articles tells of the War Crimes

Trials in Frankfurt, Germany.

Article 13

The Borkurn Island Case

Last week, 1 gave the case of the prosecution in the Borkum
Island Case. Today, I will present the defense offered.

After the prosecution closed its case, the defense then presented
motions for the dismissal of the charges against four of the civilians
upon the ground that the prosecution had failed to make out a prima
fade case against them. Three days were spent arguing the motions
and the law involved. Finally, the Court, after due deliberation, over-
ruled or rather denied the motions of the defense. After a recess of
one week to allow the defense to send for additional witnesses and to
prepare some of the details of its defense, the defense began to pre-
sent its testimony.

1

The accused were put on the stand, one by one, starting with
the civilians and going to the guards and finally the officers. Each
of the military pointed their fingers at the Commander and
screamed "Superior Orders." Ill the case of the civilians, all of
whom were members of some civilian organization, either Labor,
Fire Fighting or Air Raid Protection, their Defense was that it
was none of their business to protect the flyers or to interfere
when the flyers were beaten or shot — "It was for the military."
Some of the accused told their stories in a straightforward man-
ner, following their statements to Major Levin in all details.

Others lied, evaded or denied the statements they had made. May-
or Akkermann became quite excited while describing why he stood on
the corner and incited the population to beat the flyers. He pointed to
the sky and shouted, with a red face, "They kept coming over and
coming over at 8,000 feet, and they kept dropping the bombs and we
scrambled around like ants. They smashed our homes, killed our
women and children."

The gutti:ds all calmly asserted that they followed the orders of
the officers and therefore were not responsible. That they did not
beat the flyers when they brought their hands down or walked too
slowly. That they merely LIGHTLY pushed them with the butts of
their guns. One claimed that he had helped the "little, fat flyer" from
the ground with the butt of his gun.

Officers Calm

The officers were calm. They all told their stories in a very delib-
erate manner. They all pointed their fingers at the Commander who
had given the order. He alone was responsible. Yes, they had heard
of the Geneva Convention. Yes, they knew that prisoners of war were
to he treated humanely, but - - what could they do, they had to follow
orders. "SUPERIOR ORDERS," the old cry.

The Commander of the Island was the last officer to take the

stand. Ile is a haughty man of about .15, thin, mean looking and

all soldier. Ile denied all responsibility for the acts of his officers,

guards and the civilians. Ile denied that he had made the state-

Meld, "And you bring them to me alive?" to one of the officers

after the flyers were brought to him after they had crashed and
been taken prisoners. lie (frilled giving the order for the march.

Ile denied selecting the route, he denied stating that the flyers

were to be shot - -"attempting to escape," if they so much as step-

ped out of line or lowered their hands. Ile did not deny, however,

that he had knowledge of Reichminister Dr. Goehell's unwritten

order that no Allied airmen were to he taken alive. Yes, he knew

of 'hit order, but, he did not think that he as a soldier should he

held responsible for what the civilians had done or for the fact

that a crazy soldier had shot six of the prisoners in the hack of

the head. Ile just sat on the witness chair, looked down his nose

haughtily and denied everything.

One of the civilians, a former butcher boy, the guard of the little
fat flyer with the falling pants, pulled a new one out of his hat. H.

stated that he was entitled to special consideration because of the fact
that he had already suffered degradation, humiliation and untold ar-
gulsh. because of the fact that he was part Jewish on his father's
side. and he had Jewish blood in his veins. He seemed to state it with
a little hit of pride. I sat there and wondered. as I took hip word.
down. whether he would have dared to announce that fact openly o-
have been so anxious to tell of his Jewish blood just 9 months ago.

So, one by one, the accused took the stand, one by one they point-
ed their fingers to the other defendants and were excused. We had s
most peculiar situation in the Court. Each of the accused has a civil
Jan counsel and each group of accused, that is, civilians, guards
and officers. has a military defense counsel. This is what would hap-
pen: one of the civilian accused would take the stand for direct ex-
amination by his own counsel, then the prosecution would cross exam-
ine. However, on re-direct examination all the counsel for the other
groans would take turns tearing his story to shreds, bringing out in-
criminating evidence and in effect cross examining him unmercifully
towards a conviction of their own cilients. The prosecution just sits
hack complacently, with a smile, and watches the defense destroy
themselves.

Today the last of the accused finished his story and was finally
excused. Then a General Von Scheele was called, a typical eeneral of
Wehrmacht who was called as an expert witness on military law.
e relation of the various sections of the army and civilian organiza •
ons. He is a man of about 55, a typical Junker, as his name implies
rIP- very proud and very impressive looking. He answered the question"
very deliberately after much thought and pave the impression of P
man who knows what he is talking about. There was only one false
note in all his testimony and that came when he denied ever hearin-
of Propaganda Minister Dr. Goebell's decree about taking Allied air
men alive. That is wlicre we left it today.

After a few more witnesses - character witnesses

if any can

he found, we will have final argument and then the sentences. To m"

there can only be one sentence for all 15 of the accused. To me they
are symbolic of all the people of Borkum, all the people of Germany
who condoned Nazism, brutality, hatred and lies. To me the seven
men sitting as the Court in this case, have an opportunity to show
Germany and the rest of the world that being a war criminal does
not pay. I am confident that the men at Nuremberg will prove to the
world that those on top are just as guilty for war crimes committed
by their subordinates, the trigger men. To me there can be only one
sentence for all 15 of the accused, "Death by hanging at a time and
place designated by higher authority."

Page Five

MAN CF DIE WEEI

ELL-TRAVELED, COSMOPOLITAN, PHILOSOPHICAL Phil-
ip A. Adler, foreign correspondent of the Detroit News and
Time: Sunday afternoon.
accepted as an authority on European affairs is saluted by
the Chronicle and accorded honor as the Man of the Week.
Place: Dexter near Monterey.
Adler was born in Wilna, at that time a part of Russia and after
Question: 1)o you think Il• chil-
dren of Detroit have an oppor- several changes, now a part of Russia again. As a result of the cos-
tunity to get a proper Jewish mopolitan group of people with whom he lived, he learned to speak
Russian, Polish and Ukrainian. In school, he studied French and
education?
German.
(Photos by Eric Bennett)
His father was a member of the group known as Maskilim.
Ile was determined that young Adler was to learn Hebrew by
Frances Resnick, 3315 Richton,
speaking in Hebrew. Since 110111. of the local rabbis were
Yes. I think the opportunity for
able to
teach in this way, he joined Zionist groups where Hebrew was
Jewish education in Detroit is
spoken. All his life he has been sympathetic to Zionism although
wonderful. My
not active in the movement. llis leanings are toward the Poale
boy is a stu-
Zion or Labor Zionist group.
dent at Yeshi-
vath Chachmey
At the age of sixteen, he came to this country with his family. H.:
Lublin and I'm
first studied at the Hebrew Technical Institute where he was grad-
very satisfied
uated as an engineer. For several
years thereafter, he worked for
with what he is
doing.
the Edison Company of New York.
I don't know
Specializes in Philosophy
much about
,. Subsequently, he enrolled in
what they are
the University of Wisconsin where
doing at the
he specialized in philosophy. While
Sunday Schools
a student, he enlisted in the U.S.
and' about the
army. When he returned, he be-
Talmud Torahs. I know my daugh- came interested in more practical
ter went to a Sunday School in courses and turned toward joii.:•
Delray and she liked it very nalism as a career. He worked on
much. She has never forgotten several papers in Wisconsin, Min •
the things she learned.
nesota and Ohio. In 1922, he came

Harry 11. Kushner, 3297 Blaine.

No. The facilities in Detroit are
far from adequate. I am a native
Detroiter and ,
judging f r o m
my own experi-
ence, we have
made a great
deal of prog-
ress in this city.
In my day, the
only opportuni-
ty f o r Jewish
education w a s
in the oldtime
cheder and you
know how fee-
ble that was.
I think the Chachmey Lublin is
wonderful. I see the boys going
there and I talk to some of them.
They are accomplishing wonderful
results. We need more places like
that and the Yeshivath Beth Ye-
huda. I am well acquainted with
the problem of Jewish education
here and I feel that we need
more parochial schools to train
our future leaders.
Somehow or other, we must
arouse the interest not only of
the children in the program of
Jewish education of this city but
in the adults. Parents of children
should be made aware of the
problems and what has to be
done. They should feel that it is
absolutely necessary for all Jew-
ish children to get some sort of
education about their own people
and their own history.
---
Mollie Zuckerman, 3037 Monter-
ey.
No. I am a newcomer to De-
troit but I feel that there are not
enough places
i n Detroit t o
handle the pop-
ulation that we
have in this
'fly. My cousins
went to the Ye-
shiva and one
of them attend-
ed a Talmud
Torah. I didn't
think the chil-
dren had a suf-
ficient Jewish
education.
Furthermore, they were not at
all enthusiastic about their train-
ing in Hebrew. I would much ra-
ther see a lot of training in Yid-
dish. This would be of more
practical benefit and I think the
results would remain longer with
the child.

to Detroit where he went to wort
for the Detroit News as a forcige
correspondent and where he has
remained ever since.
As a part of his work, he has
been sent abroad five times to
write his impressions of Europe
and the entire world. In 1929. h'
toured Russia and Poland. In 1931,
he went around the world, includ-
ing Russia, China, Japan and
Manchukuo. In 1937, his tour in-
eluded Poland, Ital y, Austria,
Czechoslovakia, Switzerland and PHILIP A. ADLER
Sweden. In 1939, he was in France and England, spending the first
two months of the war in France. He has just returned from a tour
of Poland and Czechoslovakia.

•

Great Social Upheaval

"It will take Europe at least twenty-five years to recover from
this war," he said. "There has been a great social upheaval. It is dif-
ferent from the last war. Then there was a political readjustment on
the basis of the Wilsonian principle of national self determination. The
conflict came from the new nations that arose out of the old Austro-
Hungarian empire and those of Russia and Turkey.

"Now the conflict is more on an economic basis. It is a con-
flict in the principle of collectivism versus private economy. Many
of the nations are divided within themselves."

He admitted that he had frequently been in great personal dan-
ger while traveling, especially on this last trip.

"Poland now is in a stage of civil war," he said. "Holdups, high-
way robberies and murders are regular experiences by day and by
night. I was shot at while in Russia. I have been in several railroad
wrecks.

"I think the best disciplined people in Europe now," he continued,
"are the English and the Czechs. There is no sabotage there or any
open rebellion. The fight against the government there is conducted
along purely parliamentary lines."

In describing the situation of the Jews in Poland, where four
millions of them lived before the war, Adler was very pessimistic.
"I doubt if Jews can ever adjust themselves in Poland. For the
first time in the history of our nation, the Jews have given up. They
are apathetic and they don't care what happens to them. They do not
even make any effort to help themselves.

Palestine Only Solution,

"The only logical solution for them is Palestine. They are almost
unanimous in their will to go there. There is no conflict now between
Zionists and anti-Zionists as there used to he. I interviewed scores of
refivrees, old and young, men and women, boys and young girls. Every
single one wants to go to Palestine."

He thinks that Britain should transfer the mandate regardin
Palestine to the UN which is the legitimate successor to the League
of Nations.

"Britain has definitely demonstrated her incapacity to handle
the situation. I think the UN should now take over. As members
of the UN, the United States and Russia must also he interested
in the problem.

In his travels about the world, Adler always spoke to people no
their native language and he was thus able to get inside information
closed to others who had to get theirs through more formal sourcea.
He has interviewed many people whose names are destined for con-
spicuous spots in the pages of history and who, in their day, have
made the headlines throughout the world.

Interviews Einstein

"I think the interview that impressed me the most," he said
thoughtfully, "was that of Albert Einstein hack in 1929. He is a truly
Jack Weisman, 12160 Dexter.
great philosopher and scientist, a giant among the intellects of this
No. The Talmud Torah type of generation. Yet he lives a life of complete simplicity.
education is not enough. I see
Other world figures whom he interviewed included Benito Mus-
many childrer
going to the solini, then at the height of his fame: In' Ye. the puppet emperor of
Talmud Torahs China and Manchuria; General Baron Araki, known as the evil spir.t
and I do n o t of fascist Japan; Okada the premier of Japan; Duke of Aosta, of
feel t hey are Italy; Marshall Badoglio, of Italy; President Bierut, of Czechoslovakia,
and Benes, the present president of Czechoslovakia: almost all of
getting what I
the commissars of Soviet Russia; Morrison, the English minister of
feel they should
foreign affairs; Generalissimo Foch. of France, and practically every
have.
member of the present Polish cabinet.
I want them
"All of them were earnest, sincere men who were trying their
to learn not on-
ly Hebrew but best," he said. "That is," he added, "with the exception of Mussolini
Yiddish. I who tried to impress me with his imp6rtance.
"It is hard to say whether we will have settled conditions In Eu-
want them to
be taught in a rope soon," he concluded. "There exists today a blind, bitte hatred of
way that will make them retain Germany throughout Europe. Even the most enlightened li rals feel
and make use of what they learn. that way. When the opportunity comes, this hatred is bound o express
It is important that they know itself in some way."
their history and their culture.
idler's only ambition is to continue reporting. He expects to con-
The kind of education th"y ref in tinue his trips abroad and to write of what he sees. He is married
the Talmud Torah is not of any and has two children, one, a daughter, now with the American Rat
Cross in Japan.
practical value in my eyes.