AugtAf'25, 1944
History of Jews in Russia -
Recounted by Two Authors
Dr. Isaac Levitats and Rabbi Louis Greenberg Write
Important Historical Analyses of Jewish Community
and Struggle for Emancipation in Pre-Soviet Days
THE 'JEWISH NEWS
Daily Life In
In Lighter Vein Hitler'sWords Biblical Times
The Week's Best Stories
An Einstein. Anecdote
Add the following quote from
THE JEWISH COMMUNITY IN RUSSIA, 1772-1844. By Isaac Levitats. Broadway columnist Leonard
C olumbia University Press. New York ($3.50).
Lyons to the store of Einstein
THE JEWS IN RUSSIA: THE STRUGGLE FOR EMANCIPATION. anecdotes:
:Volume I. By Louis Greenberg. Yale University Press, New Haven, Conn. ($3).
"During the inflation period
With Russia in the forefront occurrences were n a t u r alL y which followed the last war,
among the victorious anti-Nazi shrouded, there is the cryptic Prof. Einstein boarded a Berlin
forces and with her Jewish testimony of an historian that street car, and asked what the
warriors playing a vital role in `if the Dne-pr could only talk it fare was; '31/2 marks', said the
the successes on the battlefronts, would tell of many an informer conductor. Einstein gave him a
interest in the history of the drowned in its waters by ver- 20-mark bill . . -. The conductor
Jews in Russia is increasing.
dict of the Kahal of the Shklov started to give him the change,
It is significant that two im- region. Others rivers, too, would then suggested: 'Give me 1 1/2
portant volumes on the subject reveal many such cases.' "
marks.' Einstein did. '31/2 plus 1 1/2
should have been published in
The Testimony
makes 5,' the conductor told him.
recent months. The works of
Dr. Levitats quotes in proof `So here's your change-15
Dr. Levitats and Rabbi Green- "The Ushits Case" and refers to marks.' Einstein hesitated, made
berg supplement each other and an article by Dubnow on the his calculations, then nodded and
a study of the two books will case under the title "A Case of said: `Right'."
help considerably in reaching an Lynching in Podolia." If it was
* * *
understanding of the attitudes lynching, it was not capital pun-
A Unique Bernhardt Story
which have developed among ishment. Dr. Levitats is not con-
Sarah Bernhardt, the famous
Russian Jews and the move- vincing enough in his claim that
ments that have been created Jews had the right and used it French actress, made a practice
of tracing English words back to
by 'them.
of imposing capital punishment. their Latin roots to fix their
Study of Autonomous Rule
But on the whole his book, meaning in her mind. During
Dr. Levitats' study of the Rus- with its populational -statistics, her first days in the United
sian Jewish community is a its community studies, its de- States she happened to disagree
work of great scholarship and sorption of the Kahals, its re- with her press agent concerning
research. The author had to use cording of the horrors that ac- the merits of a certain Ameri-
literature in eight languages for companied the taxation and the can city.
the compilation of his data in period of the cantonists—also
"But," expostulated the press
the religious, educational, eco- known as Nikolayeskie soldati- agent, "P— is positively the
nomic, social and community as- is most illuminating.
most unique town in the whole
pects of the community he de-
country."
Struggle for Emancipation
scribes.
"Ah," cried the actress, "at last
Rabbi Greenberg's book is an
The study Dr. Levitats has excellent introduction to what we are agreed. 'Unique' is the
made of the autonomous rule of is promised to be a three-volume word which fits that city per-
Jews in Russia is a revealing series. Its description of the fectly—unus meaning 'one' and
picture of Jewish life which Jewish struggle for emancipa- equus 'horse.' "
functioned as a government- tion is splendid, and the outline
The press agent had nothing
within-a-government, but only of the background of discrimina- more to say.
* * *
in order to serve the purpose of tory legislation against Jews in
the Russian rulers who insisted Jews throws additional light on
An Achad Ha-Am Incident
upon taxes to be collected for a long and tragic history.
David Dainow, writing in "Je-
them by Jews among Jews.
The author deals with many rusalem Diary" from Palestine
Capital Punishment
of the Jewish issues in Russia to the Zionist Record of Jo-
The story of Jewish autonomy as well as the political and leg- hannesburg, South Africa, tells
and how it was made to func- islative angles. He describes the the following story:
The other evening in the home
tion is, nevertheless, highly in- assimilationist trends as well as
teresting and important. The the rise of nationalism and of a certain Mr. Ginzburg, there
recognition that was given to Zionism. He deals with Haska- was among the guests an Ameri-
the Kahal as a legal community lah and Hassidism and describes can Jewish lady, interested in
governing board is one of the the contributions Jews had made child psychology and in modern
highlights of a rich history.
to Russian life — to literature, super-gentle treatment of chil-
The development of Jewish culture, science and finance.
dren. The host mentioned that
selfTrule, according to Dr. Levi-
when his father was a small boy,
Work of Maskilim
tats, included also the right to
Rabbi Greenberg points out he was often beaten by his own
impose capital punishment. He
that
Alexander II, who had father for neglecting the study of
tells us that "although we have
Hebrew.
yielded
to liberal demands for
records of few cases of capital
"And did he learn to know any
reforms, was really distrustful
punishment by the Jews, - due
Hebrew when he grew up?"
of
progressive
ideas
and
was
as
to the secrecy in which such
prejudiced against Jews as his asked the lady, deeply concerned.
Mr. Ginzburg replied, quietly:
predecessors. But the liberal
forces failed to achieve the goal "Yes, somewhat."
When the lady was leaving the
of removing anti-Jewish dis-
crimination when he refused to house she said to a friend: "By .
abolish the Pale of Settlement. -the way, who was Mr. Ginz-
Thus, the Maskilim placed too burg's father anyway?"
"Achad Ha'am," was the reply.
much faith in him.
We
are
told
that
"among
the
In the 290 pages of his book,
"The Coming Struggle for positive achievements of Haska- British Won't Reveal
Peace," (Viking Press), - Andre lah should be listed first and Figures on Volunteers
Visson reviews the "conflicting foremost the Opening of the
forces and aspirations which the door of secular culture for the
LONDON (JPS-Palcor — "It
United Nations will have to ghetto Jews." The Maskilim, -the would not be in the public in-
author
tells
us,
"were
also
re-
face." He covers a staggeringly
terest" to reveal figures on the
large field. The problems of Rus- sponsible for the renaissance of number of Jewish and Arab vol-
the
Hebrew
language
and
litera-
sia and Poland, Finland and
unteers serving with the British
Baltic States, Great Britain and ture, for the awakening of Jew- forces, and on the relative num-
the U. S., the Scandinavian coun- ish nationalism, and -- for the ber of deserters among the vol-
tries, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, birth of the Zionist movement." unteers, Sir James Grigg, secre-
Orthodoxy's Opposition
Greece, the Arabic countries,
tary of war, declared in reply to
Describing the opposition of a question from Samuel Shofield
Egypt, Palestine — all 'are in-
cluded in this comparatively orthodoxy to the Haskalah en- Hammersley, Conservative M.P.
small book of 290 pages.
lightment in o v e m e n t, Rabbi
Perhaps therein lies the trouble Greenberg outlines its reasons—
with this book. If anything, it among them being the threat to
confuses the mind of the reader, the preservation of Judaism and
and the informed persons will be the Jew—and states that the
bewildered by the Kiev-born au- achievement of emancipation
thor's attempt to embrace all "depended not upon the efforts
fields without offering genuinely of the Jews but upon the will
informative facts about most of of the government. Clearly, then,
them.
it was not by 'remaking' the
The Arabic and Palestinian Jew, but by a change in the
problems are especially confus- form of government that Jew-
ing. Mr. Visson would have done ish emancipation had any chance
well to study the issue more of realization."
closely, to read Lawrence's works
Thus, he leads us up to what
so as not to misquote him on should be a most interesting
Jewish aspirations in Palestine, continuation in his forthcoming
which he did not oppose, as the volumes, particularly when he
impression is given in this book. will deal with the present con-
He should have made a study of ditions under the Soviet.
the McMahon correspondence
without confusing the issue about Chalutzim Give Hebrew
the "over-promised land" of Pal- Concert for Queen Mary
estine, and it would have done
LONDON (JTA)—Forty young
him some good to learn more Chalutzim this week gave an im-
about the background of Zionism promptu concert for Dowager
and the movement's accomplish- Queen Mary when she visited
ments.
their 1,000 acre farm in western
His blunders certainly do not England. The Queen was greatly
make his book an authoritative impressed by the achievements of
work, in spite of his apparent the farm which is growing cab-
&pod intentions.
bages and wheat
"Coming Struggle
For Peace" Lacks
Background Study
Reprinted to
Plague Him
Bible stories and life in Bible
times assume reality and acquire
a touch of fascination in the tales
unfolded by Albert Edward Bai-
ley in his book "Daily Life in Bi-
ble Times," recently published
by Charles Scribner's Sons, 597
Fifth Ave., New York.
Hitler's own words, uttered
during two decades of German
National Socialism, have been
compiled as evidence against the
Nazi leader who is responsible
The 116 illustrations and maps
for all of the world miseries.
assist the reader in gaining inti-
Gordon W. Prange is the editor mate knowledge of the periods
of the compilation published by under discussion.
American Council on Public Af-
The customs, rules of conduct
fairs, 2153 Florida Ave., Wash- and the clothing of the people
ington 8, D. C. There is an intro- of the periods under review add
duction to the book, issued under great interest to the book.
the title: "Hitler's Words," by
Prof. Bailey, who has taught
Prof. Frederick L. Schuman, who
warns:
at American universities, ac-
quired information by making
"Hitler's words will be spoken
19 trips to Palestine. His record
again and are sometimes spoken
of Bible times is therefore welt
even now by those who are fight-
authenticated and is splendidly
ing Hitler. Let them, therefore, documeted.
be read and reread not only as
a guide to the past and a clue to
Even the portions that are cov-
the present but as a warning for ered from a strictly Christologi-
the future. The categorical im- cal point of view will be found
perative to which the career of of general interest.
Hitler points was long ago stated
by Thcimas Jefferson: 'Eternal They are the result of a deep
vigilance is the price of liberty.' " private hatred."
A 31-page section, under the
A lengthy chapter is devoted
title "Perish the Jew," quotes in this important book to "Amer-
Hitler's insane views on the Jew- ica and Roosevelt." The editor's
ish people. The editor's explana- note points out that Hitler tried
tory notes point out that:
to persuade the American people
"Ey tying up anti-Semitism that this is "Roosevelt's War,"
with all of the nation's miseries, but that "he had misgauged the
Hitler has directed the frustrated American people."
rage of the German people
against a convenient and de-
fenseless victim." •
This explanation also declares
with thousands of families, as it relieveet
that "Hitler's histerical anti-
Semitic outbursts, which occupy itching irritation of minor skin rashes—
baby's diaper rash. Sprinkle on Measana,
a special place in the catalogue the soothing, medicated powder contain-
of his obsessions, cannot be ex- ing ingredients many specialists often rec-
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