Page Two
Purely
Commentary
TFIE . SE W ,1
-
-
20 Years Ago
(Fron4Cables of JTA)
BERLIN — Adolf Hitler, the anti-Se-
:mitic leader in Bavaria, who is now im-
prisoned in the fortress of Landsberg for
:his participation in the Bavarian rising
last November, will be released on Octo-
ber 1, when he will have completed his
sentence of six months imprisonment.
• Anti-Semitic circles are busy speculat-
ing on the possibility of. Hitler leading a
new anti-Jewish movement in Bavaria on
his release. The press is wondering what
attitude he will take in regard to the con-
flict between the two anti-Semitic parties
in. Bavaria, the Pan-German Anti-Se-
mitic Party and the Parliamentary Party
led by General Ludendorff.
PARIS — Leon Blum,. leader of the
French Socialist Party, will, in all prob-
ability, be appointed Ambassador to Ger-
many, according to information given out
today by well-informed parliamentary
circles.
Friday, -Sepferrtber-29,.1:944
S
An Evaluation of Our Responsibilities in Forthcoming
War Chest Campaign
Strictly
Confidential
By WILLIAM FRIEDMAN
By PHINEAS J. B1RON
Our Debt tolleseuelFunds
f By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
THE SIDNEY HILLMAN INCIDENTS
The Sidney Hillman incidents even
those in Pittsburgh where signs were dis-
played reading "It's Your Country—Why
Let. Sidney Hillman Run It?"—would not
be worth bothering about, were it not
for the fact that several Congressmen in-
jected the Jewish issue in the discussion
which seeks to make the Jewish labor
leader the scapegoat in the Republican-
Democratic battle for votes at the coming
Nov. 7 election.
Some Congressmen have placed em-
phasis on the foreign birth of Mr. Hill-
man. Others have branded him Com-
munist, IWW and a dozen other titles
which serve to becloud a political issue.
It is no wonder, therefore, that an emi-
nent columnist, Marquis Childs, saw fit
to devote a column to the Hillman mat-
ter, under the heading "The Hating of
Hillman."
* * *
SHOULD THE JEW HIDE?
The most important point raised in Mr.
Childs' column is the one about the belief
of some people who say: "But Hillman, a
Jew, should never have put himself out
in front."
Mr. Childs gives the categorical reply:
"That is no answer." What he states in
support of his view is worth quoting, He
wrote:
"To accept that would be to accept an
inferior status; to say that brains and
ability,• if they are Jewish brains and
ability, can go only so far. Such a doc-
trine cuts across everything we've cher-
ished. in this country."
This is a repudiation of ,bigotry worth
recording and perpetuating in American
political and economic history, The
'"hide-the-Jew" arguments were ad-
' vaned when Brandeis, Cardozo• and
Frankfurter were to be elevated to the
supreme Court; when Henry Morgen-
thau was to become Secretary of the
Treasury; when able Harvard men were
to be given positions of trust by our
Government.
'."Fortunately, the sane-thinking ele-
inents in this land refused to "cut across
eyerything we've cherished in this
country."
Fortunately, also, Sidney Hillman re-
:fuses to sacrifice a well-earned right in
•lhis country.
.1 Let the issues in the political campaign
Abe fought on merit, and not on the basis•
:of prejudice against Jews and foreign-
' born.
* * *
:4COMMONS HEARS A COHEN JOKE
James Maxton, member of the British
. House of Commons, speaking on the em-
ployment problem of his country, took
:occasion to retell an old joke, thus:
"I do not know," said Mr. Maxtor',
-"whether the hon. gentleman has heard
the, story about Cohen, the Jew, • who
could- not sleep at night. He was tossing
and turning in his bed. His wife said,
`What is wrong with you?' He said, 'I am
terribly upset. I owe Isaacs 100 pounds
and I do not know where to find it and
I cannot pay him.' She said, 'What,
.Isaacs across the road?' He said, 'Yes,'
She got up, pushed up the window and
'called across the road, 'Isaacs? Cohen
owes you 100 pounds and he cannot pay
-,it.' Then she shut the window, and said
'to Cohen. 'Now go to sleep and let Isaacs
:do the worrying.' "
• This story may or may not have been
applicable to the debate. But—do these
stories react favorably •upon us? Can it
be said that it is a typically Jewish
story? Isn't it rather an idea born. in the
mind of some one who is influenced by
the myth that Jews are in the main a
:business folk?
NE''W
Judge of Wayne County Circuit Court; President,
Jewish Welfare Federation of Detroit
There have been many reports in the newspapers in recent weeks
describing how the men and women of the French underground helped
brina about the liberation of France. In most of these reports; we find
recorded
the heroism of the -many Jews who fought with the Maquis
b
to drive the Nazis from French soil.
One of the most interesting stories was that of an
old Jewish householder in Paris. When he was asked
to lend his apartment to some patriots who wanted to
install a secret radio station which would have endan-
gered his life, he began to cry. They thought he was
afraid. But he explained, "for two years I have been
waiting for a chance like this."
When I read this story, I was profoundly moved
by the courageous spirit of that Jewish householder.
It made me see how many Jews of Europe were able
Judge Friedman to withstand the ceaseless pounding of the Nazi attack.
It also made me realize that for that kind of heroic service to the cause
of freedom, we are in great debt to our fellow Jews in Europe. That
debt we can repay in some small measure• through the War Chest of
Metropolitan Detroit which will provide the funds for rescue, recon-
struction and relief through the agencies included in the Allied
Jewish Campaign.
What answer shall we give to the man who wept because the
opportunity for sacrifice had not come sooner?
Heard in
The Lobbies
By ARNOLD LEVIN
(Copyright, 1944. Independent Jewish
Press Service, Inc.)
DIVERSE MATTERS
Peter H. Bergsonites claim credit for
Britain's accession to Jewish demands
for a Jewish Brigade. The British gov-
ernment, however, in its official an-
nouncement, made it clear that the credit
belongs to the Jewish Agency. The of-
ficial British announcement stated clear-
ly "His majesty's government have de-
cided to accede to the request of the
Executive, of the Jewish Agency for Pal-
estine that a Jewish Brigade Group
should be formed," and added: "Details
of the scheme are being discussed .with-
the Jewish Agency which has been in-
vited to co-operate in its realization."
In the opinion of some people, Jewish
leaders had better exert vigilance with
regard to the implementation of the Jew-
ish Brigade plan. It implies recognition
of Jewish nationhood, but coming at this
late hour it may also be used by some
(if vigilance is not exerted) to keep Pal-
estine's Jewish volunteers in occupied
territory after the war When they will
be most needed in the Jewish homeland.
But then the same conspiracy may be
afoot not alone against a Brigade, but
against all Jewish units . . . Vigilance
has always been Zionism's watchword
. . . Will this announcement, incidentally,
be followed by an announcement. With
regard to partition? . . . These are just
heard-in-the-lobbies conjectures.
Louis Lipsky is credited with having
worked out the formula by means of
which the inner difficulties in the Amer-
ican Zionist Emergency Council were
ironed out.
* * *
SUBJECT: POETRY
Yours truly would like to draw atten-
tior, to some books of verse by Jews and
about Jews. Poets have become fighting
men these days, using words as weapons
and also becoming schooled at the use
of soldiers' weapons. Karl Shapiro, a
Jew, and one of the most promising
younger American poets, now serving in
the Southwest Pacific, has issued another
book — this one called, justifiably "V-
Letter and other poems," (Reynal and
Hitchcock). A Gentile reviewer, oblivious
to Shapiro's disguised irony, absurdly
referred to him as Christian in his views
and sarcastic with regard to the -Jew.
Certainly few poets in the English lan-
guage have better described the Jewish
anguish than Shapiro:
"And the word for the murder of Christ
will cry out on the air
Though the race is no more and the
temples are closed of our-will
"
And the peace is made fast on the earth
and the earth is made fair."
And with regard to the Synagogue:
"The altar of the Hebrews is a house,
No relic but a place, Sinai itself,
No holy ground but factt,tal holiness
Wherein the living God 'Is resident."
A poet, consciously Jewish in every
line he writes and working in a poetic
idiom which is in itself distinctly Jewish,
is the Canadian A. M. Klein, whose latest
hook, "The Hitleriad," has been issued
by New Directions in its the Poets of
the Year series.
"Take Them,.., Stranger," by Babette
Deutsch • (Henry Holt and Co.), a new
volume by a poet identified with Jewish
crganizations, strangely does not contain
any obviously Jewish poems, although
the imagery here and there is definitely
(Copyrigh•. 1944, by Seven Art
Feature Syndicate)
YOU SHOULD KNOW
The current issue of the Gentile News,
organ of the Gentile Cooperative Associa-
tion, does us the "honor" of quoting our
column . . . It describes as "wishful
dreaming our statement that it is on the
downpath . . . This anti-Semitic group
denies that it is anti-Semitic — and on
the very same page backs Gerald L. K.
Smith's American-Firsters . . . And do
you know what the "Buy Only Gentile"
gentry charge yours truly with? • •. •
Anti-Gentilism, no less.
The whispering campaign about Secre-
tary Hull's Jewish wife is in full swing;
and it's Gerald L. K. Smith's anti-Semitic
propaganda peddlers who are using it.
*
* *
ECHOES
Remember when the French warship
Richelieu suddenly dashed into New
York harbor a couple of years ago, and
quite a few of her sailors jumped ship in
order to fight on the Free French side?
. . Most of them were quickly caught
and interned at Ellis Island—and, Win-
chell reminds us, it was lawyer Arthur
Garfield Hays who conducted their de-
fense, gratis and successfully . Now Mr.
Hays has a new -client: He is the legal
representative in this country of the De
Gaulle government.
Did you catch those newspaper photos
of Major-General Erich Elsner surren-
dering 20,000 of Adolf's finest to two
By BORIS SMOLAR
American officers, and did you note the
(Copyright, 1944, TTA, Inc.)
friendly smile with which he favored one
HERE AND THERE:
of the Yanks, Lt.-Col. Bertram Kalisch?
The crisis in the American Zionist .. . Kalisch, however, didn't seem quite
Emergency Council, which lasted for as happy as the surrendering Nazi—could
about a month ; is past . . . Dr. Abba be he was thinking of all the Jews whose
Hillel Silver emerged victorious and murder Elsner must have ordered in
withdrew his resignation from the Coun- France.
The only thing captured by Hitler in
cil, after his demand for coordination of
Zionist political activities in Washington' the past year, observes an Army camp
newspaper, was Mussolini.
was complied with.
* * *
David Stern, head of the agricultural
department of the Jewish Agency, re- LISTEN HERE
Featured at the Museum of Modern
turned to New York from an inspection
tour of the -Jewish - settlement in the Art's Show of the art work of Russian
Dominican Republic with a very favor- children are a number of battle scenes
able report . . . He is soon to proceed painted by 9-year-old Yulik Labas, a
to Bolivia in connection with projects Jewish youngster who lived in Moscow
for. Jewish settlement there . . . He does until he was evacuated during the Nazis'
not intend to remain an the American siege of that city . . . Yulik listened to
continent for long, however, since he is war communiques, and • then painted his
conception of the battles described.
needed in Palestine.
The honor of giving Odets' rather radi-
Congratulations to Mrs. ,Rose Jacobs,
the only woman member of the Jewish cal playlet, "Waiting for Lefty," its
Agency executive . . . Her son, Joshua, premiere in Germany goes to Lt. Lewis
an officer in the U. S. Navy, has just Pinkussohn, American bombardier, who
been awarded the. Legion of Merit for staged it in the Nazi prison camp to
bravery and exceptional, services on the which he has been confined since early
this year.
fighting front overseas:
Dr. Joseph Tennenbaum, head of the
* * *
American Federation of Polish Jews, is
MILLIONS TO RECOVER;
packing his grips for a visit to Lublin,
Millions of dollars have been spent Poland . . He may be accompanied by
on bringing Jewish refugees from Eu- two more delegates from this country.
When the conference of the World
rope to the United States a n d other
countries on the American continent • . Jewish Congress opens in New York next
Most of these refugees are now well set- November it will be addressed by Under-
tled and can afford to start repayment secretary of State Stettinius . . . Among
of the sums spat for their transporta- the delegates from Britain will be Lady
tion and maintenance This would Reading.
*
enable a more effective rehabilitation of
Jews in the liberated countries, since the ZIONIST NEWS
Even if its only a brigade that has
payments collected from 'the refugees
would be used for aid to Jews impover- emerged, the Jewish Army idea has tri-
ished by the Nazis . . The Hias-Ica umphed at last.. . . Much of the credit
alone has a list of about 40,000 Jews belongs to the now defunct Committee
whom its offices helped to leave Europe for a Jewish Army, which carried on ef-
. . The transportation costs of these fective propaganda for this cause — until
Jews reached many millions of dollars, the committee became transformed into
and each of the refugees signed a pledge the Emergency Conference to Save Eu-
to refund the cost of his transportation ropean Jews, which many regard as a
when he would be in a position to do nuisance organization.
Dr. Nahum Goldmann, now on a visit
so . . . Millions of dollars have also been
spent by the National Refugee Service to Palestine, got to Eretz Israel by mili-
in helping refugees in this country to tary plane, in a straight-line trip.
At the opening session of the Zionist
get on their feet . . . Not to speak of the
millions spent by the Joint Distribution convention in Atlantic City on Oct. 14
Committee . . . There is no doubt that Pierre van Paassen will deliver an ad-
the larger proportion of the refugees, dress on the Jewish position in the world
especially those who have since become scene.
The Rev. Richard Evans, back from a
American citizens, would gladly respond
to a reminder that the time has come for trans-continental tour in the interests of
Zionism, tells us that American Jewry is
them to repay the notes.
more Palestine-conscious than ever before.
Between
You and Me
,
*
rooted in thought associations growing
out of Jewish experiences. No one can
fail to note "Day of Deliverance" by
William Rose Benet (Alfred. A. Knopf),
in which this distinguished poet, - a non-
Jew and brother of the late Stephen
Vincent Benet, runs the gamut of topical
themes, as is indicated by the subtitle
"A Book of Poems in Wartime." On page
13 of the volume you will find "The
Burning Orphanage," based on an "inci-
dent of the Jewish persecution in Ger-
many, 1940."
"Why do they war on children?
They are set apart from human kind.
The other side of the moon holds no such
creatures.
They rage, being afraid of the nightmare
they have made.."
* *
Bernard M. Baruch is fully recovered
and in perfect condition, working a full
schedule every day.
Congratulations to Benzion Netanyahu,
of the New Zionist Organization, on his
marriage to lovely Cela Segal . . . The
bridegroom is the son of the late Pales-
tinian Zionist orator Milukofsky, a n d
himself an exceptionally gifted writer in
Hebrew and English . . . Mrs. Anna
Rosenberg, New York WMC head, has
been conferring overseas.
Daniel Van Schacht, who has been
Henry Montor's assistant in the United
Jewish Appeal, • is going to the coast,
where he will serve as director of fund-
raising for the Los Angeles Sanatorium.