Page Ten

TH:E JEWISH NEWS

Some Threw Their
Dogtags Away

By
RUTH
KARPF

The Story of Jewish GIs
In German Prison Camps

I

T isn't generally known, and
it isn't talked about—but Jewish . GIs
in Germany were segregated in PW
camps, and did get the worst starva-
tion rations and the hardest work de-
tails including 10 hours. a day, seven
days a week slave labor in salt and
rock mines.
I have talked to a great many soldi-
ers who were prisoners of the Ger-
mans, Jews and non-Jews, enlisted
men, non-coms and officers. Their
stories vary—as apparently did Nazi
policy. At some camps, no
discriminatory m e a s u res
were applied; at others,
Jews were segregated.
Much was up to the com-
mander of the camp. But
while there are many Jew-
ish GIs who just went
through the straight starva-
tion diet hell through which
all Americans did in Ger-
man PW camps, there were
hundreds, thousands, and
probably tens of thousands
who went through the most-
harrowing experiences to ,
date associated- with Nazi concentra-,
ton. camps. Many haven't come back
to tell the story.
There were txua- kinds of 'Jewish
PWs. There was the kind. like 20-year-
old Pfc. Steckler whom I met at an
Oneg Shabhath_at Halloran Hospital.
He came up to the chaplain's table ,to
say the prayer over the chalah. He
looked like one of those, skeleton men
in the - documentaries from Buchen-
wald and Bergen Belsen.
70 Died at His Camp
"I never thought I'd 'do this again,"
he said. He had returned from over-
seas earlier that week.
His camp was Berga Elster—where
70 GIs died from slave labcir and star-
vation between Feb. 29 and April 18.
The greater part of them were Jews.
This is the story of how they got
to that camp: They were captured in
Luxembourg during von Rundstedt's
counter offensive. After a four-day
march and a seven-day boxcar ride--
68 men to a .car—with no food—they
reached their first camp. There they
were ordered to fill out forms which,
among other detailed information, ask-
ed their religion. Some of the Jewish_
men left a blank or put down "Prot-
estant." Steckler didn't. A few days
later the Nazi camp commandant sent
through an order for all Jewish men
to report to him.
The American non-corn in charge of
the barracks protested. He filled out
a Red. Cross protest form to be mailed
to Geneva. It never left the camp. The
following day a second order came
through announcing that, if any Jewish
men were found in the barracks after
24 hours, they would be shot.
So the Jewish boys reported. They
didn't want to take a chance on get-
ting any of their buddies into trouble.
After they reported they were put in-
to separate barracks. A few days later
the order came through for them to get
ready to move. A shipment of 350 was
going to a newer and better camp—
they were told.
.
"I knew they were lying," Steck-
ler said, "because, in addition to
the Jews, they picked out the
GIs they'd had trouble with to go
on that shipment."
They arrived in Berga Elster, on
the Elster River, five days later. The
day after they were checked into the
lice-infested camp, at about 1 in the
afternoon, half of them were ordered
on a work detail. The Germans said
the men would be back by six. Six
o'clock carne and went: so did seven,
eight and ten. The men still weren't
back.
Stumble in at II p. m.
"We were beginning to get very
worried. Finally, at about 11 p. m. they
stumbled into the stockade, looking
like dead men."
They were white from rock dust.
The Germans used them to build an
underground synthetic rubber factory
which they had to hew out of the rock.
They made them work in stalls of
12. Whenever one of the soldiers
paused for a minute's rest, the Ger-
mans would take a slash at him with
their pick or hurl a piece of a rock at
his head. Sometimes they socked a
soldier or beat him up until he be-
came unconscious. These "foremen"
were responsible for seeing to it that
the day's assignment was completed.

If they thought a GI wasn't_ working
fast enough they also used the rubber
hose on him."
Evidence of Beatings
"There was nothing we could do,"
Steckler explained. "We were so weak
by then that four of us couldn't have
tackled one of the workers. They were
well fed. Also, there were the foremen.
One for every four stalls. They car-
ried rubber hoses. They were even
worse."
Steckler still carries evidence of the
truth of his story on his own body.
The thumb of his right hand is mangl-
ed. That happened when he wag lean-
ing on his shovel for a few seconds
and one of the German workers came
over; and drove a; dick' into
his 'hand. He bandaged it
with tissue paper. They had
no medical supplies. Taking
a minute out to adjust the
bandage a couple of days
later, another of the Ger-
man civilians caught him
and hit him over the head
with a shovel. Steckler
passed out. Since Steckler,
unconscious, was no good
to the Reicli- war effort, the
German worker ground his
heels into the GI's injured
thumb, figuring the pain
would make him regain consciousness.
Those were every-day incidents in
Berga Elster. And the story has been
confirrried by many other -soldiers.
Told to List as "Protestants"
The other kind of Jewish PWs were
boys like Irving Fox of Brboklyn. That

Fridfey, September* 7, F945

20-year-old sergeant went into' action
in France in July—fought in the St.
Lo breakthrough and in the Hurtgen
Forest. When he was captured, also
during the big counter offensive, he
threw his dogtags away. When he was
asked to fill out the form with the re-
ligion question he checked with the
American colonel in charge.
The colonel said it was okay for the
men to fill out the religion blank, but
the GI clerk who was helping him
with the German form told Fox that
he'd better put down "Protestant."
He had cause to be grateful to that
GI clerk later. He watched non-Jew-
ish officers and non-coms being sent
off to another camp. The Jewish ones
were segregated and left behind. No
one ever knew what became 'of them.
The Jewish ;enlisted men were segre-
ated too. In the camp they were given
all the dirtiest details.
Only Few Came Home
Later they were sent to the salt
mines to work. Few of them have been
heard from.
Since his liberation, on the second
day of Passover, Fox met and heard
of many of the men who were captur-
ed with him. But he has heard of only
few of the Jewish boys. - -
"I specially watched out for them,"
he testified. "Only a handful of the
Jewish boys have come home. And
none of those with conspicuous Jewish.
names or with conspicuous Jewish
features have."

(Copyright, 1945, Jewish Telegraphic
Agency, Inc.)

The Cantor

—an artist and
a businessman

By WALTER DUCKAT

T

HERE are few Jews who at
least some time during their life
haven't heard the trmulous vocal rendi-
tions of a cantor. It is during the High
Holy Days that he usually has his
largest audience.
Like any other profession there are
cantors and cantors. Only relatively
few earn enough to devote the major
part of their time to this vocation.
These. are generally associated with
large..synagogues, or temples.. Some of
the outstanding cantors are reluctant
to offer their services exclusively to
a congregation. They find it more .pro-
fitable to secure individual engage-
inents for -the major Holydays, such
as the High Holydays,. Passover, Suc-
toth, Shabuoth, etc.
. Other cantors will accept yearly con-
tracts which require that they lead
the service only once or twice a month.
Their agents scurry about attempting
to find bookings for them, for their
free Sabbaths.
. . kun Marriage Salons
In addition to their chanting of the
religious services, most cantors either
assist the rabbi or officiate alone at
Weddings. This is also -true at- funerals
among many orthodox and conserva-
tive .Jews. Fees received for . these
duties supplement their income. Sev-
eral enterprising cantors have estab-
lished their own thriving marriage
salons.
For a fairly modest sum their own-
ers offer their quarters; their own
services, --those of a soloist, organist,
and a buffet :meal.. There is little of
the fuss or elaborate preparation
characteristic -of larger, more formal
and expensive weddings. Several of
these business men-cantors are reputed
to gross •over $20,000 a Year.
Although a few men command good
salaries, the majority of the approxi-
mately 1,000 professional cantors in
the U. S. earn from $1,500 to $5,000
a year. About 1,500 other cantors are
employed by small and poor congrega-
tions. In addition to their cantorial
clutip, they often also serve as shochet,
teacher and iri other. capacities.
Some. cantors supplement their in-
come by selling insurance, others are
practicing attorneys, accountants, sales-
men or engage in other crafts and
trades. One, Reuben Tucker, has suc-
ceeded in crashing the portals of the
much coveted Metropolitan Opera
House. His contract with ' the Metro-
politan is reputed to release him ex-
plicitly from singing on the Sabbath
or Jewish holydays.
Annually, the cantorate is beset by
the influx of holyday self-style cantors.
These men are not professional al-
though they may be familiar with the
traditional chants and have tolerable
or even good' voices. They view • the
High Holydays as a means of earning
extra income which, depending on
their prowess and bargaining ability,
may range from $50 to over a $1,000.
Like a Court Crier
Historically, the position of the
cantor, commonly known as hazzan,
has had an interesting development. In
Talmudic literature where he is first
mentioned 'his functions appear to have
been quite different from those char-
acterizing his duties today.
Beginning about the Ninth Century,
his duties changed somewhat. He re-
cited the prayers, read the Torah and
blew the--Shofar. (Today, these func-
tions are peorformed by separate per-
sons.)
Highly Respected
In ' the 16th Century, one Moses
Mintz drew up rules of behavior and
qualifications for a hazzan. He was ex-
pected to be blameless in character,
humble, married or at least have at-
tained his puberty, possess a pleasant
voice, be able to read easily and under-
stand all the books of the Holy Scrip-
tures, be the first to enter and 'the
last to leave- the synagogue and strive
to attain the highest degree of fervor
in his prayers.
The position the hazzan occupied in
the community 'varied. In the early
Middle Ages he was generally highly
respected. In. some communities how-
ever, frequent complaints were made
against him. Sometimes, objection was
taken to his introduction of foreign
melodies in the service. At other times,
it was his vanity which led him to un-
duly prolong single notes.

,

.

'

--

..„

They'll Make the Nazis Pay

By

HERBERT I.

SELIGMANN

(Chief of the JTA
Bureau In
Washington)

.

HE

voices of six million dead
will be talking to Germany through
the Reparations Commission which will
inventory German resources and lay
out the scheme for partial repayment
of the horror and damage Germany
has inflicted on the world.
Of the Jewish members on the Am-
erican staff of the Reparations Com-
mission, I have met personally only
one. That one is the associate Chief of
the mission, Dr. Isador Lubin, who
for years sat among the late President
Roosevelt's close and intimate advisers
at press conferences.
Dr. Lubin has served the
U. S. Government in many
and varied capacities. He is
U. S. Commissioner of
Labor Statistics on leave of
absence for special service
to the President. He also is
chief of Statistical Analysis,
Division of '• Munitions As-
signment Board, of the
Combined Chief of Staff.
He was the first U. S. rep-
resentative on the govern-
ing- body of the Internation-
al Labor Organiaztion when
the U. S. entered that body
at Geneva in 1935.
The other Jewish members to the
Reparations Commission have careers
hardly less striking in the variety of
their achievement.
Other Noted Names
Those members are: S. Trone; in-
dustrial • and electrical engineer; Sey-
mour Rubin, chief of the Division of
Economic and Security Controls of the
U. S. Department of State; Abraham
Bergson, State Department specialist
in German economy and history; and
Moss Abramavitz, State Department
specialist on German industry.
These men are entering on. their
work not as Jews, but as specialists,
competent and distinguished in their
various fields, serving their govern-
ment and the people of the U. S. and
the world by virtue of the democratic
tradition that man is to be employed
and to be given opportunity to serve

on the basis of his individual attain-
ment without barrier of color or creed.
Mr. Trone's service already have
been world-wide. He has been a con-
sultant to the Foreign Economic Ad-
ministration and more recently held
the post of adviser, in Chungking, to
the China Post-war Reconstruction
Council.
In the field of rescue and salvage
of Jewish_ refugees, Mr. Trone played
a positive part. He helped to arrange,
through the joint Distribution Corn-
mitte, for the emigration of 500 set-
tlers to the Sosua Colony in the Re-
public of Santo Domingo.
Lubin U. of M. Graduate
This formidable technical analyst
who is being turned loose on the Ger-
man reprations problem is accompani-
ed by a younger man, equally formid-
able in the legal field. Seyftiour Rubin,
31, in March of this year already had
reached the post of chief of the State
Department's Division of Economic
and Security Controls.
Graduated from the University of
Michigan, Mr. Rubin ob-
tain the degrees of LLB and
LLM at the Harvard Law
School, being admitted as
a member of the bar in
Illinois.
His public service began
early. In 1940 he served as
attorney for the Securities
and Exchange Commission.
From 1941 to 1942 he was
chief counsel in the legal
division of OPA. In 1942
Rubin began his State Dept.
service as divisional assist-
ant, becoming assistant ad-
viser on Other American Republics on
Nov. 7, 1943. The following year he
was made assistant chief of the Divi-
sion of Financial and Monetary Affairs,
becoming Chief of the Division of
Economic and Security Controls in
March 1945.
Abramovitz, and Bergson
The other two Jewish members of
the Reparations Commission are also
, formidable young men. Moses Abram-
ovitz is a graduate of Harvard, holds
a PhD. from Columbia, has worked
for the National Bureau of Economic
Research and is now assigned to the
State Dept. for work on the Repara-
tions Commission. -
Abraham Bergson, Harvard Ph.D.; in
in his thirties, has been working in the
State Dept. for several years and is an
expert on Russian economics as well
as on German economy and industry.

'

.(Copyright, 1945, Jewish Telegraphic
Agency, Inc.)

(Copyright, 1945, Jewish Telegraphic
Agency, Inc.).

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