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Friday, December 21, 1945
THE JEWISH NEWS
Page Twenfy
U.S. Jewry Pledges $100,000,000 for UJA in '46
United Jewish Appeal
Plans Record Drive
Principles to Assure
Success of Campaign
By MEYER F. STEINGLASS
Displaced Jews' Plight
Viewed at Conference
(Special Wire to The Jewish News)
(Continued from Page 1)
Could Double Population
An ovation followed Dr. Weizmann's statement that
Palestine could contain at least double and probably
more than double the present Jewish population.
Alluding to recent Palestine events, Dr. Weizmann
said that the Yishuv would overcome all obstacles be-
cause both young and old are ready to fight and die
for the establishment of the "National Home or Com-
monwealth".
Dr. Joseph J. Schwartz, European director of the
Joint Distribution Committee, asserted that thousands
of stateless European Jews will perish in 1946 unless
American aid comes quickly. He stated that Eastern
European Jews now are faced with "continuous hunger,
sickness, homelessness and appalling poverty, and
added that the plight of the Jews in Poland is the
"most desperate of all
Palestine Can Absorb Homeless
Eliezer Kaplan, treasurer of the Jewish Agency,
said that Palestine can absorb all European homeless
Jews who are willing to come there. He assailed the
White Paper as causing needless death in Nazi camps
of thousands of Jews.
Paul Phillippson of Brussels said that 35,000 Jews
who are still alive in Belgium need the essentials. of
life to survive the winter months.
- Dr. Enzo Levi of Italy described the mass influx
of the 17,000 Jews who had fled to Italy in the hope
of reaching Palestine.
Other speakers who gave the conference an inter-
national flavor included Dr. Abraham Granovsky, di-
rector of the Jewish National Fund, and Leo Herrmann,
both of Jerusalem; Rabbi James G. Heller, William
Rosenwald, Mrs. David M. Levy and Maj. Judah
Nadich.
Air of Determination
An unusual air of determination and dedication
dominated the conference which was by far the most
significant assembly of American Jews in many years.
(The text of the resolution adopting the $100,000,-
000 goal, made in the form of a solemn pledge by Am-
erican Jewish communities to give the task of saving
European Jewry first priority in 1946, appears in full
on page one of this. issue).
Deterioration of the Jewish position in Europe
during the war years and the 12 years of unrelenting
Nazi attack and wholesale destruction have brought
European Jewry to the threshold of complete collapse
and unless a supreme effort is made by the Jews of
the U. S. for relief and rehabilitation in Europe and
prompt and increased settlement in Palestine, the
1,250,000 Jewish- survivors will share the fate of the
6,000,000 who perished in the Nazi death centers, lead-
ers from the concentration camps in Germany, and
from Holland and other European lands declared at the
opening session of the extraordinary UJA national con-
ference last Saturday night.
.
Blueprint of Rescue
With more than 800 delegates assembled at the
Chelsea Hotel from every section of the country to
plan a blueprint of rescue • and reconstruction on an
unprecedented scale, the historic three-day conference
took on world-wide significance as distinguished rep-
resentatives from Europe and Palestine conferred with
American Jews for the • first time since the end of
World War II on the paramount Jewish problem of
survival and security for the remaining Jews in the
post-war world.
Speakers during the first day's sessions were: Paul
Baerwald of New York, honorary chairman of the
United Jewish Appeal; Dr. Salo Kleerekoper of Amster-
dam, president of the Jewish Coordinating Committee
of Holland; Josef Rosenzaft of Bergen-Belsen concen-
tration camp, chairman of the Central Jewish Commit
tee representing the 80,000 displaced Jews now located
in the American, British and French zones of oc-
cupation in Germany; Rabbi Jonah B. Wise of New
York, national chairman of the United Jewish Appeal
who presided at the evening session; Edmund I. Kauf-
mann of Washington, D. C., chairman of the national
conference committee, who presided at the first session;
Edward M. M. Warburg of New York, chairman of the
Joint Distribution Committee; and Edwin Rosenberg
of New York, first vice-president of the National
Refugee Service.
Hitler Almost Succeeded
Although Hitler was_ defeated in his attempt to
conquer the world, he came so close to success in his
war on the Jewish people that the position of the
Jews in Europe will not be restored for many decades
to come, it was emphasized by the speakers.
Speaking for the Jews who suffered indescribable
cruelties in the Nazi concentration camps,. Mr. Rosen-
zaft emphatically declared that the "soil of Germany
and other parts of Europe is drenched with the blood
. of Jewish martyrs" and that the survivors are deter-
mined never to return to their former homelands but
to continue their struggle to find a new life in Pal-
estine.
In describing present conditions in the displaced
persons camps, Mr. Rosenzaft, who is regarded by the
inhabitants of these camps as another Lincoln, said
that the complete lack of coal, coupled with acute
shortages of food, clothing and medical supplies, made
the present situation in camps for displaced Jews ex-
tremely dangerous. Mr. Rosenzaft arrived from Bergen-
Belsen by plane.
ATLANTIC CITY, N. J.—At the closing ses-
sion of the national conference of the United
Jewish Appeal, which was hailed as the most
significant and historic meeting in the history of
American Jewry, the 800 delegates from all over
the country adopted the following statement of
principles designed to assure the success of the
$100,000,000 campaign:
1. Priority must be given to the overwhelm-
ing needs of overseas Jewry because we must be
prepared to postpone the less essential longer-
term needs in time of grave crisis.
2. All increases obtained in the 1946 com-
munity campaigns which include various meri-
torious causes in addition. to the United Jewish
Appeal should be voted to the United Jewish
Appeal.
3. To assure unprecedented generosity to
make possible the attainment of the $100,000,000
goal, contributors are to be informed that 1946
gifts will not be used as a basis for comparison
of any succeeding year.
-4. Because the focus of American Jewry's
effort will be centered upon the responsibilities
assumed by the United Jewish Appeal, it is
urged that each community determine in advance
of its campaign the measure of support which it
proposes to give to the $100,000,000 United Jew-
ish Appeal drive so that contributors may respond
with appropriate generosity.
reported that out of a pre-war Jewish population of
150,000 there now remain in Holland only 30,000 Jews.
He cited the fact that out of 300 relatives, only five
are alive today, as an indication of the thoroughness
of the anti-Jewish program carried on by the Nazis. .
He pointed out that Holland, where Jews have
lived for more than 300 years with full rights, was now
the scene of growing anti-Semitism, implanted by Nazi
propaganda. He said: "The Germans told the Dutch
people that Goebbels would teach the world the les-
son of anti-Semitism, regardless of the outcome of the
war. The Dutch are a traditionally freedom-loving and
tolerant people, and before the war the Jews enjoyed
complete equality and the friendliest relations with the
non-Jewish population.
Hold Strike to Protest Persecution
"When Hitler first instituted his anti-Jewish meas-
ures, the first anti-Nazi demonstration in Holland took
the form of a general strike of public service employes
in protest against the persecution of the Jews. But
today, although the government has re-established the
status of equality, the Jews find great difficulty in re-
gaining their lost property and in obtaining adequate
relief and rehabilitation for the survivors."
He said that five-sixths of the remaining Jews of
Holland are alone, without families, without jobs. Out
of a total of 40,000 Jews who went into hiding during
the Nazi occupation 20,000 were seized and deported by
the Gestapo. Today many of the Jews of Holland want
to emigrate to Palestine, Dr. Kleerekoper said.
.
Wife, Children Victims.
Short in stature and obViously suffering from the
privations of six years interment in various Nazi con-
centration centers, the 35-year-old Jewish leader, who
saw his wife and two children die in a concentration
camp, said that the entire Jewish population of Ger-
many—only a; pitiful fraction of the pre-war German
population—was watching the proceedings at the United
Jewish Appeal COnference here with deep anxiety
because their fate depends on its outcome.
Mr. Baerwald declared in the keynote address that
the fate of many thousands of the Jews of Europe
would be determined by- the results of the delibera-
tions of the conference.
He emphasized that the displaced Jews in Germany
could not remain there because "the soil of Germany is
drenched with the blood of their brothers and sisters
and the .air filled with memories of their incredibly
brutal persecutions and tortures".
In the course 'of his address, Mr. Baerwald stressed
the fact that the Jews of the U. S. Were united in
their will to save their brothers through large-scale
programs in Europe, Palestine and the U. S.
"We want an opportunity to begin life anew," Mr.
Rosenzaft pleaded, "but we can achieve that only with
your generous help. We come to you in the firm con-
viction that you will not let us down. We can no
longer live in the past; we must have something to
look forward to if we are to survive these days.
Save •Living Remnants
While all American Jews mourn the destruction
of the Jewish dead, Mr. l3aerwald emphasized that the
conference was dedicated to the task of saving the
living remnants—"the 1,250,000 who are left from the
7,000,000 who once lived and knew the deep joys of
normal and decent life."
Dreamed of Liberation
Mr. Warburg, who has just returned from a tour
of the displaced persons camps in Germany and AuS-
tria, told the conference of the "despair and frustra-
tion" of the displaced Jews seven months after V-E
Day. He said that during their long ye- ar of im-
prisonment, living precariously under the ever-present
threat of extermination, they dreamed of triumphant
liberation.
Prepare for Emigration
"Remember, these people are in Germany and
Austria against their will. They are the ones Hitler
"We need, in addition to food, clothing and medical
dragged away from home and family in nearly every
supplies, vocational schools to help us prepare and
country in Europe and doomed to ruthless torture and
adapt ourselves for emigration to Palestine and else-
extermination. They do not want to return to their
where, and we must take special measures to save the
native lands, where their loved ones were brutally
few remaining Jewish children who survived the Nazi
slaughtered, and where no trace remains of their
curse," he said. Unless the Jews of the Ti. S. embark
families, their homes, their businesses.
on a program of unprecedented magnitude to help feed
and clothe the victims of Hitler and to bring a maxi-
"The great majority of them want to go to Pales
mum number of them to Palestine, the hopes of the _tine, where they will be welcomed and helped to re-
Jews who have been in the front line of suffering and
build their shattered lives. Meanwhile, they are wait-
oppression for many years will be replaced by bitter- . ing in the camps for an opportunity to migrate to Pales-
ness and complete frustration:
tine and other lands," Mr. Warburg declared.
He praised the work of. the Joint Distribution Com-
JDC Workers in DP Camps
mittee, whose relief teams in the displaced persons
He described the work of 60 JDC workers in the
camps helped sustain the morale and the life of the
displaced persons camps in Germany and Austria.
inmates, but _called for generous support to help this
They bring in supplementary food, clothing, emergency
agency expand its activities.
supplies, religious, cultural, vocational and educational
Financed by UJA Funds
assistance. They work with the individual camp com-
mittees, setting up communications and performing
The JDC program in the occupied zones is financed
all sorts of valuable services.
with funds raised through the national campaign of
the United Jewish Appeal for Refugees, Overseas Needs
The maintenance of immigration to the United
and Palestine, in which the UPA central agency in the
States depends on a liberal interpretation of the quota
U. S. for Palestine settlement and reconstruction and
laws by the Government, Mr. Rosenberg told the con-
the National Refug3e Service, which provides for the
ference. He described the work of the NRS in bring-
adjustment of newcomers in the United States, are
ing about "rapid and orderly adjustment of 250,000 im-
also. represented.
migrants arriving under particularly difficult circum-
stances at a time of public stress."
Rosenzaft spoke with deep emotion, not only as the
The first session was opened by Mr. Kaufmann,
representative of the displaced Jews of Europe, but
who declared that the eyes of the Jews of the world
as a victim of Naii oppression who had endured the
were on the conference.
tortures of the death center at Auschwitz and who had
been deported for extermination to Bergen-Belsen, ten
Address of Capt. Gamzon, Maquis Leader
days before that camp was liberated by the British
At the closing session, Capt. Robert Gamzon, former
Army.
leader of the Jewish Maquis group in France, told the
Warsaw Ghetto Battle Hero
• conference that if American Jews continue through the
United Jewish Appeal tr aid the 150,000 surviving
A native of Poland, he is one of the few heroic
Jews in France they will help bring about the emerg-
survivors of the Battle of the Warsaw Ghetto. His
wife, his two children and his mother and father were 'ence of a new and vigorous Judaism.
put to death by the Nazis. The chairman observed that
Capt. Gamzon explained that 50 per cent of the
"Rosenzaft had come back from the dead to speak
pre-war Jewish population of France survived be-
for the living."
cause "with only few exceptions the French people
The audience. was visibly moved as it entered the •helped protect their Jewish neighbors.". He added:
"We can say, without any exaggeration, that at one time
Westminister Hall Saturday evening and saw displayed
or another during the Nazi occupation every Jew alive
above the speakers platform a huge memorial banner
today was saved by non-Jews." He said that "special
bearing the following legend: "6,000,000—Did They Die
pains were taken to save the Jewish children by a
in Vain?" and a solemn hush fell over the delegates
people touched and saddened by the deportation of
as a group of more than 25 cantors chanted the tradi-
whole families."
tional Jewish memorial prayer for the millions who
had perished under Hitler.
Capt. Gamzon reported that only 25,000 Jewish
children survived and of this number 5,000 are about
30,000 Left in Holland
to be converted to Christianity since they lived with
non-Jewish families during the war and do not care
Dr. Salo Kleerekoper, noted Dutch economist and
to leave them now. He attacked the cowardice of some
president of the Jewish Coordinating' Committee of Hol-
French Jews who are baptizing their children and urg-
land, who lived in hiding for three years to escape
ing them to wed non-Jews to escape their Jewish origin.
the Nazi extermination program in the Netherlands,