Page Eight

Ann Liepah Returns From Europe

Reports Palestine Sole Aim
Of Survivors of Hitlerdom

By RUTH MIRIAM LEVINE

Jewish News Staff Writer

Detroit Jewry wekcomed back with pride, last week, Ann Liepah,
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Simon Liepah of 2290 Hazelwood. Miss
Liepah is on brief leave from her post as overseas representative
of the Joint Distribution. Committee, under whose auspices she has
devoted herself, for the last 17 months, to the rehabilitation needs
of the remnants of Europe's Jewish population.
Miss Liepah was one of seven!
JDC workers who ent:red Ger- made available and, wherever
many in September, 1943. the p o s s i b l e, arrangements were
first American JCVV.i to venture made for candle-lighting and re-
into Hitlerland since tire war. ligious services.
Her task. then, was to bring ma-
Talents Encouraged
terial aid to those Jews attempt-
If the people in the camps are
ing to live in urban communities,' talented, or at least have an in-
and, as a member of an UNRRA terest, musical and dramatic
team, to supervise distribution of groups are encouraged. Every
the relief supplies which aug- camp has some kind of educa-
mented U. S. Army ration in the tional program for the children.
camps for displaced persons.
"The extent of these activities
She was the sole Jewish work- lies in the strength of the people
er in an area which included themselves." she declares.
7,500 Jews living in 18 com-
Asked about the American
munities, three large DP camps, Ajny's relationship with the
one children's home, and four
Kibbutzim. ,

, •

Most Constructive

The Kibbutzim, agiacultural
trainings camps, are, Miss Lie-
pah declares, "the most construe- ;
tive thing we had to offer the
people." The largest of these. one
of the first organized in the
country, was located on a farm!
formerly owned by the notorious
Julius Streicher. Beginning with
25 workers, the Kibbutz expand-
ed to include 125, plus 25 chil-
dren. It not only produces its
own food, but provides supple-
mental dairy products for chil-
dren and pregnant women in
nearby DP camps. There are now
38 similar Kibbutzim in Germany,
she reports.
In addition to the firm nE.,* ac-
tivities, Miss Liepah organized
an all-Jewish hospital for chil-
dren in what was formei•ly the
Struth Sanitoriurn. She also es-
tablished a unique housing pro-
ject at the Firth DP camp. where
displaced Jews were first housed
in permanent buildings, instead
of temporary shacks.

Supervised Migration

After a year at this work. the
JDC Fent qi-g-s Liepah to Nachod,
a small town on the Polish-Czech
border. There, for five months,
she supervised the transportation
of Polish refugees. largely Rus-
sian repatriates, from the he:Wily-
Jewish populated sectors of Po-
land to the American zones of
Germany and Austria.
Beginning with illegal midnight
trucking sallies across the border
in July, these immigration activ-
ities expanded until. after the
action became legal. groups of
over a thousand were transported
across country in large-scale rail
movements. Miss Liepah es-
timates that 70,000 Pol!sh Jews
crossed the Czech horde from
July 1 to Oct. 15, 1946.
"They realize that there is no
future for them in Europe." Miss
Liepah says of these refugees.
`Their one hope. except for the
few who have relatives in Amer-
ica. is that the gates of Palestine
will be opened to them."

Picked Volunteer Staff

Miss Liepah was the only reg-
ular JDC worker at the Czech
border, but as the refugees
streamed through her area, she
gleaned from among them a few
of the strongest. "mainly Halut-
zim, and some doctors and nurses,
to serve as a volunteer staff. To-
gether, they made necessary con-
tacts with the Czech government,
U. S. Army, and Polish and Czech
police, and saw to the financial,
medical, and basic food and shel-
ter n e eds of the migrating thou-
sands.
Although, like most a g ency
workers, she hzid time for little
more than her immediate ditties,
Miss Liepah at ali times encour-
aged the people themselves to
provide educational and recrea-
tional activities. Arrangements
were made at all times to com-
ply with the religious requests
of the orthodox Jews.
"Even the Czecp border au-
thorities cooperated with us." she
reports, "by permitting groups
to remain at the border overnight
on the Sabbath." Kosher food and
cooking facilities were always

THE JEWISH NEWS

Friday, January 24, 1947

Neugarten Aid Installs
Officers at Luncheon

Hayim Greenberg to Address Labor
Zionist Meeting in Detroit Feb. 3

Mrs. Charles Aller, president
of Neugarten Medical Aid, an-
nounces that officers will be in-
stalled at a luncheon at the Book-
Cadillac on Jan. 29 by Mrs.
Samuel B2 Danto, president of
the League of Jewish Women.
There will be a program of songs
by Delores Fisher. Reservations
may be had by calling .Mrs. Saul

On Monday evening, Feb. 3,
Detroit Jews will have an oppor-
tunity to hear the message of
labor and* liberal Zionism from
one of its most brilliant expon-
ents—Hayim Greenberg—in the
social hall of Shaarey Zedek.
COming here for his lecture, on
the subject "The Basle Congress
.and the Future of Palestine,"
under auspices of the Detroit
Central Committee of the Labor
Zionist Organization, he will re-
view ' latest happenings in the

Benyas, TY. 6-4674.
A membership drive
is in
progress. New members will be
invited to be the guests of the
organization at the installation
luncheon. Members who have
guests to introduce may call Mrs.
Albert P. Weiss, TO. 6-3381 or
Mrs. Julian Stross, UN. 1-4292,
co-chairmen.

Jewish nationalist movement
from the viewpoint of those who
have defended Dr. Chaim Weiz-
mann's ideas and favor continued
negotiations with Britain.

Instruction in Kiev •

Born in Bessarabia, in 1889,
Hayim Greenberg was self-
taught in Hebrew, Russian, Ger-
man and other languages. He
became a 16ader in the Ta.rbuth
(Hebrew culture) movement in
pre-Bolshevik Russia, and after
the revolution was an instructor
in a Kiev academy.
He was compelled to leave

mania, Poland and Hungary, de.;
spite governmental protestations
of friendliness. Even for non-
Jcws thee is unemployment and
famine. The Italian situation is
somewhat better, since the Ital-
ians themselves are more friendly
than the Central Europeans, and
there are fewer difficulties with
food supplies and weather. Also,
there are occasional ships leaving
southern Italy for Palestine, and
the Jews regard the country as
one step further on the road to
the Homeland.

MISS ANN LIEPAH

Terrifying Experience

Most of Europe's remaining
Jews look upon themselves as
transients, she says. Their fami-
lies, friends , businesses, are gone.
Even those who have attempted
to return to their original homes
find it impossible. "Can you
imagine yourself returning to
Detroit after an absence of • four
or five years, to find only 25
members of the entire Jewish
community alive?" she queries.
"It is a terrifying experience!"
The picture Miss Liepah paints
of Europe today is one of misery
and despair. The Jews are un-
wanted. There is an open revival
of anti-semitism in Slovakia, Ro-

Executive.
Tickets for his lecture are

available at the labor Zionist
office, 9142 Linwood; at. Grin-
nell's and from labor Zionists.

A large quantity of frigidaires

are reported in The Palestine
Post to have reached Tel Aviv
via Trans-Jordan recently.

You Get All Three In:

Robinson Re-Upholstering

Need Aid From U.S.

JDC, Miss Liepah repli0 that,
for the most part, the military
authorities showed fine coopera-
tion, "especially in their accept-
ance of 70,000 dependent immi-
grants in the American zone."
"The future of the Jew in
Europe hangs on the future of
the U. S. Army," Miss Liepah de-
clares, emphasizing that the JDC
and other relief groups can only
supplement the maintenance pro-
vided by the Army. Should the
new Congress. as has been ru-
mored, cut the Artily budget and,
thereby. the DPs' subsistence al-
lotment, the lives of thousands of
Jews would be 'endangered. she
said.
JDC Begins New Program
Unless Palestine or United
States immigration is opened
immediately, Europe's Jewish
survivors will soon go crazy in
the bleak DP camps. Miss Liepah
reports further. In recognition
of the meagre possibility for op-
ened doors, the JDC is now en-
gaged in changing its program in
Europe from one of temporary
relief activities to one of large
scale, long-time work and educa-
tion assistance.
She emphasized the work of
ORT, and the hope that its edu-
cational activities may be rapid-
ly expanded. Employment op-
portunity,- she states, must be
almost completely artificially
created. She cited the example
of Jews' in Germany who refused
an offer of jobs rebuilding dam-
aged roads.
"Why should we rebuild roads
that are dripping with our own
blood?'' they asked.

Russia in 1921 - and settled in
Berlin where he became the
editor of the Hebrew Zionist
organ Haolam. He also edited
the monthly Athidenu and . upon
his arrival DR the U. S. edited
Far'n Folk for the Zeire Zion
movement from 1924 to 1929, as
well as Der Yiddisher Kaempfer.
Editor of Frontier
Since .1934- he has been editor
of the Jewish Frontier, monthly
labor Zionist organ. He has
lectured in Yiddish, Hebrew and .
English throughout the land, has
visited Palestine on nuinerous
occasions and recently returned
from the World Zionist Congress.
He has been named one of the
18 members of the World Zionist

To American Jewry Miss Lie-
pah brings this message: "They
need you." No matter how much
you give. no matter how many
cans of food or packages of cloth-
ing you send. it is not enough, she
insists.
She emphasizes repeatedly the
importance of the American
Jew's recognition of the place
Palestine holds in the heart and
mind of the European Jew. "It
is their only hope for survival,"
she reiterates. "Zionist or non-
Zionist, Republican or Democrat
or Socialist, every American Jew
must exert his utmost energy and
influence—financially and polit-
ically—to secure the reinstate-
ment of Jewish legalized immi-
gration into Palestine."
Her tentative plans include a
lecture tour in behalf of the
forthoming United Jewish Ap-
peal campaign. "A hundred and
seventy million dollars may
sound like a lot of money," she
says, "but try dividing it 'among
a quarter of a million people, and
see how far it goes."

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Plans Uncertain

After her lecture tour, her
plans are uncertain. She may re-
turn to Europe as a ,JDC worker,
or, more likely. as a 'volunteer
staff member of the Jewish
Agency for Palestine. If so, she
will be the second American to
work for the Agency which. ordi-
narily, takes only Palestinians.
Although an ardent Zionist.
since her years as a member of
Hashomer Hatzair in Detroit,
Miss Liepah has never been to
Palestine. She has been promised,
however, that she may lead the
first group of legal immigrants
into the country. "I hope to be
in Palestine, within a year," she
says hopefully."
Her family, her friends, and
the community wish her God-
speed!

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