By Philip
Purely Commentary. Siomovitz
. Nathan Leopold Paroled
'Yisker` Pierced His Heart
1
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Boris Smolar's
'Between You
and Me'
,
There are several references to Leopold's
Jewishness in his book. When he was visited
(Copyright, 1958,
at the jail by his brother, Mike, and his father,
Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.)
both of whom stood by him to the very last,
he asked to be disowned and to be permitted Washington Moods'
to hang for his crime. But his father said he
The State Department is now faced with a revaluation of its
was still his boy, that he'll stand by him. At position on the Arab-Israel issue as a result of the split in twe
this point; Leopold, reminiscing, wrote:
Arab camp . . . The bitter rivalry developing between the pro-
"I argued then; I argued later. I couldn't Soviet - Egyptian-Syrian bloc and the anti-Soviet Iraq-Jordanian
budge him. I am still not sure I wasn't right bloc has placed Israel in an extremely strategic position . . In
—that a quick trial, no defense, a speedy execu- fact, Israel has become practically the only country through
tion wouldn't have been the best thing for us which the United States and other Western Powers could ship
all. But what a father, what a man . he was. arms, munitions, food and other commodities to Jordan, Iraq
There's a portion of our Jewish liturgy which and even Saudi Arabia, if Nassar closed the Suez Canal and the
moves me particularly, the Yisker, or Memorial Syrian ports to the Arab countries which refuse to knuckle
Service. I read it on every anniversary of the under to him . . . This strategic advantage is due to the fact that
birth and of the death of my loved ones who Israel is the only democratic country on the Mediterranean--L
are gone. It includes a short prayer in memory outside of Lebanon which is afraid of Syria—that is in a position
of a departed father. That prayer contains the to- permit the free flow of goods through its harbors to the
words, 'And when I shall have finished my pil- anti-Soviet Arab lands . . . While it is true that these lands have
grimage on earth and arrive at the Throne of nbt yet reached a peaceful settlement with Israel—Iraq has not'
Mercy, may I be deemed worthy of thee in the even signed any armistice pact with Israel—nevertheless' it
sight of God.' What a travesty that is in my stands to reason that. Jordan and Iraq, and even Saudi Arabia,
case. How it pierces my heart every time I will from now on take note of the fact that Israel is the only
read it. Not even Omnipotent God can make country that can prevent their strangulation by Nassar . . . This
me worthy of Dad."
is perhaps one of the reasons why Israel is not as afraid now
Leopold reports, in "Life Plus 99 Years" on of Iraq's federating with Jordan as she was about two years ago,
the privileges that were granted Jewish inmates when such a union was mooted but when the Arab camp was
on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, at Joliet, not split as it is today . . . Another reason is the fact that the
the special meals that were served them, the Itaqi-Jordanian federation must lean on the United States which
Passover and other services that were arranged will definitely discourage military adventures against Israel.
for them; the comment made by a non-Jewish Practical Conclusions
-
prisoner, because of the "break" given Jewish
Washington's revaluation of the American stand toward the
inmates: "The next time I go to stir I'm going Arab-Irael conflict, as seen by experts, must result in the
Meeting Prisoner 'Halfway'
to be a Hebe." Leopold writes: "I have known following . . . 1. It is now more than ever in the interest of the
Gardner, who maintains that if the prison
a few cases where this was actually done."
United States to guarantee the security of Israel's borders either
inmate "wants to try to rehabilitate himself
Leopold assisted in arranging Jewish serv- through reiteration of the Tripartite Declaration, or in a more
once his period of necessary publishment is
ices, and in 1927, although he was himself concrete form . .. 2. Should Iraq quit the Bagdad Pact Council
past, the public will meet him halfway," poses
brought up in a Reform Jewish home, he asked and request a defense agreement with the United States—
many important challenges. He refers to the
the Orthodox Jewish Theological' College of which is anticipated—then the United States will have to
bright boy who, recognizing his own powers of
Chicago to send a rabbi to conduct Yom Kippur conclude a parallel defense pact with Israel, especially since Iraq
reasoning, feels "able to outwit the world he
chooses." In the case - of- Loeb and Leopold, - services. Apparently Leopold began to take an and Israel are still officially at war .- .3, -The conclusion of
"who were undoubtedly brilliant," it resulted - - interest in Jewish matters. He writes that in separate American defense pacts with the Iraq-Jordan Federation
in the decision "to commit the perfect crime." , 1957 there were only 15 Jewish prisoners in and with IsPeel would cement the "democratic wall" between
Stateville, out of a total of 4,500 convicts. But in Syria and Egypt—the two unified pro-Soviet countries—and will
"Whose fault was it?" _asks Gardner. "Is it
the early thirties, he reports, the number of achieve stability in the Middle East . 4. The conclusion of :`a
possible that in giving these boys the superb
Jews rose rapidly to 152 at the prison. He says mutual American-Israel defense pact could lead to the alleviation
education which developed their minds our edu-
he does not know the reason for it.
of tension between some Arab countries and Israel, since the
cationalsystem left out certain moral vitamins
Arabs would begin to think in realistic terms, rather than believe
so that there was mental growth but spiritual
Leopold Learned Hebrew
atrophy?"
He learned Hebrew. He relates how, in that Israel can be "wiped out" . . 5. The problem of the Pales-
The author of the thought-provoking intro-
1927, his Hebrew teacher was an inmate, eight tine Arab refugees, most of whom are now Jordanian' citizens,
duction says there is no question but that these
or ten years his senior, who was serving two could be solved to a very great extent by starting to settle them
boys "were lacking in moral sense." He denies,
life sentences for two murders. This man's in Iraq which needs manpower for its farms and industry .
however, that they committed "The Crime of
brother had been arrested and was being trans- This task could probably be entrusted to Dag Hammarskjold,
the Century": "It was merely the first shocking
ported by two deputy sheriffs. "Spud," Leopold United Nations Secretary General, who proved to be a good hand
symptom of a change which was destined to
writes, "stopped the train at gun point and at "quiet talks" on the Arab-Israel issue . . . The transfer of
sweep the country." The crumbling of -"the
freed his brother, killing both deputies in the Arab refugees from economically poor Jordan to oil-and-land rich
doctrine of parental supremacy," — "parents
process." Spud,--Leopold calls him a "tough Iraq should not prove hard for Hammarskjold now that the
have ceased to be the infallible arbiters of juve-
guy"—tried escapes but Leopold would not be- refugees have practically become Iraqi citizens through the
nile conduct"—is one of the symptoms of the
come interested in such proposals. Trained for Jordan-Iraqi merger . . . Moved away from the Israel border into
still-rising "muddy waters."
the Mormon ministry, Spud knew many lan- the fertile interior of Iraq, and settled there permanently, the
If it were not for the glasses lost by Leopold,
guages. He gave Leopold his first lessons in Arab refugees will cease to be the major irritant in the Arab-
the two rich Chicago boys might never have
Hebrew, and in 1930 the Jewish inmate enrolled Israel,issue . . . Thus paving of the way for eventual Arab-Israel
beer linked to the murder of Bobbie Franks.
in a correspondence course in Hebrew from peace talks would become so much easier than it is today.
They would have become outstanding scientists
the University of Iowa, and his professor was The Three "R's"
'Rithmetic-
Like the famous "three R's"—Reading,
or prominent executives, Gardner believes.
Rabbi Moses Na Jung. Then he felt competent
He states that what has been indicated as
to conduct the Jewish services at the prison. the Jews in the United States have their own "three R's" . .
These are: Rescue, Relief, Rehabilitation—which have become
`a homosexual background" responsible for
the basis of the United Jewish Appeal ... The three Jewish "R's"
the Loeb and Leopold companionship "has been 'Deeply Hurt by Levin's 'Compulsion'
Leopold was deeply hurt by Meyer Levin's will be the central theme of the national UJA conference which
greatly exaggerated. Leopold's prison record
"Compulsion." He had pleaded with Levin not opens Sunday in Miami Beach to inaugurate the fund-raising
indicates no homosexual tendency whatsoever."
to publish the book. It was published never- campaign for 1958 . . For the tenth successive year Miami
Gardner is of the opinion that:
theless, and Leopold comments: "The impact of Beach is the site of the UJA inaugural conference, and you can
"The alarming increase in vicious crimes
`Compulsion' on my mental state was terrific. bet any amount of money for the UJA that cold spells or Florida
committed by persons under the age of 21—
It made me physically sick—I mean that liter- sunshine—every important Jewish community leader in' the
in fact, under the age of 18—indicated that at
ally. More than once I had to-lay the book United States will be at the conference . . . This being the 20th
least a part of the responsibility does not lie
down and wait for the nausea to subside. Emo- year of the UJA, the conference will assume a special impor-
in the thinking and in the characters of the
tionally, it causes me terrific shame . . " tance .. . Data to be provided for the delegates will show that
juvenile criminals but in social environment,
About Levin's character, Judd Steiner, — the during the 19 years of UJA work, more than 2,600,0000 Jews
in a change in thinking, in a failure on the
Leopold in "Compulsion"—Leopold declares:
have received assistance from its funds . . . About 1,300,000 of
part of society to keep a proper understanding
"Mr. Levin accused Judd Steiner of felonies them were rescued and resettled in free lands, including 1,000,000
of moral values before children."
I never dreamed of committing. He put into in Israel • . . Needness to say the possible effect on Israel of the
Thus, Gardner believes that "Leopold's book
Judd's mouth and very brain words and mergers of the two competing Arab blocs will be evaluated at
opens the doors of prisons, not so that the
thoughts that were never in mine. Some make the conference . . . The presence of Brigadier General Dan
author can get out but so the public can get in
me blush; some make me want to weep. My Tolkowsky, commander of the Israel Air Force, will help to bring
and take a good, long look around."
God, what I did is horrible enough and the load the picture of the new developments in and around Israel into
Leopold was paroled before his book was
of guilt I bear is already heavy enough without proper perspective.
released to the public, else it could easily have
this additional source of turmoil."
been believed that Garner played a major role,
with his scholarly essay, in securing the parole.
Will the Ego Disappear?
Richard Loeb, who was murdered by a
Carl Sandburg's Leadership
fellow-prisoner, and Nathan Leopold were, ad-
Nathan Leopold has made many friends in
mittedly, brilliant boys. There was a great fu.
his fight for eventual freedom. Penologists, as
ture ahead for them. The ego, the desire to
indicated in Gardner's in-
Dr. William Haber, national evening and Sunday, March
commit a perfect crime, ruined them.
troduction, believe he has
chairman
of the Bnai Brith 22-23.
Leopold
was
an
able
ornothologist.
He
be-
paid the price and now will
The panel • Of distinguished
came
a
linguist.
He
has
proven
that
he
can
Hillel
Foundation-and
president personalities will discuss the
fit in the social spheres.
write
a
fine
book.
of the International ORT Fed- impact of Israel and of Zionism
The man who helped him
Will the ego of a master mind vanish?
the most is the famous poet,
eration;
Dr. Ezra Spicehandler, on Jewish life throughout the
Will he make the contribution that -is so
the octogenarian Carl Sand-
professor
of modern Hebrew world, with particular '.emphasis
vitally needed to solve so many human prob-
burg. Only a week before
literature at Hebrew Union upon its role and influence:in
lems,
some
of
which
are
so
troublesome
to
the parole was granted,
College; Dr. Marshall Sklare, the American Jewish commu-
criminology and penology?
Sandburg went to the Illi-
director of research fop. the nity.
There
will
be
a
transition
period.
For
five
nois State Penitentiary at
Individuals and organizations
American Jewish Committee,
years
Leopold
will
be
silent.
He
plans
to
de-
Stateville to plead for the
are
invited to reserve the date
and
C.
Bezalel
Sherman,
cul-
vote himself to technical laboratory work.
prisoner. He said that some
tural director of the Labor and to participate in these dis-
Perhaps
the
world
spotlight
will
be
removed
Sandburg
people won't like it if Leo-
from him during the years of his silence so Zionist Organization, will par- cussions.
pold is turned loose, but he branded such peo-
Further informatiOn : may be
that he may, then, without hindrance, return ticipate in the second annual
ple as believers in revenge, as being "the human
regional institute .of the Labor obtained by wilting to - the
to
wholesome
liying.
That
is
how'
it
should
be.
stuff out of - '; s mobs." -.
Or ganizati',On,
His fine book; :Life Plus 99 Years," is the Zionist Organization, at ..the Labor ,: . .Zionist
Sandb-Urg'S snecessfuL intercession spelled
19161
Schaefer.
Labor
Zionist
Center,
Saturday
finest recommendation for it '—
out freedom for Leopold.
Penologists and criminologists seem, gener-
ally, to be agreed on the justice of a parole for
Nathan Leopold. Now, after 33 years during
which crimes more shocking than the murder
of Bobby Franks by Richard Loeb and Nathan
Leopold, Jr., were perpetrated.
.there is wide discussion again
of what, in 1924, was con-
sidered "The Crime of The
Century."
Nathan Leopold's story is
told in his book, "Life Plus
99 Years," which has just been
published by Doubleday & Co.
In it, "the model prisoner,"
who is said to have mastered
27 languages — 12 of them"'`
Leopold
while in prison—describes the
trial, the masterful defense
conducted by Clarence Darrow, life in prison,
Nathan's friendship for his accomplice in the
crime, the appearance on the scene two years
ago of Meyer Levin with his book "Compulsion"
which sets forth the theory that homesexuality
was the cause of the crime.
There are many incidents related in Leo-
pold's book that will be discussed and dissected,
yet major attention must be given to the schol-
arly and most interesting introduction by Erle
Stanley Gardner who emphasizes the need "to
encourage rehabilitation," which Leopold appar-
ently intends to propagate in the course of time,
after his five years of probation will have ended.
4
Noted Personalities to Take Part in
Labor Zionist Institute, March 20-21
-