Purely Commentary
By PHILIP .SLOMOVITZ
Late Pope Accused of Failing
to Aid
•
Jews of Rome; Charges Denied by
Vatican; Recall Rebuke to Fascism
of the Pope in defense
ROME, (JTA) — The ques- been maintained, much more action
could
have
been
obtained,
and
of
Jews
was
quoted as an accusa-
Are we learning anything at all from all the preachments tion whether the late Pope Pius
precious lives could have been tion against the defendants. We
during Annual Book Month?
XII did all he could to prevent saved," the periodical stressed. are not surprised that the ignor-
Surely, many of our people must have given serious thought
deli-
"We remain convinced that ant and sectarian author
to books—the kind we read, the sort we acquire as permanent the deportation of Italian Jews
parts of our libraries (we hope people are making libraries im- by the Nazis from Rome to an- Pius XII did not do all that he berately did not ask himself
have
portant parts of their homes), the kind we like to hear reviewed. - nihilation camps has now been could have done and, we might why the Jews themselves their
humbly
add,
all
he
should
have
repeatedly
e
x
p
r
e
s
s
e
d
Book reviewers—and we have acquired a large array of raised here publicly-16 years
of
for against
the attitude
them—are certainly on the lookout for books to review. What after the event—as a result or done," the Jewish community gratitude See
racism."
two books in which the Nazi organ continued. "F r o m his the Holy
is their thinking on the subject?
Pope Pius XI was working
Book Month, whose highlight here is the impressive Book brutalities against Jews in Rome High See, he should not have
left without condemnation the on two speeches in 1939 in
Fair tc be ushered in tomorrow evening at the Jewish Center, are discussed.
horrors which .Vvere being corn- which he intended to de-
should inspire new thinking on the subject of books.
The books have been.pub-
For -many years, book reviewers have jumped at oppor- lished in France recently and mitted under the walls of the nounce the Fascist racial laws
the Jews, but death
tunities to review new novels. Emphasis for a long time has are now distributed in Italy. Vatican." The periodical con- against the
been on fiction. Much of it has been good—and constructive -. One - is "The Vatican Against tended - that the late Pope "had intervened before he
Many of our reviewers have been quick to- detect -- the banal Europe" by Edmond. Paris, the duty to speak and condemn. , pleted or delivered the two
and the destructiye, especially those books that berate Jews known as a liberal Protestant to the advantage of his prestige addresses, according to the
and for the good of the Jews, Osservatore- Romano.
and Judaism.
who has carried on a lengthy the more so because it had been
But even under the most wholesome conditions, we wonder opposition to Catholicism in demonstrated that - the Nazis The paper declared that docu-
whether reviewers and their audiences realize to what extent state education. The other- is were not indifferent to the au- ments covering the last days of
they have overemphasized the sex novel. Many reviewers have "The Vatican in World War II," thority and to the prestige of Pius XI's life included notes he
overlooked the historic novels that have appeared in recent years by Paul Duclos, a French - writer. the Church." . - had prePared for the speeches
to be delivered in connection
in their zeal to review best sellers.
Both authors discuss especially
Declaring that the Pope did with the tenth anniversary of
What they failed to take into account is that not all best the mass deportation of Oct.
sellers are so good, and because some books are not on that 16, 1943, when 2,000 Jews in not make use, "as he could v the Concordat between the
list they are not necessarily unworthy. On the contrary, some Rome were taken out from their have done, of his authority," Vatican and Italy. They estab-
of the best books have never reached the distinction of being homes and sent to Nazi death the publication asserted that fished, the paper declared, that
the late Pontiff had "placed
•
had intended to condemn
camps. They quote official docu-
best sellers.
'political consideration above he
ments
which
are
considered
the legislation, which Mussolini
A bit of advice, therefore, to book reviewers, especially to
the
immediate
defense
of
just announced was to be
those catering to Jewish audiences: strive, from now on, to here as being of great historical
Jews ferociously' deported to had
issued, as a violation of the
elevate the thinking of your audiences by raising the standards importance.
the extermination camps, and
The legislation was- -
of your choice of books you aim to talk about. You can discuss
One of these documents is a
he believed that this position Concordat.
enacted after the Pone's death.
history and make it interesting and exciting. Then your audience letter written, on Oct. 16, by
compatible with his duties
will purchase and read history books instead of cluttering their the Austrian B i s h op Luigi was
The documents. Osservatore
and with his universal mis--
book shelves with volumes which, in the main, will eventually Hudal to General Stahel, Ger-
Romano
declared editorially,
,
sion."
man Military Commander of
be rated as sheer trash.
The article added that "it should, once and for all, end -
Indeed, we owe a responsibility to our communities — Rome. The letter stated: "In must be made clear, however, attacks "denouncing the Catho-
especially to our youth—to inspire them to turn to more serious the interest of the peaceful rela- that it is our desire to praise lic Church as indifferent or ab-
reading, to seek knowledge as much as entertainment. The boOk tions between the Vatican and and express once more our sent in the face of the barbaric
reviewers can render a great service by seeking to raise the the German Military Command, warmest gratitude for what the Nazi-Fascist . persecution against
I ask you to issue orders to stop Pope and members of the differ- the Jews." The second speech,
standards of their audiences.
immediately the arrest of Jews ent religious orders at all levels as projected in the Pone's notes,
both in Rome and in the sur- did for the Jews. But for the was to have corriemned the
The New Head of the Jewish Publication Society
roundings. The good reputation
marriages between "Aryans"
Edwin Wolf II found it necessary to retire from the presi- of Germany abroad requires it. sake of- truth, we cannot refrain -
dency of the Jewish Publication Society, upon his having assumed Moreover, it is to be feared that from saying that we are con- and "non-Aryans" as a violation
the presidency of the Jewish Welfare Federation of his home the Pope might take an official vinced that, even if much was of the Concordat, the Vatican
done, not all that could and in organ said. The two speeches'
city of Philadelphia. He had rendered invaluable services to the stand against these arrests."
our opinion should have been would have been a documenta-
society,
and
his
contributions
have
helped
increase
national
.
On the following day, accord- done, was in fact done." tion of the stand of the Pope
interest in good books and in library-building among Jews.
Church actainst the ra-
Taking a directly opposite and the it declared.
His successor, the venerable Judge Horace M. Stern, was ing to the texts published in the
cial laws,
books,
Gen.
Stahel
informed
a JPS vice-president for 48 years. He seldom missed a meeting
view, Osservatore Romano.
The role of Pone Pius XII,
of the JPS official family and its national board of directors. Msgr. Hudal that "I have in- organ of the Vatican, in a re-
formed
the
Gestapo
and
Him-
successor, and of -the
He has been, for more than half a century, a leader in many
view of Paris' book, declared I his
Church, was brought intoAttes-
Jewish movements, and his assumption of the acting presidency mler himself of your letter. He
that "on, the issue of the Cath-
of the JPS is another mark of recognition of his devotion to ordered that, in view of the
Church and Jews, the tion recently by ,twobooks
special character of Rome, the olic
book ignores or chooses to which accused them of failure
Jewish causes.
arrests (of Jews) be sus- ignore the American docu- to have done everything they
Current observances of Jewish Book Month draw attention pended."
the
mentation which contradicts could have done to protect
the
editor
of
the
Jewish
again to another distinguished leader,
however,
the
author"
in
saying
that
the
Jews
of-
Europe
from
extermi-
later,
Eleven
days
Publication Society — Dr. Solomon Grayzel. A great scholar,
article
the Nazi ambassador to the
Vatican did not intervene suf- nation by the Nazis. An
himself a brilliant writer, Dr. Grayzel's editorship of JPS has
ficiently
in
defense
of
the
in
the
official
oraan
of
the
Vatican, von Weiszaecker,
been a blessing to the Jews of this country and to cultural Amer-
Union of Italian Jewish Commu-
wrote
to
his
superiors
in
Ber-
Jews.
ica. JPS is fortunate to have him as its editor.
The Vatican daily organ added nities expressed conviction that
lin—according to the pub-
*
*
-
lished documents—that "the that Paris also had ignored the the Vatican and Pone Pius XII
A Literary Slap: London Times' Article on 'Vocal Group' Pope, although pressed by
proceedings at the Nuremberg "could have done much more
Devoting a large, special number of its Literary Supplement
all sides, did not allow him- War CrimeS Trials "where the for the Jews."
to "The American Imagination," the London Times carried in self to be dragged into any
......................--,.........................--...–.................,.....,..............•
it an article on "A Vocal Group—The Jewish Part in American demonstration of disapproval
Letters." It is a garbled account of Jewish literary activities.
of the deportation. He has
Boris Smolar's
It disjointedly confuses the issues with the status of the Negro
done his utmost in this deli-
and speaks of the "aggressiveness and shrewdness" of the
cate issue in order not to
American Jew. It makes much of the "painless" condition of the
compromise his relations with
Between
"sense of Jewish difference" and speaks of it as "easily accom- the German government."
modated to the suburban point of view, easily overlooked, easily
The periodical Israel, offi-
moralized if one likes, into the special - capabilities and vision
cial weekly publication of the
of the talented outsider."
(Copyright, 1959
Apparently the anonymous author of the article, in his Union of Hebrew Jewish Com-
J ewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.)
munities,
commenting
on
the
dubious approach to the Jewish role in American literature,
documents, said that as far
has gone to the novels that have sickened many of us, but has
on Youth
as the Jews of Rome were Accent
Jewish organizations interested in promoting Jewish culture
failed to touch the great literary works that have elevated many
concerned,
."and
remaining
among American Jewish youth should follow the excellent _ex-
young Jewish authors to high positions of creative writing.. The
strictly within the limits of
London Times article does us little good, but since it could
ample of the Bnai Brith . . . At its convention last - week in New
the
tragic
episode
which
have done us much harm—which it does not—we merely -regret
York, Bnai Brith placed the accent on youth . . . it backed up
struck - the Jews of Rome, we the pronouncements of its leaders on this subject allocating about
that "A Vocal Group" could not have dealt with the constructive
must confess that the docu- $3,000,000-47 percent of its total budget—for its youth activities
results of Jewish literary efforts.
mentation" in the Duclos book
But why blame the London Times writer, when so many of
. . . In this Bnai. Brith has shown itself as a movement which
"confirms what we already
takes seriously the work of reaching Jewish youth and preparing
our own Jewish young writers have rendered us so much more
knew."
it for the challenges which this generation of American Jews
harm with their negative approaches to -Jewish life!
* * *
The periodical added that the must face . . . The objective of the Bnai Brith is to create an
documentation also confirmed informed generation of young -Jews, aware of the essentials of
'No SMITH Throughout Israel'
"our conviction that the - Vati- Jewish history, literature and all the rich meaning of Jewish
Chronicler, in his interesting column in the London Jewish can and Pius XII could have
Chronicle, recently called attention to the fact that in the done much more for the salva- experience.
* * *
Johannesburg, South Africa, telephone directory the name tion of the Jews and would cer-
"Cohen" is the second most frequent to be listed—that there tainly have. obtained more if Community Leadership
As Jewish communal life is expanding in many directions,
are 650 Smiths and 492 Cohens.
they had maintained the. firm
In a follow-up column, Chronicler pointed out that the attitude which appears in the the need to develop Jewish leadership—especially young leader-
voters' list in the Israeli elections includes 22,500 Cohens, 15,000 letter of Msgr. Hudal to Gen. ship—is becoming one of the major problems of American Jewry
Levis, 10,000' Mizrachis and 10;000 Kleins. He then posed this Stahel."
. . . The coming weeks will, therefore, witness a number of
development of leadership for Jewish com-
question with an answer to it:
Lauding Msgr. Hudal for his conferences on
held in Rochester
"Are there any Smiths (in Israel)? There were certainly "generous intervention which munities . . . One such conference will be
during the first week of December, which will include the com-
none in Bible times, for we are told in I Samuel, XIII 19:
succeeded in bringing to a stop munities of Albany, Buffalo, Syracuse and Toronto . . . Another
"There was no smith found throughout all Israel.' "
the arrests for a short time,"
But we make up for the lack of Smiths in Bible times with the periodical added that the one will take place in Hartford in January, with the participation
of a half dozen other communities in the region . . . Inter-city
share of them in Anglo-Saxon countries. All you need do,
our
Bishop's intervention demon- conferences on the subject of leadership development have been
to be convinced, is check up on our local synagogue member- strated that "a firm attitude
- . . . An outstanding
ship lists.
succeeded even in stopping held recently in a number of other cities
And to make up for the shortage of Smiths as names, Israel Hirnmler," the head of the Ges- one was the conference in Baltimore, in which renresentatives
has created a creative type of smith whose work stands out in tapo. "If this firm attitude had from Newark, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Boston took part.
the arts and the industries.
Thoughts for Book Month: Raising Our Standards
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‘
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You
.. and Me'