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THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS—Friday, January 22, 1960-30
Report Rash of Swastika Paintings Subsiding
An abatement of worldwide
swastika-smearing and other an -
ti-Semitic manifestations was in
evidence this week, after more
than three weeks of insane Jew-
baiting.
During the tense weeks of an-
ti-Semitic acts, Christian lead-
ers and parliamentary spokes-
men throughout the world ex-
pressed their protests against
the manifestations and called
for action to avert a recurrence
of Nazism and anti-Semitism.
In Soviet Russia, however,
Premier Khrushchev charged,
in a Kremlin speech that "the
tendency to whitewash and all
but rehabilitate the Nazi re-
gime" in West Germany "is
becoming increasingly pro-
nounced."
He called the "recent Fascist
and anti-Semitic outrages" in
West Germany "a manifestation
of reaction" and declared that
the Soviet Union was "sad-
dened" by the incidents. He
said that Hitler had fanned an-
ti-Semitism to start a war, and
he accused Chancellor Konrad
Adenauer of having "apparently
drawn no conclusions from the
lessons of the past"
Communist China also spoke
out about the "large scale anti-
Semitic movement" which Pei-
ping, in a radio broadcast, saw
"swiftly spreading like a plague
in the capitalist world." Blam-
ing the United States for al-
legedly permitting "militarism
and Nazism to return to West
Germany," the Peiping radio
charged that the West German
"army, judiciary, foreign min-
istry and other government de-
partments are ridden with for-
mer Hitlerites and all sorts of
Nazis." _
' The Jewish Telegraphic Ag-
ency reports from London
that spokesmen for some of
London's •largest Jewish
owned firms indignantly de-
nied reprisals against German
employees or West German-
made products.
Statements by the West Ger-
man Embassy that such repri-
sals had taken place were de-
scribed as "nonsense"- by a
spokesman for the "600-Group,"
owned by - George Cohen and
Sons. The Great Universal
stores, owned by Isaac Wolfson,
millionaire industrialist a n d
philanthropist, Lyons and Com-
pany, and Marks and Spencer
also officially denied any repri-
sals or boycott actions.
A JTA report from Chicago
quotes a copyrighted article
.
from Bern, Switzerland, in the
Chicago Daily News, reporting
that the spate of swastika and
anti-Jewish slogans in Western
Europe is an organized program
initiated by a former SS officer
with headquarters in Malmoe,
Sweden.
This was cited as the opinion
of well-informed Swiss observ-
ers who have maintained a close
watch on the anti-Semitic dem-
onstrations. The observers were
reported as believing that Nazi
cells, secretly active in Ger-
many and neighboring countries
since the end of World War II,
have been organized into an in-
ternational organization with
branches in France, Italy, Great
Britain, Argentina and the Un-.
ited States.
The report 'said that the Swiss
considered the alleged revival
so threatening that the new
Federal Council at Bern, as one
of its first activities this year,
ordered some of the ablest
Swiss experts in espionage to in-
vestigate.
At the United Nation s,
Judge Philip Halpern, U. S.
representative on a subcom-
mittee currently debating dis-
crimination in the fields of re-
ligious rights and practices,
called on the UN to act on
the current anti-Semitic out-
breaks. He informed the Sub-
commission on Prevention of
Discrimination and Protection
of Minorities he will present
a formal resolution to imple-
ment his demand for action.
He said the. anti-Semitic out-
breaks "are like the eruption
of a volcano. But the volcano
is not . the problem. The prob-
lem isjhe subterranean
stream?'
•
The jurist said his resolution
would urge governments to en-
gage in programs of education
on the evils of racism. Further-
more, he said, he will ask the
subcommission to call on goir:
ernments to report "forthwith"
whether such anti-Semitic oc-
currence had taken place in
their countries, and how these
manifestations were dealt with.
Judge Halpern urged that
such information be sent to the
Secretary General of the United
Nations, who would act "as a
post office" and transmit the in-
formation to all UN members
"without analysis." In the light
of these reports, he said, the
subcommission should examine
the causes of the current out-
breaks and decide on further ac-
tion.
Vandalism in Chicago Suburb
Among the acts of vandalism and swastika-smearing was
the cemetery desecration in Chicago. Fifty tombstones were
tipped over and another 40 were painted with swastikas , in
Chicago's suburban Forest Park, as shown above. Vandals
trampled hundreds of graves and scrawled in black paint
across the side of a mausoleum: "Nazism isn't dead, but the
Jews' days, are numbered?'
.
Judge Halpern told the sub-
commission it was essential that
all nations be alerted to the fact
"that this is a live issue in the
United Nations, that our organ-
ization is not blind to what is
going on, and that we will not
stand aside again as in the past."
The subcommission also dis-
cussed a study of discrimination
in religious rights prepared by
Arcot Krishnaswami of In-
dia which held that such dis-
crimination was "diminishing,"
a finding challenged by Dr. Ga-
ry Maceoin of the International
Catholic Press Union.
Dr. Maceoin denied that such
bias was a "rarity" and cited
the "unhappy lands where the
rights of man are ignored and
falsehood is adopted as a sys-
tem." Citing the worldwide an-
ti-Semitic incidents, he added
that this was a situation which
had become "actual persecution"
and merited subcommission at-
tention.
Identical message s, con-
demning anti-Semitism and
racial and religious bigotry,
were addressed last week by
President Eisenhower to the
American Jewish Congress
and the National Conference
of Christians and Jews.
There were several additional
incidents in Detroit during the
week, among them the window-
breaking at the D. W. Simons
branch of the Jewish Commun-
ity Center, 4000 Tuxedo.
The Detroit "fuehrer" inci-
dent, involving the teen-age
sons of a Detroit high school
and part-time University of De-
troit teacher, especially dis-
turbed this community. What
especially upset many was the
boys' father's admission that he
knew about their games with
the swastika, but warned them
only against the hammer and
sickle. He now says he didn't
realize his error.
The swastika daubing on a
Jewish-owned restaurant and on
a local school resulted in the
calling of a conference of local
leaders by Police Commissioner
Hart who pledged a determined
campaign by the police to catch
the perpetrators. Hart appealed
for public assistance "to bring
the idiots" who perpetrated the
crimes "to task."
Swastikas were painted also
on the windows of a drive-in
restaurant across from Pershing
High School and on the windows
of a high school teacher's home
in Redford. Neither the restau-
rant owner nor the teacher is
Jewish.
There were several additional
incidents of swastika painting
in Redford and in Nankin Town-
ship, in the latter on homes of
.non-Jews.
Rabbi Nathan Hershfield,
of Temple Beth Jacob, Pon-
tiac, this week denied that ob-
scenities were painted on the
temple site. He said markings
in soap were dismissed as a
juvenile prank and the police
were notified "as a precau-
tionary measure only." Rabbi
Hershfield advised his congre-
gation to keep a proper per-
spective about the whole mat-
ter and to "accentuate the
positive."
The Pontiac Pastors Associa-
tion adopted the following reso-
lution: .
"Whereas we believe in the right
of all men to worship in America
according to their freedom of con-
science, and
"Whereas' many of the members
of the Pontiac Pastors Association
are personal friends of Rabbi
Nathan Hershfield and Rabbi Israel
Goodman, and many in their con-
gregations, and
"Whereas it has come to our at-
tention that acts of hostility and
Anti - Semitism are being com-
mitted in Pontiac as well as else-
where:
"Be it resolved that we reaffirm
our respect for the friendship with
our brethren of the Jewish Faith,
and our desire to be of help ,to
them in any way possible as they.
stand together with us in a free
America.
While there were assur-
ances from all sides that there
were no evidences of an or- ment.
ganized neo-Nazi worldwide
In Vienna, the Austrian Cabi-
plot, and while many govern- net heard a report about the
ments in lands where the anti- spate of incidents in that coun-
Semitic incidents occurred be- try from Minister of the In-
gan to take action against terior Josef Afritsch, who or-
them, there were additional - dered that any culprits caught
reports of anti-Semitic acts.
be treated with "utmost stern-
Walls of a number of dormi- ness." Austrian police authori-
tories at Boston university were ties reported new outbreaks of
defaced with swastikas. The Na- swastika-daubings from Salz-
zi symbol was daubed on Jewish burg, Graz and other cities.
fraternity houses at Boulder,
"It was characteristically
Colo., and on several university German that the Nazi action
campuses throughout the coun- against the Jews was so
try.
thorough." Statements like
At Nashville; Tenn., Rabbi Je- these, made by a German ele-
rome Kestenbaum told police mentary school teacher, have
that a threat had been made to alarmed and baffled Otto
bomb his synagogue if former Frank, father of Anne Frank.
Berlin correspondent William L. Writing in the February issue
Shirer were permitted to speak. of Coronet magazine, he
The lecture was held as sched- points with concern to recent
uled. There was no bombing.
events reminiscent of Nazism •
Elementary schools were not that are taking place in his
immune. In Port Jefferson, L. I., country.
a school principal's desk was
Hans Ulrich Rudel, Ger-
smeared with the swastika—ap- many's leading neo-Nazist, drew
parently by thieves who also large numbers of young people
stole $85 from the desk. In Los at a meeting of the Reichs
Angeles, an American flag was party where he made an appeal
torn up by persons who had for a return to the old order,
broken into an elementary Frank wrote.
school and defaced a wall with
Frank writes of an urgent
the swastika.
need for younger teachers to
A call upon governments, civ- take over classes devoted to
ic and interfaith organizations contemporary history—teach-
to form a special commission to ers who will not be embar-
formulate and help implement rassed by questions or in-
"a definite program of action" hibited by their own roles in
to fight the outbreaks was issued the Hitler era.
in New York by Dr. Miriam
According to Frank there is
Freund, president of Hadassah. a struggle going on in Germany
From Bonn, JTA reports that, today for the minds of --the
in spite of opposition to the pro- young. It is being fought largely
posed new laws by the Social between the guilt-ridden older
Democratic Party and by lead- generation responsible for Hit-
ers of German Jewry, Chancel- ler and a middle generation too
lor Konrad Adenauer's govern- young to have been deeply in-
ment proceeded with plans to volved with Nazism but old
introduce such legislation on enough to have fought and been
the ground that the government cruelly hurt by the vcr.ar.' "
needed further bolstering of its
A recent . survey revealed. Art
powers to deal with the anti- astonishing ignorance among‘
Semitic Outbreaks.
school children of the most'`—
, Swedish 'politica' groups -is- frightful period in_ Germany's
sued statements expressing history. The older generation
their "repugnance" over the re- appears determined to -blanket
cent wave of anti-Semitic inci- the events of the Nazi years
dents in their country, and call- with silence.. This only makes
ing upon the government for the shock greater when youth'
"effective intervention against eventually does find out what _
all kinds of persecutions di- happened under Hitler.
rected a gainst any ethnic
Chancellor Konrad Adenauer,
group." The statements came in a nationwide television and ...-
from the parliamentary group radio broadcast, declared that .
of the Liberal Peoples Party the world should have learned
and the executive committee of from the reaction to the anti;
the Swedish Social Democratic Jewish manifestations in West
Youth Federation.
Germany that the Majority of
Argentina, in a. note given . Germans were anti-Nazi. He
to the Israel Foreign Ministry promised full protection to the
at Jerusalem, pledged itself Jews and advised his people to
to "take the firmest steps to give a "good thrashing" to any
prevent any attempt to -create hoodlums caught committing
An atmosphere of racial ha- anti-Jewish acts.
. British Home Secretary R. A.
tred." The Argentine note
was the first governmental re- Butler told the Board of Depu-
ply given Israel in response ties that he had ordered the
to demarches in nearly all police to speed up their inves-
world capitals made by the tigation of incidents there. He
Israel Government, express- promised a government state-
ing concern over the current ment in Parliament on January
wave of anti-Semitic manifes- 28. It was indicated that the
government would not support
tations.
In Paris, Minister Without a bill imposing prison for re-
Portfolio Jacques Soustelle told ligious hate-peddling.
A law against genocide,
a meeting sponsored by the.
already adopted by the
French Defense Committee for
Democratic Action that "anti- Italian Senate, appeared cer-
Semitism is playing the game of tain of passage in the Cham-
Communism and Nasser's pan- ber of Deputies. Newspapers
said the recent anti-Semitic
Arabism."
In Brussels, the central com- events had proven the need
mittee of the Liberal Party, a for . such legislation.
An all-party committee of the
member of the coalition govern-
ment, adopted a resolution con- Chilean Senate adopted a reso-
demning the anti-Semitic acts lution repudiating the manifes-
and calling upon the govern- tations of racial hatred in Ger-
ment to "do its utmost to dis- many_ and elsewhere and de-
cover the culprits and punish scribed them as a violation of
them severely, so as to prevent the principles of peace and
'a resurgence of the dangerous human respect that "govern the
Nazi spirit." Belgian Minister of life of the civilized . countries
of the world."
Justice Merchies promised that
The New Jersey Assembly
those responsible for recent
anti-Semitic incidents will be may act on a bill providing.
prison terms up to three years
"severely punished when and fines up to
$1,000 fcir
caught." Belgian Prime Minis- desecrators of. religious, charit-
ter Gaston Eyskens told Parlia- able and educational property.
ment that the recent racist 'and
anti-Semitism incidents were
Related Stories on
viewed gravely by his govern-
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