Purely Commentary
Tribute to Joffe .
Expose of Nazism
by Miss Kay Boyle
•
By Philip
Slomovitz
Bridging Centuries
of Jewish Heroism
terior. Globke's defenders go through extraordinary arguments
Boris M. Joffe endeared himself to all elements in our com- in attempts to justify his coauthorship of the official commen-
taries on Hitler's racial laws; but neither that fact nor Globke's
munity. A very able organizer, a keen student of human affairs
of
and a leader in the field of public relations, he made such vast responsibility in having the passports of men and women
the Jewish faith stamped with the letter "J", thus making es-
contributions towards the advancement of high ideals in all
cape impossible for their bearers, can be explained away.
communal ranks that he won the affections of all, Christians
and Jews, Negroes, leaders in the labor movement, men in "We were already maturing when we made our first contact
with the democratic way of life," this newspaper editor wrote
business and in government.
While striving for the advancement of liberal ideas, he me, "and we weighed Western democracy—with all its faults
the Communist system—with all its striking similar-
approached his tasks- with such skill that he often converted —.against
ities to the Nazi system—and we made our choice. We who are
staunch conservative, even reactionary, opponents, to his way
in influential positions on newspapers, in classrooms, and in
of thinking.
He was a close friend of Governor Williams, yet he also public office must somehow reach the generation now growing
built friendships among Republican leaders who respected up because it is told nothing of the 'oast and has no recollec-
tion of it!'
his views.
Unfortunately, Globke is not the only Nazi offender in Ad-
His death is a great loss to our community.
enauer's government. Gerhard Schroeder, Minister of the In-
terior, was a member of Hitler's storm troops. Theodor Ober-
Adolf Eichmann, the Monster of the Century
Adolf Eichmann, the century's cruellest monster, who is laender, Minister for Refugee Affairs, a Nazi party member
awaiting trial in Israel for his crimes against Jewry and since 1933, received an honorary rank equivalent to that of
captain in the SA (storm troops).
humanity, was quoted as having said to a subordinate:
In February of this year, a friend in a position of some
"I will jump into my grave laughing, for to know that I
have six million people on my conscience will be a source of importance in the German administration wrote me: "As to the
relation of our government to the Jewish question and to the
extraordinary satisfaction."
recent outbreaks of anti-Semitism, the ministers speak out
One wonders whether this monster, whose diabolical
schemes sent millions to their graves, is in the mood for laughter against what is happening, not because they are really con-
cerned by the realization that such thinking still exists in
now that he faces justice at the hands of the survivors of the
some actions of the German people, but solely because of our
six million who perished as a result of his devilish schemes.
Eichmann's trial is certain to bring to light again the tragic foreign relations. If there was any conviction within the gov-
ernment on this matter, everyone knows that Oberlaender
events that were marked by the most murderous incidents in
and Globke would never be retained." These unofficial Ger-
all history. Perhaps the true story of the life of this mysterious
monster will now be unfolded. It has been said that he was man voices are asking that the past be acknowledged, not
born in Sarona, the German Templar colony on the outskirts of
blandly shelved away.
The past can be acknowledged through the writing of
Tel Aviv. In an article in the May 1949 Commentary Magazine,
books. There have not been enough books written by reflective
L. Poliakov denied it and claimed that he was born in a small
town in Westphalia. Poliakov also disputed the claim that
and dissenting men in Germany. In a vitally interesting article
Eichmann was educated in Jewish schools and that he had on the Germany language, George Steiner says in other words
mastered Hebrew and Yiddish. He confirmed the reports, how- exactly the same thing that Otto Frank has said. See the superb
ever, that the Nazi beast had read many books by Jews and on frenzy of life in contemporary Germany, writes Steiner in The
Jewish subjects, that he learned to read Hebrew and Yiddish
Reporter of February 18. Then close your eyes for a moment
and that he was well informed on Jewish attitudes and on
to the marvel of the production lines, close your ears for a
mement to the rush of motors, and you will find "there is a
Zionism.
The facts that are now being revealed in the Eichmann
queer stillness at the heart." That stillness, says Steiner, is
case show that. the Israeli authorities are dealing with a very the death of the German language. It is dead because the
shrewd criminal. He already has informed the Israelis that he guardians of that language, the keepers of its conscience, have
was twice in the hands of the United States Army after World
failed it. The German language makes noises how, even loud
War II and had escaped both times—the first after posing as a noises, says Steiner, but it creates no sense of communion with
private and the second when he played- the role of an officer
Until the writers restore life to the heart of Germany by
in the Waffen SS.
speaking louder than the politicians and the industrialists
There will be all sorts of rumors. A Viennese newspaper, speak, I share with Otto Frank the fear that the fragile growth
Kronenzeitung, already has stated that Eichmann "was abducted of democracy in Germany cannot survive.
from Argentina in an Israeli U-boat." In some capitals there are
Oberlaender has been ousted; and Miss Boyle played an
Boris M. Joffe: Tribute to Brilliant Organizer
claims that Israel may be prevented from trying • the criminal
who had claimed refuge in a foreign land. It is doubtful, how-
ever, whether extradition attempts will be made. Even an
attempt to turn the case into an international court issue stands
little chance of materializing.
It is in Israel that the facts against Eichmann are certain
to be exposed in all their gruesomeness, and Israel won't give
up the chance of exposing the Nazi atrocities again to public
light.
On this score, libertarians everywhere should lend encour-
agement to efforts to remind the world of the horrors that
turned Germany into a land of brutality and its rulers into
murderers and tyrants. Eichmann was not the only criminal: he
had master-minded the extermination of Jews, but he had many
helpers.
The distinguished novelist and short-story writer, Miss Kay
Boyle, in her books and magazine articles,-not only has exposed
the Nazis and their crimes, but has asked that "the past be
acknowledged, not blandly shelved away." In a revealing article
in the Foreign Policy Bulletin, Miss Boyle wrote:
in the years of the Third Reich the voices inside Germany
that spoke out against the Germany of Hitler were quickly and
permanently silenced. The voices that now speak inside 'Ger-
many against the moral consequences of the Wirtschaftswunder
(the economic miracle), or the total industrialization of the
soul, or the presence of former Nazis in Adenauer's govern-
ment are, of course, at liberty to speak, but the words they
say can scarcely be heard above the clamor of economic
recovery.
Otto Frank, the father of Anne Frank, said a few weeks
ago: "Germany is a busy, busy land. But when it comes to the
education of its youth today in democratic values, the clocks of
Germany are running all too slowly." But he speaks with hope
of that generation of men now approaching forty who are "be-
ginning to dominate the liberal press of the major cities," and
who are "moving into the schools and universities, and en-
tering public service." In my experience, it is these men,
under 20 when the war began, who today are looking beyond
the concept of government based on the father image to gov-
ernment representative of mature individual responsibility.
These are the men of a generation that was party wiped
out by war, and so is limited in strength and numbers. Its men
and women grew up under the Nazis, but they were too young
to have held positions of authority. They were troubled chil-
dren, and they now express a deep shame for the generation of
their fathers and a deep resentment against those by whom
they were betrayed. They are antimilitarists as their fathers
never were before them. They have no faith in the father image,
and they question Chancellor Adenauer's judgment in retain-
ing ministers in the government who were associated with
Nazi atrocities. Carlo Schmid, the Social Democratic leader,
articulated the feeling of this 'generation when he spoke
out in the Bundestag following the recent swastika smearing of
places of worship in Germany. He did not see these incidents
as the pranks of schoolboys, and cried out: "Perhaps it is
well that the dogs of hell have howled so that we Germans
may know how close to hell we still are."
One of the men of this generation, the editor of a right-
wing Ruhr daily wrote me a fortnight ago: "Positions of author-
ity and responsibility in the Nazi times could only mean core-
sponsibility in the most atrocious national crimes." He was re-
ferring to Hans Globke, Adenauer's state secretary, who
served as ministerial councillor in Hitler's Ministry of the In-
important role in exposing him. This column some time ago
quoted from an important letter she had written to the New
York Times, challenging his defenders. She has exposed others
who must watched, and the view held by the sufferers from
Nazism that once a Nazi always a Nazi should be taken seriously.
Now the Eichmann case brings to light anew the activities
of the arch murderers. This case should go a long way in keep-
ing alive the fight against a recurrence of Nazism. Else, the
world always will remain in danger from a recurrence of crimes
perpetrated by the bestial German master minds.
*
*
Best Sellers: Are 'Novels Best for Lazy Minds?'
Our criticism of the Jewish Book Council's selection of
Roth's "Goodbye, Columbus" for high honors as one of the best
books of the past year may not have been to the liking of all
who are "lovers" of best selling novels. Nathan Ziprin, editor
of Seven Arts Feature Syndicate, and a number of eminent
critics who take exception to the frightful type of Jewish novel
that drags the Jewish position down to the gutter and fails to
respect our heritage, feel differently about it: It is our con-
tention that if non-Jews were to write in the vein of some
Jewish writers who have selected the lowest types of Jews as
their heroes they would be branded as anti-Semites. Why, then,
should Jews, who besmirch the good name of the Jew, be immune
from criticism?
In view of the differing attitudes that exist on the issue
of best sellers, we call to witness a specialist in American
literature, Associate Professor Marvin Felheim of the Univer-
sity of Michigan.
Prof. Felheim recently made the statement that books on
the U.S. best seller lists usually aren't worth reading, that
"the novel is the most significant form of literature in the U.S.,
but the novel is for lazy minds; we are a very prosaic people."
He pointed out that we read prose more than poetry and added
in his discussion of our reading preferences and of best sellers:
"We have fine poets and fine poetry, and we insist that
students read poetry, but I don't think we are creating a reader-
ship for it.
"We are the most self-critical people who ever existed. We
want to read novels about people like ourselves in order to
criticize them. But novels don't lift us up into the spiritual
world that drama and poetry do.
"The contemporary novel is filled with violence, sickness,
disorder and the worst in human behavior instead of the best.
"It usually is about city life.
"The most distinguished literature is being produced in
the South by Southern writers. I think the reason is that
democracy is most seriously challenged in the South, and I am
not talking merely about Negroes or segregation. We must be-
lieve in democracy or give it up; our whole society will survive
or fail depending upon whether we accept the truths of democ-
racy or not."
These views deserve the attention of the American reading
public. They should serve as a guide for book reviewers who
often are misled by the best seller labels on books lists.
Bennett Cerf, president of Random House, which recently
acquired the great publishing house of Alfred Knopf, made
some interesting observations in offering advice on the type of
books to be selected in homes. His first choice was the dic-
tionary, and his second was the Bible. It was a revealing
statement that proved that the publishers themselves are not
misled by the best seller connotations. Best sellers may be the
best type of business, but they do not represent the best of our
reading habits.
Prof. Yigael Yadin of the
Hebrew University of Jerusa-
lem, who, as Chief of Oper-
ations, led Israel's forces to
victory in the 1948 war of in-
dependence, holds a relic of
an earlier Jewish struggle: the
Bar Kochba revolt against
Rome. This pan and 18 other
brass objects, used for pagan
cult worship, had apparently
been seized by Jewish rebels
from a Roman encampment
over 1,800 years ago. They
were found by Gen. Yadin,
now a professor of archaeol-
ogy at the Hebrew University,
on an expedition to the Ju-
dean desert caves, which pro-
vided refuge for the survivors
of the unsuccessful revolt.
Also found were 14 letters by
Bar Kochba and a scroll frag-
ment still more ancient: a
portion of the 15th Psalm.
Endow Camp
Fund for Israel's
Post-Polio Youths
Mrs. Dewey D. Stone, of
Brockton, Mass., and Mrs. Isaac
Wolfson, of London, England,
have jointly endowed an annual
grant in the name of Mrs. Chaim
Weizmann, for support of the
summer camp for post-polio
children held each year on the
grounds of Mrs. Weizmann's
home near the Weizmann Insti-
tute.
In making the gift available
to Ilanshil-Polio, Rehovoth, the
donors stated that it was in
"deep recognition of the won-
derful way in which Mrs. Weiz-
mann was helping polio-stricken
children in Israel" by allowing
the camp the use of the grounds
of her home each summer.
T h e contribution will be
made annually in perpetuity, so
that the camp for children of
Ilanshil - Polio, Rehovoth, may
become a permanent institution.
It will be known as the Mrs.
Chaim Weizmann Fund for
Ilanshil-Polio, Rehovoth.
Mrs. Stone is the wife. of
Dewey D. Stone, chairman of
the board of governors of the
Weizmann Institute of Science,
and Mrs. Wolfson is the wife
of Britain's well-known indus-
trialist who heads the British
Weizmann Foundation.
Bonn Parliament
Shuns Extension
BONN (JTA) The Fed-
eral Parliament rejected a
demand from the opposition
Social Democrats for an ex-
tension of the statute of lim-
itations of prosecution of
manslaughter committed dur-
ing the Nazi regime.
The action followed a
statement by Minister of
Justice Fritz Schaeffer that
such an extension would be
impractical because "those
persons directly involved in
exterminations will be tried
for murder for which the
deadline is 1965." He also
questioned again the consti-
tutionality of a retroactive
extension.