Purely Commenter

Communists Revive Ritual Murder Libel

There may have been occasions to doubt some . of the
reports of Soviet .anti-Semitism, and the gullible who have
listened to the Soviet leaders' boastings that anti-Semitism is
outlawed in the USSR may have believed that charges of anti-
Semitic leanings against the Communists could have been
exaggerated._
Whatever doubts might have crept in have evaporated
as a result of the newest expose of. the Soviet crimes — the
revelation by Joseph Newman, in , the New York Herald Tribune,
that the stupidest of all medieval libels—the ritual murder charge
--again is being leveled at Jews in the Soviet Caucasus.
" Even the Mendel Beilis case that occurred in Russia in the
first decade of this century has not taught the freedom-expound-
ing (sic) CommunistS that there are some lie _ s that are unbecom-
ing even of tyrants.
_ A libel that was used as a tool against Jews by Czarist
Russia has been borroWed by the Soviet leaders in the cruel
game of anti-Semitism. Never before have the Soviet leaders
indicted themselves so degradingly.
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Fighting Back, Non-Resistance to*Nazism,
Dying as Free Men

Dr. Bruno Bettelheim, director of the Orthogenic School at
the University of Chicago and a prominent psychoanalyst, him-
self a survivor of the Buchenwald and Dachau concentration
camps, makes the serious charge, in an article under _the title
"The , Ignored Lesson of Anne Frank," that very few victims
of Nazism fought back.
His accusation deserves analysis, Dr. Bettelheim, let it be
stated at the. outset, gives credit to the exceptions to the rule—
to the "famOus example" of "the last-minute resistance of a
few thousand Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto, which was described
in John Hersey's novel 'The Wall' " and the "less well-known
story of the' twelfth `Sonderkommando,' a group of prisoners
working in the gas chambers of Auschwitz."
It is acceptance of "life as usual" that is - especially deplored
by Dr. Bettelheim. He recognizes "The Diary of Anne Frank"
as a "humane and moving story," but he adds that "the Frank
family's attitude that life__ could be carried on as usual was
glorified precisely because it did lead to their - destruction.
By glorifying it in this way, we were able to ignore the
crucial lesson of. the story—that such an attitude can be fatal
in extreme social circumstances." Dr. Bettelheim's contention
is that Anne Frank had -"a good chance to survive," but she
would have had to be separated from her family and live
with a Dutch family as their child, and she and her family
"wanted only to go on with life as usual, and nobody can
blame her." He explains his position by stating: "While the
Franks were making their preparations for .going passively
into hiding, thousands of other Jews in Holland and else-
where in Europe were trying to escape to the Free World,."
in order to survive or to be able to fight. Others who could
not . do so -went nnderground—not simply to hide from the
SS :and wait for the Aay when they would be caught—but to
fight against Germans and for humanity. We gather from the
`Diary,' however, that the chief desire of the Frank family
was to go on with life as nearly as possible in the usual fashion."
What Dr. Bettelheim calls the "failure of the Frank family"
he deStribes- as reflecting the failure of -a great many others
, when - faced 'with' the threat of the total Nazi state," and he
passes.this judgment: "There is little doubt that the Franks, who
were able to provide themselves with so much, could have pro-
vided themselves with a gun or two had - they wish-ed. They .could
have shot down at least one or two of the 'green police' who
came - for them. There was no surplus of such police. The loss
of an SS with every Jew arrested would have noticeably hindered
the functioning of the police state. The fate of the Franks
wouldn't have been very different, because they all died anyway
except for Anne's father. But they could have sold their lives
dearly instead of walking to their death."
• We have the psychoanalyst's viewpoint when Dr. Bettelheim
tells us, with regard to the Nazi victims who submitted so
easily, that .. •
" . . those who submitted came to depend on primitive
and infantile thought processes—wishful thinking and disregard
for the possibility of death. Many persuaded themselves that
they, out of all the others, would be spared. Many more simply
disbelieved in the possibility of their own death, not believing
in it, they did not prepare for it; they made no plans for
defending their lives if and when death would become inescap-
able. It is true that defending their lives before such a time
might have hastened their death, and so, up to a point, they
were protecting themselves by 'rolling with the punches' of
the enemy. But beyond that point it was destructive of both
one's own life and that of others who might have survived
if one had risked one's own life. The longer 'one `rolls' with
the punches, the more likely it becomes that one will no
longer have the strength to resist when death becomes im-
minent. This is particularly true if yielding to the enemy is
accompanied not by an inner strengthening of the personality
but by an inner disintegration. (We can observe such a dis-
integration among • the Franks, who bickered with each other
over trifles, instead of supporting each other's desire to
resist the demoralizing impact of their living conditions)."
The criticism of the Franks is only a small part of Dr.
Bettelheim's indictment of the complacency of the Nazi suf-
ferers. He accuses many of the victims of hesitation to lose their
possessions. He writes that "the Franks, too, postponed' going
into hiding because they wish first to transfer their posses-
sions to their hideout." He declares that "millions of the Jews
of Europe who did not or could not escape in time or go under-
ground as many thousands did, could at least have marched as
free men against the SS, instead of groveling, at first; then
waiting to be rounded up for their own extermination; and
finally walking to the gas chambers."
Relatives of the Nazi victims and many of the survivors
from the concentration, camps undoubtedly will take issue with
Dr. Bettelheim. Yet, there may be good cause for his viewpoint
if we take into account the statement made in Ulm, Germany,
last week, by Dr. Hans-Guenther Seraphim, director of the
Goettingen Institute for Contemporary History, in his testimony

Obituary for a Newspaper
USSR Crime . . . Principles
of Resistance to Oppression

By Philip
Slomovitz

during the trial of two former Nazis, that SS and Security Police
officers under the Nazis could refuse to carry out execution
orders at no serious personal risk to their lives or . positions; He
said: "In all my extensive studies of Third Reich documents, I
have not found a single case where refusal to carry out a death
order led to serious punishment." While we do not accept his
statement as true in its entirety, it is possible that resistance
by Jews against execution orders and attempts to fight baCk
might have awakened even the most murderous Nazis to think
twice before they resorted to mass e x termination.
The readiness to submit to the Nazis may have cost additional
lives. The question that now will be debated, however, will be
whether there was cowardice in the too-ready submission to'
tyranny, whether the search for life-as-usual and the desire to
save possessions is leaving a black mark on the record of the
Nazi victims.
Whatever the verdict of history, those who fought back—
notably the Warsaw Ghetto resistance forces—will go down in
history as the great heroes of the last war. Leon Uris has called
the Warsaw Ghetto battle "The Most Heroic Story of Our Cen-
tury." He concluded an article in Coronet by stating: "If we are
ever faced with a similar situation, we pray we would have the
courage to be among 'those last few who stood in defiance of
tyranny." In Israel the new Jewish nation has proven its ability
to withstand tyranny. Which makes Israel the blessing it is for
all generations to come and an example of courage for all men
to emulate. Blessed be the courage and heroism of Israel!
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A Pre-Election Composition for Post-Election Consumption

This item is being written three days before the November 8
Election Day, and must be judged as a sentiment for action
whenever a similar situation of self-degradation may arise
within any group in this country.
Regardless of who is elected, the basic principle of the
dignity of man must be adhered to as an American ideal. Such
a principle provide& citizens with the inalienable right to seek
public office without interference by any one delving into their
religious or nationality backgrounds.
- The reason for saying this at this time is the statement
that was made, on the eve of the election, by a group of Catholics
who declared their opposition to their co-religionist John F.
Kennedy on the ground that they wish to avert blame upon
Catholics and Catholicism in the event a Catholic is elected
President. Some went so far as to recall their opposition to Al
Smith in 1928 and their elation over his defeat because—so they
now say—Alfred Smith the Catholic would have been blamed
for the depression.
Such panicky attitudes emanate from self-hatred. They are
as un-American as was the viewpoint of some Jews who pleaded
with President Roosevelt not to appoint Felix Frankfurter to
the Supreme Court on the ground that it would cause the spread
of anti-Semitism,
Anyone who adopts such an attitude, whether he is a Jew
or a Catholic, needs to learn the A B C of Americanism. Such
ideas have no place in American life and we hope they will
be repudiated in no uncertain terms by all right-thinking people.

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Injustice in Rash Statements

Injustice often is meted out by generalization and by rash
declarations that indict people. Drew Pearson at times exemplifies
rash action. He did that when he made his accusations against the
elder Kennedy-L-Joseph P.whom he accused • of strong pro-Nazi
leanings, and on the day preceding the election modified his charges
by admitting that. John F. -Kennedy's father did assist Jewish
refugees from Nazism. While all the facts always should be made
known regarding a candidate's background, they must not be taken
out of context. By giving one side of the story at the outset, without
qualifying it with proof that the elder Kennedy was helpful in
refugee rescue activities, Pearson hardly served his purpose fairly.

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The Demise of the Detroit Times

The passing of the Detroit Times is cause for deep regret—for
the 1,400 people who become jobless, but more definitely for the
disappearance of a newspaper that had dedicated itself in the last
few years to positive service to our community.
Many of the staff members were beloved in our community.
John Manning is a great editor who won his way into the
hearts of our community.
Paul Masserman is a very able reporter and an excellent copy
reader.
Victor Packman is one of the best make-up men we know.
Vera Nolan was among the most lovable philo-Semites among
the non-Jews in our community. .
We hope that they and the many others we know will find
their places in constructive journalistic pursuits.
•
The disappearance of the Times proves the reality of the, pre-
diction made two years ago that within ten years 96 per cant of
the American cities will become monopoly newspaper cities. That
was foreseen as inevitable _as a result of the prohibitive costs of
producing a newspaper. It is a deplorable developn-.:mt and we
hope it will not affect the principle of press freedom. There is
only one morning newspaper left in Michigan at .this time — the
Detroit Free Preis — and other newspapers in 4aIrs and in other
states are vanishing.
This is a sad State of affairs. It will be recalled that Thomas
Jefferson said:
"Were it left to me to decide: whether we should have a
government without newspapers, or newspapers without a govern-
ment, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter."
Fortunately, the declaration, by Lee Hills, executive editor of
the Detroit Free Press, on the day of the News' acquisition of the
Times, reaffirmed the basic principles of a Free Press, and empha-
sized that the two remaining Detroit newspapers "are under 'com-
pletely separate ownership — unlike the overwhelming number of
one-ownership- newspaper cities in America." In this lies a great
measure of security for freedom of expression. But that does not
remove the cause for mourning over the passing of a long-estab-
lished newspaper in our city. The Times did not even allow itself
an- extra day to write its own farewell. It was left mainly for the
Free Preis, and now for us, to write the obituary.

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Goldstick Joins
Israel Municipal
World Conclave

Nathaniel Goldstick, De-
troit's Corporation Counsel, left
for Israel- Thursday, togeth-
er with 75 other civic lead-
ers from all
-
parts of the
country. They
will attend the
15th Congress
4 of interna-
tional Union
of Local Au-
thorities. He
was accom-
panied by
Mrs. Goldstick.
The sessions
will be held ink .
Goldstick Tel Aviv Nov.
16-22. In addition to the 75
American representatives, there
will be 400 mayors of cities in
countries throughout the world
as well as other municipal of-
ficials. More than 35 countries
will be represented. There will
be in attendance mayors from
a number of Canadian cities.
Goldstick stated before his
departure that the' Congress
plans are to study urban de-
velopment problems.
"I am personally particularly
anxious to study the functions
of the Israeli police depart-
ment," Goldstick said. "When
Israel took over the Palestin-
ian government from the Brit-
ish, the first thing the Israelis
did was to abolish flogging,
which was an accepted practice
in that area. There are other
Israeli police practices which
commend themselves for deep
study by police departments in
cities throughout the world, and
I hope to learn a great deal
from my studies of the problem
while in Israel."

Mayors of N.Y., London
to Attend World Parley.
TEL AVIV, (JTA)—An at-
tempt by CoMmunists and mem
bers of the right-wing Herut
Party to bar West German
delegates from attending. the
forthcoming congress of the In-
ternational Union of Local Mu-
nicipal Authorities, scheduled to
open here Nov. 16, was de-
feated -in the Tel Aviv City
Council.
The issue came before the
Council on a motion for an .ap-
propriation of 71,000 Israeli
pounds (almost $40,000) to help
defray the expenses, of the con-
gress. Communist members of
the Council, supported by Herut
representatives, moved to de-
feat the appropriation measure.
because they Objected to the
fact that West Germans are
expected among the 650 mayors
and other city officials from all
over the world scheduled to
participate.
The Communists protested
against Tel Aviv being host to
"neo - Nazis from Germany,"
while Herut councilmen warned
against raising the German flag
among the national banners to
honor visiting congress delega-
tions. Deputy Mayor Schechter
told the objectors "we must
accept reality if we want the
Congress here." The appropria-
tion was approved by a major-
ity vote over the negative vote
by the Communists and Herut.
Mayor Robert F. Wagner, of
New York; Sir Bernard Waley-
Cohen, Lord Mayor of London;
and West Berlin's Governing
Mayor Willy Brandt are among _
the famous municipal officials
scheduled to attend the Con-,
gross. - After holding sessions
here, and being greeted by
President Izhak Ben-Zvi. and
Minister of the Interior Moshe
Shapira, the Congress is sched
uled to adjourn for its final ses-•
sign, to be held in Jerusalem. .
There, the municipal authorities
will be greeted by Jerusalem's .
Mayor Mordechai Ish-Shalom,
and by Prime Minister David
Ben-Gurion.

