Purely Commentary
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS — Friday, January 1 2, 1962
tV
The Roles. of the Ridders of the New Yorker
Staats-Zeitung and Dr. Shuster Exposed by Nizer
Was Shakespeare altogether correct when he said that "the
evil men do lives after them, the good is oft interred with their
bones?"
•Louis 'Nizer, one of America's ablest and most distinguished
lawyers: inspires this thought with his very important book, -"My
Life in Court," published by Doubleday, rignpw
in which he .relates the stories of some
very famous trials in •whiCh he partici-
pated.
• To Nizer, a trial is "the search for
truth," and in his first chapter, sub-titled
"Reputation," he describes in detail
"The Libel Case of Quentin Reynolds
vs, Westbrook Pegler." Reynolds' attor-
ney declares in this account that his
client "could always be proud of the fact
that he fought for his personal vindica .
tion against great "odds and in gaining
it had .scored a significant triumph for
responsible journalism." Nizer states
that 'he. "advised Reynolds not to sue
the many newspapers which had carried
Pegler's libelous columns, although each
of them was liable in damages to him.
A pursuit for more money damages
Louis Nizer
would taint the ideals that had motivated
him and me." Nizer won the case for Reynolds not only in the
lower New York court but also on Pegler's appeal to the U.S.
Supreme Court.
Under the chapter heading "Divorce" Nizer tells an interesting
story of "The War of the Roses,' " involving Billy Rose, and the
equally sensational John Jacob Astor case. Cases involving doctors
and 'music experts, the story of Louis B. Mayer's fight to regain
control of MGM and other fascinating lawsuits that made history
are among those related by the famous author-lawyer.
Especially timely is the reference made by Nizer in his Pro-
logue to the lawsuit he conducted, and won, in behalf of Konrad
Bercovici—who died Dec. 27 at the age of 80—against Charlie
Chaplin: It's a short story, but it will remind the readers of a
great drama in which Nizer played an important and a triumphant
role.
-
Our major interest is in Chapter Four, entitled "Honor,"
dealing with the "Issue of Nazism in America." It is especially
revealing because it reminds us of the lack of vision some
of us had during the last war, of the ease with which many fell
into the trap of believing that Hitler's friends -could be anti-Nazis.
It is the story of a libel suit by an eminent scholar, Prof.
Friedrich Foerster, against Victor F. Bidder, publisher of 10 news-
papers, including New Yorker Staats-Zeitung and Herold, who "was
generally regarded as a liberal and social-minded citizen," who
posed as an anti-Nazi while his newspaper glorified Hitler, who
was accepted in Jewish ranks as an anti =Nazi but Who was exposed
during the trial as being an admirer of Hitler.
It is an account also of the appearance of Dr. George N.
Shuster, the eminent Catholic lay leader, former president of
Hunter College, as a defense witness for Ridder. Dr. Shuster's
position hardly justified his being acclaimed a "liberal" and as
an opponent of Hitler. There was too much conceding by the
Catholic scholar.
This reviewer turned to a coluinn he had published on June 30
of last year in which he reviewed a book, "The Vanishing Swastika,"
-published by Henry Regnery, the fore-
word to which was written by Dr. Shus-
.: ter as president of an American Council
on Germany. Dr. Shuster described this
new pro-German council as "an organi-
zation devoted to mutual understanding
between America and free Germany."
In his review, this commentator ques-
tioned the facts that were presented by
Jhe contributors to the book. It could
have been a more skeptical view had
this reviewer read the facts about Dr.
Shuster as presented in Nizer's "My Life
in Court."
While the Nizer story of the "Issue
of Nazism in America" is primarily an
expose of the Ridders, it does not place
Dr. Shuster, whom we admired for many
years, in a very good light.
Dr: George N. Shuster
Prof. Foerster's case against the
Ridders developed as a result of a full-page advertisement that
appeared in Decen4ber of 1942, in the New York Times and the
New York Herald Tribune, entitled "A Christmas Declaration."
While the text of the ad appealed to the German people to rise
against Hitler and reveal their hatred of his tyranny, Prof. Foerster
saw in it an attempt to secure a soft peace for the Germans.
According to Nizer, Prof. Foerster's "trained eye caught the
following sentence among many noble sentiments: 'We remind
the German people of the mercy and forgiveness that are present
in the hearts of people for those who turn against evil.' "
-
`:
An "Open Letter" published by Prof. Foerster, himself a
former German who was forced to settle in this country and who
had conducted a campaign against Pan-Germanism, addressing
itself to those who signed. the full-page advertisement--including
Victor Ridder and his two brothers—charged: "Your declaration
contrasts the Nazi system with the ideology of the German
people as if they were fundamentally different. The situation is
just the reverse. Hitler's system constitutes only the terrible
fulfillment of a century of German nationalistic lawlessness."
Then the Ridders began to hound Foerster, forcing him to sue
for libel.
Nizer's complete account of the case, with data taken from the
court records, shows how Ridder contradicted himself, how it was
proven that one of the brothers had praised Hitler who befriended
him and with whom he visited on numerous occasions. It shows the
inconsistencies in Shuster's testimony.
Comparing the Shuster position in 1942 with his present status
as head of a society to attain "mutual understanding" between this
Nizer's Recollections
of ' Issue of Nazism'
in This Country
By Philip
Slomovitz
country and free Germany, one wonders whether the connection
isn't, after all, an uninterrupted prejudice in favor of Germans
even if they are guilty of an endorsement of Pan-Germanism—a
danger that did not begin with Hitler and has not ended with
Adenauer.
Among the shocking revelations_ was that Shuster ascribed
"integrity" to Hitler. He called the. Fuehrer . "a religious. man.", He
had referred to "poor Horst Wessel" when he wrote about the
pervert whose song advocating the flow of Jewish blood became the
Nazi anthem!
Our readers will understand, therefore, how deeply shocked
and disappointed one can become upon learning that those who
were believed to be friends were condoning the .Hillerites!
Nizer's story helps us to remember the crimes, and not to
forget who condoned them. It also should serve a great purpose
in remembering the name of a great German, Prof. Friedrich
FOerster, who belongs to the German minority that opposed Pan-
Germanism.
Israeli Given
5-Year. Term
for Espionage
(Ditect JTA'Telefype Wire
to The Jewish News)
HAIFA — Ahar . on . Cohen, an
expert on the Middle --East. and
Arab affairs and a former leader
of the Mapam party, was .sen-
tenced in District Court 'here
Tuesday to five years imprison-
ment as a result of his conviction
by the court of espionage: He had
been convicted after a .secret.trial
on three of four counts alleging
that he had gathered secret in-
formation and Passed it to an
agent for an unnamed Communist
Not only are the Ridders shown to have been tools of country.
Hitler, but the Foerster vs. Ridder trial showed that General
His attorney, who immediately
Steuben, in whose honor the Steuben Society was named, was filed notice of an appeal to the
a man of questionable character who advocated German world Israel Supreme Court, issued a
domination. The Nizer story of the famous trial in which he statement declaring he was not
directed the expose of the American Nazis before Judge Pecora guilty, asking for the court's
reveals anew the role that was played by Heinz Spanknoebel "mercy" and declaring the 'de-
in organizing the Hitler movement, whose first operations were fense is "asking for justice."
in Detroit. (Our readers will recall our reminiscences of our
meeting with Spanknoebel, published upon the appearance of
0. J. Rogge's "The Official German Report," in which he told
the story of Nazi activities in this country prior and during
World War II). Nizer's report of the famous trial also reminds
us of the surprising fact that the advertisement whose contents
stirred Prof. Foerster's actions was paid for by the American
Jewish Congress. During the trial there was some uncertainty
whether the ad was paid for officially by the American Jewish
Congress or by some individual members of it, but it was cer-
tain that the AJCongress was involved, its secretary, Miss
(Lilie) Shultz, being mentioned in the Nizer account.
Released on Bail
According to his defense,
Cohen said he was "let down",
by the government's security of-
ficials who, he said, failed to
warn him that the foreign diplo-
mat to whom he passed the secret
information was "an agent." The
prosecution, however, requested
a stiff penalty on the . ground
that "when a leader commits a
crime it is worse than a crime
committed by an ordinary man."
At the request of the defense
the District Court permitted
Cohen's release on bail for 10
days pending a ruling by a higher
court.
The Nizer report on the case of Foerster against Ridder con-
cludes with a description of a luncheon tendered on June 2, 1959,
in honor of Prof. Foerster's 90th birthday. Totally blind at the time,
Foerster nevertheless was vigorous, serene, had just finished
writing a boOk and was working on another. Eminent scholars paid
tribute to the courageous man who began his campaign against
militaristic and nationalistic Germany in 1920, who was forced to
Meanwhile, preParations were
leave Germany and came to this country to pursue his teaching in
history. An unsuccessful attempt was made by Ridder, as was being made in Tel Aviv for the
shown during the trial, to cause the - -sponsorship of Foerster to rendering of the verdict' in an-
other esponage case against Lt.
be terminated by the Brookings Institution.
At his 90th birthday party, the proper honors were extended Col. Israel Beer. The latter,
this "gallant man" by noted savants, and a message of greetings formerly a high officer in Is-
sent him by the late Albert Einstein on his 85th birthday was read rael's army headquarters and a
to him. Foerster, speaking in response, "once more warned that noted military analyst, was also
of espionage on behalf
Germany was,unrepentant (that was in 1959) and had not expiated accused
an unnamed . Communist
its sins; that Nazis held key positions in all vital areas of the new of
The verdict in the
Republic; and that we must be alert or we will rebuild Germany country.
case is scheduled to be
and she may join with Russia, her natural ally to destroy Western Beer
handed down Sunday.
civilization."
Cohen, who is 53, was a mem-
This story will be incomplete withOut sharing with our readers
the concluding two paragraphs in the Nizer report on "Issue of ber of the Shaar Haamakim kib-
Nazism in America." Nizer states, after referring to Foerster's ibutz. He was arrested on Oct. 17,
1958. He had been under sur-
remarks at the luncheon:
veillance of Israel security of-
"When he finished, I introduced Prof. Alvin S. Johnson, ficers several weeks after sus-
President Emeritus of the New School for Social Research, point- picions were aroused, when a
ing out that the combined ages of Johnson and the guest of honor highway patrol noted the auto-
totaled more years than the age of the United States. After mobile belonging to a diplomat
graceful and heartfelt words about Foerster, Prof. Johnson pro- from a Communist country ap-
ceeded to astonish the knowledgeable group present by arguing proaching a side road near Shaar
that Germany alone was not to blame, that the United States, Haamakim. A man later identi-
England, and France were equally guilty in the blind policies fied as a foreign agent was ob-
they had followed, that we had blemishes of aggression upon our served by the highway patrol
own historical record, and, of course, so did England and France, using a path through a field for
and so on through the long list of tiresome false - syllogisms, a rendezvous with - Cohen.
as if the sins of England. and France at Munich could be equated
with Hitler's sin in creating the crisis (the citizen who is not
courageous enough when he faces a vicious murder is guilty in
the same degree as the killer and both should be electrocuted);
or, because history is full of past depredations by others;
Germany is legally justified in evening up the score in this
country by brutal war.
"I thought I detected a look of chagrin and hopelessness
even on Prof. Foerster's face. As I bade him good-bye, I thought
to myself, Professor Foerster, they still don't understand you.' "
And when a distinguished personality like Alvin S. Johnson
proves guilty of equating unwisely, one must wonder: are so very
many still lacking in understanding of the horrors we experienced
only a few years ago?
Now we begin the struggle anew to make certain that we
should ever remember the gallant people who had the courage to
fight bigotry, and that we should never forget those who perpe-
trated crimes against humanity; else, we may again be doomed for
another holocaust!
Accused of Soviet Link
The three counts on which he
was found guilty alleged that he
collected and passed secret in-
formation to a foreign agent be-
tween August 1957 and October
1958. The court found him not
guilty of the first of the four
counts which alleged that he
had also passed secret informa-
tion to the Communist bloc
agent prior to December 1956.
District Court Judge S. Kes-
sen, who presided at the trial,
read in open court only the one
paragraph in the Judgment, de-
claring Cohen guilty on three
counts. The remainder of the
Judgment was read in secret.
More Jewish Victims in Algerian Strife
PARIS, (JTA)—Police cracked
down in Oran with a second
curfew in 48 hours as Jews and
Moslems clashed for the second
successive day. Violence against
Jews spread to Constantine where
Charles Cohen was shot and
killed. Cohen's killers were be-
lieved to be terrorists of the FLN
Moslem underground rebel or-
ganization.
Authorities reported six per-
sons were killed in the nenewed
clashes between Moslem support
ers and European foes of an in
dependent Algeria but they did
not indicate how many were
Jews. Throughout the day
groups of Moslems and Jews
marched through Oran shout-
ing opposing slogans and col-
liding in savage battles.
The renewal of Moslem-Jewish
strife was sparked by terrorist
attacks on the FLN against two
Jews on the outskirts of the Jew-
ish section.
More complete reports con-
firmed that some of the most sav-
age Moslem attacks took place in
Oran's Jewish quarter. A Moslem
group opened fire on housewives
hurrying to complete their shop-
ping and a pregnant Jewish
woman was killed. The woman's
death apparently infuriated the
younger Jews in Oran and they
swarmed out seeking revenge.
For several hours, any Mos-
lems they found were attacked
without mercy. The Jewish youth
in Oran took a prominent part
in the European demonstra-
tions against independence for
Algeria and took revenge for
the killing of a Jewish shoe-
maker by lynching two Mos-
lems.