Guest Editorial

USSR Blamed for Katyn Massacre in Zawodny Book

Rabbinical Council's Silver Jubilee

In the forest of Katyn, near
Smolensk—an area that was con-
sidered a "special zone for the
Soviet • secret police"—the Nazis
reported to have found, in 1943,
the buried bodies of several
thousand murdered Polish pris-
oners of war. Blame for the
atrocities were then blamed upon
Soviet Russia, but the USSR
called the massacre the work
of "German-Fascist hangmen."
Who was to blame for this bru-
tal episode of the Second World
War?
In "Death in the Forest—the
Story of the Katyn Forest Mas-
sacre," published by University
of Notre Dame Press, Notre
Dame, Ind., Prof. J. K. Zawodny
analyzes the episode, reviews all
its aspects, and the blame rests
upon the Soviet Union.

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS — Friday, February

By DAVID J. COHEN

The silver jubilee of the Vaad Harabonim of Detroit (Coun-
cil of Orthodox Rabbis) marks a . milestone in our community:
These Rabbis—cur Teachers—have dedicated themselves to the
cause of Torah-True Judaism, constitute the guardians, the ex-
ponents and the bulwarks for the propagation
and strengthening of authentic Judaism as set
forth in the Torah, Written and Oral.
The Vaad's efforts have extended into
many aspects of religious observance and of
community interests. It maintains supervision
of, and research on, Kashruth. It furnishes
counsel on Shehita. It devises standards in the
areas of Brith Milah, Sabbath observance, mar-
riage, divorce, family purity, proper observ- i?A
D. J. Cohen
ance of sacred occasions, as for example, Bar
Mitzvah and Wedding. It encourages zealously intensified Jewish
education. It aids in the support of Torah institutions of learn-
ing wherever located.
The Merkaz, the laymen's organization whose aim is to
unite all Detroit Jews in the spirit of the Torah to further and
strengthen traditional Judaism and its influence in cooperation
with the Vaad, salutes the Vaad.
The man chosen as the guest of honor at the dinner on
Feb. 6 his given of his leadership and service to our com-
munity for 30 years in many capacities. In addition to his
spiritual leadership he has been identified wth communal causes,
local and national as well as in the interest of Israel. The par-
ticular pride of Rabbi Joshua S. Sperka and Yetta, his wife, is
their home and the calihre of their children—a source of pride
and example to us all.

Vaad Harabonim, Merkaz to Honor
Rabbi Sperka at Jubilee Banquet

Chicago in 1930. During his resi-
dency in Michigan, he has
served congregations in Detroit,
Mt. Clemens, Ann Arbor and
is spiritual leader of Young Is-
rael of Greenfield. He is presi-
dent, J.N.F. Council; president,
American JewiSh Congress;
vice-president, Mizrachi Hapoel
Hamizrachi of Detroit; and a
board member of Governor's
Jewish Welfare Federation of
Detroit. He is the author of
"Eternal Life," published by
Block Publishing Company.
Rabbi Dr. Immanuel Jako-
bovits of the Fifth • Avenue
Synagogue in New York will be
the guest speaker.
He is particularly well-known
in his specialized field of medi-
cine in Jewish Law. He is the
author of "Jewish Medical Eth-
ics," the standard work on the
subject. Dr. Jakobovits is the
first recipient of the Disting-
uished Service Award of the
Association of Orthodox Jewish
Scientists.
A musical program will round
out the evening. Cantor Hyman
Adler and Cantor Shabtai Ack-
erman will render well-known
cantorial music.
In addition to the sponsors
previously. announced are Mike
Must, Phillip and Reuben Du-
RABBI JOSHUA S. SPERKA brinsky and Cong. Beth Tefilo
forth to insure the continuation Emanuel Tikvah.
Judge Nathan Kaufman will
of the Vaad's work. These are
be toastmaster of the banquet.
as follows:
Sponsors make a contribution
of $200 to help to maintain the Magnes Scholarships
Vaad Harabonim program; they Won by Arab, Druze
in turn receive four tickets to
An Arab and a Druze student
the Silver Jubilee Banquet.
at the Hebrew University of
Dinner Sponsors make a con- Jerusalem have been awarded
tribUtion of $250 and host a the seventh annual Judah L.
table of 10 guests, thus helping Magnes Scholarships, establishe4
to promote attendance.
some years ago by the Magnes
Honorary Sponsors contribute Foundation in the United States
in tribute to the University's
$1,000.
Rabbi Leizer Levin has paid first president.
The recipients of the scholar-
special tribute to Mr. and Mrs.
Julius Rotenberg for their "un- ships are Samih Khatib, a third-
erring support and exceptional year student in the Faculty of
contribution to the Vaad Hara- Humanities, and Salam Falah,
bonim." Rotenberg will be cited who is working towards his mas-
as an Honorary Sponsor of the ter's degree in the history of the
Moslem countries.
banquet..
The guest of honor, Rabbi
The wise man like the fool is
Joshua Sperka arrived in the
United States from Poland in not remembered forever. In the
1922. He was ordained from He- course of time all will be for-
brew Theological College in gotten. Ecclesiastes. 2.

Rabb]. Chaskel Grubner, of
Cong. Dovid Ben Nuchim, co-
ordinator of the Vaad Hara-
bonim's silver jubilee banquet,
reported that a community-wide
response has been received for
the event to be given next
Wednesday at Cobo Hall, hon-
oring Rabbi Joshua S. Sprka.
Recognizing the function of
the Vaad Harabonim, three cate-
gories of sponsors have come

.

.

.

Prof. Zawodny's review of
the episode is chronological in
its details. He probes the mas-
sacre in all its details, re-
views the interest that was
taken by the Allied Powers
and he castigates the demo-
cratic governments for failure
to pursue the investigation.

U.S. and British authorities
are blamed for having permitted
the hushing up of the case, and
it is implied that an ally in the
war against Germany was being
protected.
In his reportorial -account,
Prof. Zawodny refers to the Nu-
remberg trial and also implies
that U.S. Ambassador to Poland
Arthur Bliss Lane was prevented
from getting proper information
on the. case.
"Justice Robert H. Jackson
fared little better when acting
as Chief Counsel for the United
States at the Nuremberg prose-
cutions," Dr. Zawodny writes.
"His staff received on Feb. 26,
1946', from the. American Mili-
tary Intelligence, several docu-
ments all classified 'secret.' In
his own words, these included

`the German report accusing the
Soviet, two Soviet documents ac-
cusing the Nazis and a paper
labeled "excerpts of conversa-
tions between Sikorsky, Anders,
Stalin, and Molotov."
"When the handling of the
Katyn affair. by the agencies of
the United States Government
is reviewed, it appears that on
the highest policymaking level
there were definite attempts to
suppress information concerning
it, particularly when such infor-
mation contradicted the Soviet
version. Nor was this all, the
men who voiced their opinion
about the possibility of Soviet
guilt seem to have been pun-
ished."

eral Anders in the Zawodny ex,-
pose raises also a question about
this general, who took his forces
to Palestine, who himself
emerged as a violent anti-Semite.
Indeed, the entire story is
half told, and with due respect
for Prof. ZaWodny's revelations
it is to be hoped that when the
complete story of the massacres
and mass murders are told there
will be a full account not only
of the guilt of the Germans and
the Russians but also of those
in the various countries where
the war raged who were collab-
orators with the Nazis. —P.S.

MURPHY MEANS

Of added interest in Prof.
Zawodny's account is the fol-
lowing: "The German press in
Poland kept Katyn before Po-
lish public opinion every day
from April 14 until Aug. 4
of 1943. According to this
press 'the Jews did it!' Jews
were guilty of everything—
even the Allied strength. Of
course, the Katyn affair and
official German compassion for
Poles did not stop daily execu-
tions and manhunts by the Ger-
man police on the streets of
Warsaw. The Germans' patho-
logical hate for Polish citi-
zens of Jewish origin exploded
in Warsaw in a manner no
less cruel than Katyn. On April
19, 1943, the mass murder in
the Warsaw ghetto com-
menced. It lasted four weeks."

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