A Summer in Germany—Detroit Collegian Finds Anti-Semitism, 'Unpalatable' Jews By NORMAN DIAMOND ! of the people with whom I have Editor's Note: Detroiter Norman spoken attribute this fact to anti- Diamond, former Midrasha student, Semitic pressure. spent the summer brushing up on Another recognized fact is that his German and working in Stutt- the Jewish population in Germany gart, Germany. A graduate in-polit- is not increasing. Most of the Ger- ical science from the University of man Jews attribute this fact, also. Chicago, he plans to enter Harvard at least, partially to anti-Semitism. this fall. , Everyone here either has grown children who have left for Israel There are two distinct and con- or the United States, or knows tradictory attitudes to be met with .people who do. among German Jews. Most of the There is still no denying that Jews in Germany are very much anti-Semitism in various forms aware of the existence • of anti- remains the normal attitude of Semitism. Some few eligious lead- many Germans. In Stuttgart, ers — perhaps con entrated en- many of the bars and nightclubs tirely in the Orthodo. communities are owned by Jews. This type of — insist, however. that there is establishment is especially vul- no anti-Semitism in Germany and nerable, not only to vandalism that all contrary reports are mere and breakage, but also to legal- sensationalism. ized nuisance activity. Crowds of Everyone who pays income taxes young people regularly conduct a must register his religion with the sit-ins, not buying anything and police; his church-tax payment (9 occupying all the available space. per cent) is then turned over to One source of anti-Semitism is the religious association of his of course. fascistic remnants and choice. Even as a foreign worker nationalistic propaganda. An addi- in Germany. I had to fill out forms tional source. however, is the re- proclaiming my faith. Between 23- pression resulting from the sensi- and 24,000 persons in West Ger- tivity to being thought of as many are registered for this pur- anti-Semitic. My experience has pose as Jewish. Everyone agrees. 'been that tacit restrictions, a re- however. that the real number of action to Nazi anti-Semitism, have Jews is about 30.000. Why? Most resulted in further anti-Semitism. especially among the youth. Many Germans feel that any criticism of Problem of Evil individual Jews, Jewish commun- From Maimonides"Guide to the • ities or Israel will be interpreted Perplexed' as anti-*mitic. Resenting this, and You will frequently find persons who hold that the evils in the feeling Ino responsibility for the world outnumber the blessings. German-Nazi persecutions that cre- Epigrams and poems of most of ated the- situation, they become, in the nations express this thought: fact. anti-Semitic. A typical example was the son of they find that blessings are•few in our world, while the misfortunes a member of the foreign diplomatic are many and lasting. Not only the service. now serving his term in common multitude errs in this. but the German army. Through his father's influence he had been as- even the supposedly wise men. Al-Razi, whose famous Book of signed to the supplies and procure- Theology contains many rash state- ment division. He told me that the ments. presents the idea that if German army buys hand grenades you compare the pleasures and from Israel. which he claimed are happiness of man with the griefs, often defective, but they cannot be pains. afflictions, loss of limb. un- returned for fear of charges of rest, sorrows and troubles to which anti-Semitism. He claimed that he he is subject—you will conclude himself was not anti-Semitic. Why, then. do some Jewish lead- that human life is an affliction and ers deny that anti-Semitism exists? 4 a great evil. In order to provehis thesis he A portion of the Orthodox leader- enumerates the evils !on e one. ship apparently :'e e 1 s that anti- and sets himself against the think- Semitism is one of the forces keep- ers who state that God's kindness ing German Jews together and pre- and' benevolence are manifest in. venting further assimilation. In creation, that He is the absolute their estimation, then, anti- good. and that all. that emanates Semitism has beneficial effects and, from Him is absolutely good. being unwilling to -wholeheartedly This erroneous idea is due to the combat it. they minimize or deny fact that this unwise man and his its existence. friends among the common multi- The Wurttemburg Jewish com- tud consider, the universe by ex; munity is probably the most amining one individual person. closely knit in Germany. Six hun- Taking that attitude, every fool dred of its 745 members live in thinks that the universe was creat- Stuttgart. Its financial contribu- ed for his sl ake alone. as if nothing tions to Israel are the highest per existed besides him. If something capita in Germany, and this is happens that does not suit his interpreted as indicating its su- wishes, he draws the conclusion perior organization. that the whole universe is evil. About 35 of its families_ buy But if a man•woUld regard the kosher meat from the butcher shop universe as a whole and try to subsidized through the church tax. understand how small a part he It has a Hebrew school where all plays in it, he would realize the the Jewish children of Stuttgart truth. It is obvious that the wide-; meet once each week. On the re- spread misconception about the maining days of the week, the three predominance of evil is never ap-1 Israeli teachers hired by the com- plied to other than human spheres munity travel throughout Wurttem- in the universe, such as vegita- tion or the animals, but all atten- burg visiting every Jewish family tion is focused upon some indi- with children. There is a Jewish vidual cases among human beings. community center with clubs for The proper attitude is to realize all age groups, movies, lectures and that all mankind and, even more,1 discussions. Usual attendance at all other species of living beings adult activities is the capacity 150. In addition, there is an affilia- are insignificant in proportion to the universe as a whole. Great tion with the 'Jewish soldiers in would be the gain if man would the U.S. Army forces stationed realize his position and not errone- near Stuttgart. The synagogue, ously assume that the universe which seats about 400, is full on exists for his sake. In our opinion, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. the universe is in existence be-, Attendance on an average Sabbath is about 50. Most of the Jewish- cause the Creator wills it so. The human race is altogether in- owned stores remain open on Sab- significant in comparison' with the bath. Stuttgart's Jewish community is higher forms of existence. the heavenly spheres and the stars. financially very prosperous. The Man, however, is set above all communal organization, which in- mortal beings. His existence is a cludes the synagogue, needs no great blessing for him, and his distinction and perfection is a div-, THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS ine gift. 18 -Friday, September- 4, 1964 voluntary donations and even owns extensive properties, solely by means of the church tax paid by its members. The majority of Stutt- gart's Jewish population has re- mained in Germany entirely for monetary reasons. To those of us who are sensi- tive to any criticism of fellow Jews and feel uneasy at the at- tempts of historians to find any faults in Jewish communities, the Stuttgart Jews are unpala- table and nearly unimaginable. Owning a bar in Germany is a dirtier business than in the United States, for there is a much closer link to crime and especially juvenile delinquency. Little attempt is made to check the ages of patrons. Fifteen- and 16-year-olds are . r e g u l a r cus- tomers. The Jewish American soldiers tell me that most of the bars and dives in Stuttgart have Jewish owners; this is certainly true of many. From these dives operates Stuttgart's prostitution. which is also controlled to a great extent by members of the Jewish commun- ity. These are the most profitable businesses in Germany that can be established with only a small initial outlay of capital. The conduct, character and motivations of most of Stuttgart's Jews can be explained in terms of financial considerations. Most of them freely admit that they are in Germany because business is good. There are mitigating circum- stances, to be sure. in that these people have suffered horribly and many have definite mental aberra- tions. Much of the community's close- ness derives from the necessity of protecting each other against out- siders. They are driven together by current anti-Semitism and by their memories. Separated from Germans because they are Jewish and from other Jews because they remain in Germany. they have (Ally each other. And the Deutsch mark. MRS. LAURA NUSBAUM MR. AND MRS. JOE FETTER MR. AND MRS. IRVING NUSBAUM of the NEW YORK CARPET COMPANY Wish Their Many Friends and Customers A Very Happy and Healthy New Year THE JEWISH CENTER CULTURE CLUB Wishes to extend Happy and Prosperous New Year Greetings to all __members, social workers, and 'guest speakers who have contributed their services to the club C for the past year. . David Gornbein, President; Jennie Schubiner, Secretory. The prayer for knowledge is first among the Benedictions. — Talmud Berakot .45 we _approach a New Year, we face anew the great responsibility of providing the finest educational media for our children, so that they may' be fortified with the knowledge that is vital for Jewish existence. May the New Year 5725 become one of the signifi- cant periods during which learning once again will be a source of pride for all Israel. Arr. aild Mrs. _:4bc Kash' and Family Classified Ads Bring Results 1964 5725 Best Wishes To The Jewish Community For A Year of Health and Happiness CITRIN OIL COMPANY CI TRIN FUEL OIL CORP. DISTRIBUTORS — STANDARD OIL DIVISION OF AMERICAN OIL CO.