Section B, Page 6 DETROIT JEWISH NEWS, December 18, 1964 Dramatic Story of Detroit Jewish Community's Role in Great Rescue Efforts Through the UJA By LOIS WINSEN Director of Public Relations Jewish Welfare Federation of Detroit Custom endows any institution with an aura of historical permanence. So it is easy to believe that the UJA has always been with us. Actually it originated in 1938 as an instrument that would enable American Jews to finance the deliverance of their co-religionists from Nazi Europe. Heretofore, the Joint Distribution Committee was responsible for all relief work overseas, and the United Palestine Appeal was settling Jews in Palestine. De- troit Jewry had given generously to the JDC since World War I. and had also supported the UPA. The idea of a combined drive was not new to De- troiters. Central fund-raising was begun here in be- half of local Jewish institutions and oppressed Jews overseas in 1925. when a campaign by the late Henry Wineman raised S150.000 from 2.794 contributors. So. when. in 1938. Detroit Jews saw their relatives and co-religionists in Europe being engulfed by the Nazi tide, they had a background of 14 years' experience in united giving and working toward common goals. before the crematoria fires had cooled. They returned to tell their fellow-Jews in Detroit that the reports of horror which had seemed to exaggerated were really understatements. In 1946. the Allied Jewish Campaign raised S3,- 744.000 under the chairmanship of Nate S. Shapero. In the ensuing year Jews with the tragic title of "DP." displaced person. were herded into barbed-wire- circled camps to await resettlement. To many of these, the alternative of returning to Communist dominated countries was worse thari remaining in the camps. Other Jews risked their lives, or imprisonment. to enter Palestine illegally and help found a Jewish state. During this time. Detroit Jews raised money to keep these people alive and well, to provide them with basic needs, and with the religious articles. books and other amenities their faltering spirits needed as badly as food. In 1948 the State of Israel was established. Detroit area Jews raised S5.576.000 to empty the camps and bring Jews to Israel. In 1949 and 1950. the slogan for Jewish philanthropy in Detroit was "Empty the Camps." That year. the Allied Jewish Campaign, headed by the late Fred M Butzel and Henry Wineman, raised S651,889. One of the local agencies supported by the Campaign was the Resettlement Service. which helped Detroit's Jewish citizens make the arrangements nec- essary to bring relatives here from Europe. The work and generosity of Detroit's Jewish citizens continued . . . contributing to the support of those whom torture and horror had robbed of the ability to be self sustaining. Once the newcomers arrived, the Resettlement Service and other Federation member agencies. the Jewish Family and Children's Service, Jewish Com- munity Center and the Jewish Vocational Service, helped them make the necessary social and economic adjustments to life in Detroit. to heed the call for help. Since 1948, members of the Detroit Jewish community contributed over S44.000.000 through the Allied Jewish Campaign of the Jewish Welfare Federation of Detroit. As Nazi brutality to .Jews increased, the American government waived the immigration requirements for personal sponsorship of each immigrant and let the Resettlement Service. as an authorized agency, take the responsibility for numbers of Jewish escapees who settled in Detroit. More than 4.000 were snatched from the clutches of the Nazis and brought to Detroit through the work of the Resettlement Service. In 1934, a group of 100 children arrived in Detroit from Germany . . . seeking refuge from the Nazi ter- ror. After that, the trickle became a steady stream of children, oldsters and entire families. And while the ugly. persistant rumors about the horrors of Auschwitz and Dachau sent a cold chill through the hearts and homes of Detroit Jews. Wine- man and Butzel and the late Abraham Srere diligently lead the Campaign in its important work. When America entered the war, contact with Eu- rope's Jews was cut off and efforts to save them made impossible. When the war ended in Europe in 1945. more than 6.000.000 Jews. including more than a mil- lion children, had been exterminated. The United Jewish Appeal invited Louis Berry and Joseph Holtzman. Detroit builders with long records of philanthropic work, to go on a fact-finding mission to Europe. Holtzman and Berry saw the camps almost Still, crisis followed crisis . . . first in Europe. then in Africa. And through it all. Detroit Jewry never failed In addition. two bank loans for S2.000,000 and S3.- 000.000 respectively were made on behalf of the UJA. making available not only dollars but the faith and credit of the Detroit Jewish community. Leaders of the community who have carried on as A.TC Detroit the Butzel-Wineman tradition of help chairmen include Nate S. Shapero. Maurice Aronsson, Louis Berry. Harvey H. Goldman. the late Julian H. Krolik. Abe Kasle. Irving W. Blumberg. John E. Lurie. Max M. Fisher. Irwin I. Cohn. Leonard N. Simons, Paul Zuckerman. Charles H. Gershenson. Abraham Borman and this year Sol Eisenberg and Irwin Green. Detroit Jews have contributed national leadership to UJA as well. Joseph Holtzman is an honorary na- tional chairman. Morris Adler. Louis Berry. Abraham Borman. Charles H. Gershenson, Phillip Stollman and Paul Zuckerman are members of the national UJA Cabinet. Mrs. John C. Hopp is vice president of the National Women's Division. and Mrs. Harry L. Jones and Mrs. Henry Wineman are members of the national board. Now, to honor both the Detroit spirit and the man himself for his energetic role in Jewish philanthropy, Max M. Fisher. former associate general chairman of the United Jewish Appeal. has been appointed Gen- eral Chairman of the 1965 Campaign. And Detroit Jewry in recognizing the significance of the appointment reaffirms its pledge to stand hand and heart with the needy Jews of the world.