Story-Tellirig 'Uncle Sam' Ervin in Masterminding
Role Defeating Humanistic Genocide Convention .
Honor to Horace Kallen
Tribute to Hilldring . .
Gen. Hilldring's Friendship
Many, of even greatest eminence, are often forgotten.
Remembering and honoring friendship is too serious an
obligation to be ignored.
Maj. Gen. John H. Hilidring (Ret.) earned a place
in Jewish annals. Yet, he has hardly
been referred to in recent years.
His death, in January, should have
been occasion for tributes by all Is-
rael, by Israelis and their fellow
Jews everywhere.
Those of us who, had a role in
the early days of Israel's rebirth,
especially at sessions of the United
nations in 1947 and 1948, and in
the years of Zionist struggles that
preceded those years, well remem-
ber this great man who was Assist-
ant U. S. Secretary of State from
1945 to 1947 and was a top Penta-
Gen. Hilidring
gon official.
Near East Report did not forget him. It published
a tribute to the justice-loving military man by Herbert
A. Fierst, who was one of Hilldring's assistants. Fierst
asserts that "Hilldring would never accept the callous-
ness of the world toward the Jews." He was confronted
by indifference and often by animosity and he rendered
services that should not be omitted from the historic
record of our people. Fierst paid this tribute to Hilldring
' in the Near East Report:
"If not for General Hilidring, there might not have
been a State of Israel. His death at the age of 77 makes
it appropriate to reveal some of the highlights of his ex-
traordinary role in preserving the Jews who survived the
Holocaust.
"When the concentration camps were liberated in
1945, Hilldring developed a special tenderness toward
the Jewish survivors. He not only saw to it that they
were properly cared for. He quickly grasped the reality
that Palestine was the only place to which most of them
wanted to go to rebuild their shattered lives.
"Hilldring was sensitive to the deep concern of Amer-
ican Jews. He arranged for the appointment of a succes-
sion of extremely able advisers on Jewish affairs to the
commanding officers of U.S forces in Germany and
Austria. His door was always open to Jewish leaders.
In the spring and summer of 1946, when additional Jewish
survivors from Eastern Europe were fleeing into the U.S.
zones of Germany and Austria at the rate of a thousand
a day, he firmly resisted pressures to close the borders
to them. Instead, he persuaded the highest echelons of the
U.S. government that it was possible to work cooperative-
ly with representatives of the major Jewish organizations
in coping with the flow.
"Hilldring would not yield to persistent pressure from
the British government to deny further haven to Jews in
the U.S. zones of Germany and Austria. He declined to
place any obstacles in the way of their emigration to
Palestine through the British blockade. He directed that
detailed plans be prepared for the United States to assume
the financial and logical burden of transporting to Pale-
stine the 100,000 Jewish DPs whose admission had been
unanimously recommended by the Anglo-American Com-
mittee. This undercut the British contention that the move-
ment of such a number in a short period of time would
be impracticable.
"Perhaps the most dramatic moment in Hilldring's
career, and certainly the most significant for Israel, oc-
curred in late August 1947, just before his scheduled
retirement. President Truman personally telephoned him
and summoned him to the White House.
"The UN General Assembly was about to consider
the partition of Palestine. The Pre s ident told Hilldring
of his determination to support the partition plan leading
to the formation of a Jewish state. However, he was sus-
picious that his policy was being undermined by pro-
Arabists in the State Department. The President had
just foiled a maneuver by the pro-Arabists to appoint
one of their own as the member of the U.S. delegation
to the General Assembly who would be primarily re-
sponsible for the Palestine question. The President per-
suaded. Hilldring to take on this assignment instead, as
the one knowledgeable and effective person in the State
Department whom he could completely trust on this sub-
ject. Truman cautioned Hilldring to keep a channel of
communication open directly to the White House,
"At the General Assembly, Hilldring was a tower of
strength in support of the President's position. The two-
thirds majority in favor of partition on Nov. 29, 1947,
might never have been achieved but for his efforts.
Hilldring had been a tough infantry officer who had
landed in the Pentagon during the middle of the war only
by chance. His unusual ability to get quickly to the heart
of a problem and to solve it energetically brought him
some of the toughest assignments during and after the
war.
"He often referred to himself as 'just a simple sol-
dier,' but in reality he had a shrewd ability to confront
a complex situation and break it down into manageable
segments. Despite his gruff exterior, he had a deep sym-
pathy for the underdog. Although he had no previous
background about Jews and Palestine, he became more
and more absorbed in trying to be helpful. He developed
a warm admiration for the courage of the Jewish sur-
vivors and took deep personal satisfaction in the success
of his many efforts on their behalf."
We when saying zahor—remember! — when dealing
with the tragic, we must also assert a pledge of remem-
bering in recalling the courageous who would not tolerate
hatred.
Hilidring helped remove obstacles from the path of
our people. Perhaps he read the Haftorah for Yom Kippur
which calls for removal of obstacles from Israel's difficult
roads toward- redemption.
Blessed be the name of John H. Hilidring.
Genocide Convention: A Senate Travesty?
By Philip
Siomovitz
He said, "Because she talks and talks and talks
and talks all the time."
The lawyer said, "Well, what does she talk about?"
The husband said, "She don't say."
Mr. President, that is a perfect description of the
Genocide Treaty. Nobody knows what it means.
How interesting! After the many years of interna-
tional acclaim for the Genocide Convention.
But Senator Ervin apparently likes the story just
quoted. He addressed Yale University students in New
Haven, Feb. 12, and he told this exact story. Reporting
it in the New York Times, Feb. 13, Michael Knight
commented:
"The students laughed, the Senator laughed, but
moments later no one was sure of what exactly he
meant."
He must have drawn a laugh also in the Senate—
the Congressional Record no longer reports laughs, pro-
tests, shouts.
Senator Ervin had solid Southern backing against the
genocide proposal. He had the backing also of Senator
Barry Goldwater of Arizona. Senator William Lloyd
Scott of Virginia, an opponent of the treaty, (Senator Hugh
Scott of Pennsylvania supported it) made the point that
nations guiltiest of mass murder crimes, including Russia,
are among those who ratified the Genocide Convention.
The point he made was that in the U.S. there is no fear
of genocide, therefore, why adopt a measure he and his
associates considered damaging to our status?
The international aspect, the value of American con-
cerns, was ignored.
That's how the matter stands now. Not that back-
ward nations, even if they had voted for the Genocide
Convention, can be held accountable for crimes. But
there is a principle involved, and the Senate did not
abide by it.
Therefore, let's laugh at Sam Ervin's jokes and hope
that what had occurred under Nazism will not be re-
peated. Our top legislators could have said that we did
not fight in vain in World War II. Let it not be said that
a struggle against tyranny was ever in vain. Liberals must
still remain on the alert.
*
As the new Uncle Sam, the Watergate-created hero
of the Potomac, Senator Sam Ervin of North Carolina has
become the authority on humanitarianism. He can lecture
anywhere he wishes. He quotes the Bible and his audience
bows: he tells a story and no one dares not laugh. It
may be difficult to grasp what he drives at. But Sam
Ervin must draw a laugh. That's the ptice we pay today
for the tragedies emanating from the White House that
have raised Uncle Sam from North Carolina to Napo-
leonic heights.
Perhaps it is also the price paid for America's nig-
gardliness and inconsistency in tackling a supreme wort.]
problem : that of ruling out any and all genocidal attempts
for all time—if that could possibly be enacted for the
entire universe.
Senator Ervin masterminded the opposition to Ameri-
can endorsement of the Genocide Convention which was
really the brainchild of the United States.
Our representatives secured its adoption, unanimously,
by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948. Presi-
dent Harry S. Truman submitted it for ratification by the
U.S. Senate and the treaty was endorsed by all presidents
since then. But during all those years, until the present,
the Senate Foreign Relations Committee refused to approve
it. It finally gained endorsement, it came up for consid-
Horace Kallen's Enriching Legacy
eration in the Senate last week, and the opposition led
To have known Horace Meyer Kallen was to be en-
by Senator Ervin managed to prevent its approval.
riched in one's lifetime. To have been associated wish
When the first announcement was made in the Senate
him in the Zionist cause was an additional privilege.
that the Genocide Convention would come up for discus-
He was one of the
sion, Senator William Proxmire of Wisconsin made this
American giants and
statement on Jan. 24:
one of world Jewry's
most beloved sons.
"Mr. President, next week the Senate will be faced
'Because he was a
with a rare opportunity to reassert our national dedica-
nonbeliever did not
tion to the furtherance of human rights on a global scale.
necessarily brand him
The occasion will be our consideration of the Genocide
either among the in-
Convention, the first human rights treaty ever to be ad-
different to his peo-
opted by the United Nations General Assembly.
ple's needs or a cast-
"It has always seemed to me a cruel parado;:, Mr.
away. He was among
President, that the nation which fought so hard to develop
the great in the ranks
and expand international law in the human rights field,
of the secularists who
should let this treaty languish before the Senate for
was deeply involved
nearly a quarter-century. It is long past time for the
in Jewish affairs;
United 'States to carry forward its own pronounced prin-
who was a pioneer in.
ciples in support of human rights. This step is not only
Zionism, a striver for
in the national interest but in the interest of men every-
just rights for his
where.
people in a role of
"The United States must regain the position of moral
leadership.
leadership that it has lost by default. We can no longer
At the same time,
tolerate inaction. Today, as we examine and re-examine
he contributed im-
the perquisites of a sound foreign policy, we are finally
mensely to the ad-
perceiving the interconnection between the promotion of
Dr. Kallen's photo when he spoke vancement of Jewish
human rights and the attainment of global peace. Mr.
at Wayne State University in 1954.
cultural values.
President, we have long since dedicated ourselves to
Hebraist and cultural pluralist are the titles he ac-
bringing our grandchildren into a world that was cleaner
cepted that properly defined his viewpoints. To be noted
and safer than the turbulent one all of us entered. I firmly
especially is his courage. He dared defy his challengers
believe that a vote in favor of ratification of the Genocide
even when his academic security was involved. He gained
Convention is a small step in that direction."
a place of honor even in the ranks of the religious in spite
Senators Jacob Javits of New York and Frank Church
of his irreligiosity. In one of the paid tributes to his mem-
of Idaho led valiantly in the effort to convince the Sen-
ory in the N.Y. Times, on the day after his passing. 'me
ate that there was safety along tife road to humanitarian-
national Jewish agency, headed by ultra-Orthodox, rep
ism in the proposed UN treaty which had already been
to him as "brilliant scholar and profound religion...,
adopted by 75 nations. But to no avail. Opposition to the
That's an encomium he would have enjoyed.
Genocide Convention is believed to have commenced
He was so deeply involved in the Zionist cause that
years ago out of fear that this country would be tried on
he became one of Louis D. Brandeis' closest associates.
grounds of racism in an international court, and the
Brandeis depended upon him and was guided by him.
American Bar Association kept a lid on any action in sup-
Numerous letters from Brandeis to Kallen in "Letters
port of the UN treaty. But by a small margin the ABA
of Louis D. Brandeis, 1913-1915," edited by Profs. Melvin
recently reversed its opposition. The race issue is on the
I. Urefsky and David W. Levy, contain impressive data
road to firm solution in this country, and the supporters
about Kallen's role in strengthening the Zionist movement,
of the measure kept emphasizing that the fears of inter-
in organizational activities, in challenging David Philip-
national action against this country on grounds of racial
son's anti-Zionist stubbornness in Cincinnati. More about
segregation are unjustified.
that episode and other Brandeis-Kallen relationships will
Nevertheless, the South formed a bloc that ended
be told in the review of the Brandeis letters.
current action in support of the Genocide Convention,
Kallen's role in American Jewry's cultural activities
ignoring. America's leadership in its original introduction.
is among the most enriching in the past four decades.
Senator Ervin opened the argument for the opposition
He has contributed immensely to the advancement of
with a story, stating in his Senate speech, on Feb. 5:
Jewish learning, to defensive mechanisms in the fight
Mr. President, I have read the Genocide Treaty
against bigotry, to the inspirational work among students.
many times and every time I read it it reminds me of
He was a very wise man. There isn't a single book
the man who went to a lawyer and told the lawyer he
of quotations published in the last quarter century that
wanted to bring a suit to get a divorce from his wife.
doesn't contain excerpts froth his works., He has. left a
The lawyer asked the client, "Why do you want
to
.
4
.zlegacy to be revered.
divorce
your
-wife?"
2—Friday, Feb. 22, 1974 • THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
•
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