52 Friday September 3; 1976
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Geometry, Starwberries, Flowers
By DAVID SCHWARTZ
(Copyright 1976, JTA, Inc.)
Pauline Chotzinoff,
who has just passed
away, had music all-about
her. She was the sister of
.Heifetz, the violinist; the
wife of the music critic,
Samuel Chotzinoff and
she herself was good
enough a pianist to evoke
the praise of Toscanini.
Once she- found herself
sitting beside Einstein
-- and to make conversation
she said she had heard he
was interested in arith-
metic. Einstein asked her
if she was interested in
mathematics. "Well," she
• said, she "had studied
geometry."
"Plane geometry?"
asked Einstein. -
"Is
there
fancy
geometry too?" she asked.
Her husband, Samuel
Chotzinoff was probably-
the best known music cri-
tic in America. Later mus-
ical director of the Na-
tional Broadcasting Com-
. pany, his first fame came
to him as music critic of the
New York World.
The World was an ex-
ceptional paper. Its edito-
rial page was regarded as
the best in the country
and its staff had many
star- writers of national
fame. For the last word in
wit, people turned every
morning to The Conning
Tower, edited by
Franklin P. Adams.
Adams was more com-
monly known by his ini-
tials F.P.A. As he wrote of
himself:
"For the purpose of re-
cord in history's book
I was bo..n in Illinois,
county of Cook."
He was Jewish, but as
far as I know never iden-
tified himself with any
Jewish cause.
Originally F.P.A. had
been an insurance sales-
man. He became a writer
because he liked straw-
berries. He had gone to the
home of George Ade, a
popular writer of that day
to sell him an insurance
policy, and found him eat-
ing strawberries. It was
winter. Imagine a man rich
enough to have strawber-
`ries for breakfast in
winter. On the spot he de-
cided to become a writer.
The days of the New
York World were the days
of Fiorello La Guardia:
La Guardia always
made himself heard
plenty. More than that,
despite his short stature,
he made himself seen.
- As a member of COn-
gress, he drew out of his
.pocket a steak, then a
roast lamb and asked
what workingman could
afford to pay three dollars
for a roast lamb of that
size. During prohibition
days, he manufactured
beer - on the steps of the
Capitol in Washington
and challenged the police
to arrest him.
0 Fiorello — Little
Flower we miss you!
And speaking of little
flowers of that day — there
was another interesting
little flower — Billy Rose.
He was not only short-
legged but 'derived his
first fame for his shor-
thand. He won the natiohal,
prize year after year as the
fastest shorthand writer in
the country.
One day a woman told
him - of the fortune Irving
Berlin made writing
songs. He dropped the
shorthand business, want
How the _Soviets Saw Entebbe
•
to the public Libra,.• and
began studying popular
songs. He indexed the
songs for -rhymes and
sounds and came to the
conviction that the only
important line if .popular
songs is the first line of
the chorus.
Sounds were important
and the best sound was
oo. So he wrote Barney
Google which was a popu-
lar hit and followed that
with "Would You Like To
Take A Walk?" and
others.
All of which goes to
prove, I guess, that one
should not under-rate
geometry, strawberries
and flowers.
German Magazine
Recognizes Jews
Notable JeWs of German
descent gained recognition
in the recent issue of Ger-
man International
magazine.
.4
Kissinger
•
Einstein
Gertrude Samuels' Mottele,'
an Exciting Adventure Novel
BY HEIDI PRESS
Children were important
to the partisans who fought
the Nazis from the forests
because they could help in
the camp and be used on
missions owing to their
diminutive size.
The story of one such
child, based on fact, is
recaptured in a new novel,
"Mottele," by Gertrude
Samuels. In her Harper and
RoW-published volume, Ms.
Samuels makes use of ac-
tual quotes, writings and
interviews of a major par-
tisan camp leader, Moshe
Gildenman, whose family
now lives in Israel.
As a former writer for the
New York Times, Ms.
Samuels used her reporting
expertise throughout her
world travels, talking to
Jewish partisans of World
War II, to gain information
for her work.
"Mottele" is an historical
adventure which is easily
read in one or two sittings
since the excitement of the
boy's mission would be
lost if the book were laid
aside.
Twelve-year-old Mottele
(nee Mordechai Shlayan)
was a fair-haired, blue-eyed
survivor of a German Ak-
tion against the Jews in a
small Ukrainian town. He
escaped the attack with his
violin which he played as a
virtuoso.
The violin helped him
gain entrance to the Ger-
man officers club in Ovruch.
There, his curiosity led him
to some unused closets in
the building, and he der;-od
a plan, which the part
accepted, whereby he could
store explosives unnoticed
in the closet and at a
specified time blow away
the building. The plan
worked and Mottele's
credibility as a fighter
gained recognition
throughout the camp. In
time he he would be sent on
more dangerous missions.
Historically the novel is
important because it
provides a corollary to the
tales of the Jews who did
fight back. As an adventure
it provides the leisure
reader with enjoyment as
the hero succeeds in sub-
duing the enemy. Although
its simple presentation is
geared for a younger reader,
adults will find Gertrude
Samuels' "Mottele" another
important addition to
Holocaust literature collec-
tions.
Pictured on the cover are
U.S Secretary of State
Henry Kissinger and Albert
Einstein, father of the
theory of relativity. In a
Educators Issue
major article for the
American
Bicentennial, the
High Holiday Tape magazine recalls
the major
NEW YORK — The contributions of Germans or
Jewish Education Board those of German descent to
of Greater New York has America.
produced the second in a
series of holiday-melody CJF Aid Asked
cassettes, "High Holy
Day and Sukkot in Flu Shot Plan
Melodies."
NEW YORK—The U.S.
The cassette contains Department
of Health,
20 selections performed Education and Welfare
by Hebrew school stu- has requested the coop-
dents with the music for eration of the Council of
Rosh Hashana and Yom
Federations in
Kippur based on tradi- Jewish
carrying
out its influenza
tional Askenazic tunes,. immunization
program.
and the Sukkot melodies
The CJF is sending
including both tradi- •each of its 215 member
Buber's W. German Home
tional and Hasidic federations a packet of
melodies.
materials prepared by
Saved From Demolition
For information on the
Center .for Disease
cassettes, write Eileen G. the
W.
BONN (JTA)— A house
Control
which
gives
all
re-
Roth, Board of Jewish levant data including
in Heppenheim, West
Education, 426 W. 58th lists of local contact of-
Germany, where Jewish
St., New York, N.Y. 10019. fices
Martin
philosopher .
general
and
Buber lived for 22 years,
on the prog-
Jerusalem to Host background
has been temporarily
ram.
saved from demolition,
Film, TV Festival
The federations are
thankS to protests by a
JERUSALEM — A being asked to make the
citizens' action group.
total of 20 TV networks, information available to
- including the major their local community -.. The Cultural Ministry
of the -FreVill 'State -of
broadcasting organiza- centers, schools, - homes
Hessen has declared the
tions of the Western for the aged -and hospi-
house a •national monu-
world, will be among the tals,
ment but the town council
many participants at the
of Heppenheim, a town of
First World Jewish Film Poems Published
24,000 residents situated
and TeleviSion Festival
30 miles south of .
NEW YORK — The
which will take place in
Frankfurt, is appealing
young, committed gener-
Jerusalem- from Oct
MARTIN BUBER
the decision. The council
ation of Jews, has found a
24 to 30.
has
owned
the
house
memorative
plaque out-
champion
in
poet
Daniel
At least 15 countries
since 1949 and used it as a side.
have ,.submitted entries . Siegel's work.
Buber lived in the
youth center. It plans to
The Department of
befo-re an -international
erect
a
new
district
ad-
house
while a professor at
Youth
Activities
of
the
panel of experts which
ministration building on Frankfurt University.
met recently in United Synagogue of
the site as part of an During that period he and
150 America has just pub-
• Jerusalem. Son
urban renewal program Franz Rosenzweig, the
films and TV programs lished Siegel's second
Germ-an Jewish phi-
in the area.
were screened, from book of poetry, "And God
completed
In an effort to.appease losopher,
-which 40 were selected to Braided Eve's Hair."
The poems, illustrated
the_ protesters, the Coun- an Old Testament trans-
compete for the first, sec-
by Allan Sugar-man,
cil has offered to dedicate lation from Hebrew to
. and and third prizes.
a room in the planned German which won wide
cover the Holocaust, the
building as a "Martin acclaim, as well as several
Students in Israel
struggle of Russian
Buber" reading or memo- other books and p.P m-
Jewry,
as
well
as
Biblical
Receive Assistance and Talmudic stories. •
rial 140(1W...with.. 4 . Apm- phlets.
• NEW YORK — Some
70 percent of teenage
immigrants who attend a
college or university in
pression of the political chairman of the Israel
Israel remain in the
TEL AVIV (JTA) —
illness infecting present Football Association, had
Israel was ousted, as ex-
country after five years,
applied for, and was re-
day sports.
according to figures re- pected, from the Asian
fused,
an entry visa by
,Yadlin
denounced
the
leased recently by the Football (soccer) Confed-
ouster-move as an "act of Malaysia.
Central Census Bureau eration by a unanimous
Che Hin of Malaysia,
discrimination against
in Jerusalem.
vote of the 21 delegates-
Israel, contrary to the the Confederation's gen-
Of this percentage, the attending the Confedera-
regulations of the Asian eral secretary, said that
statistics indicate, a tion conferences at Kuala
Football Confederation he had received a cable
majority received assis- Lampur. Israel helped to
and the principles of the from Almog demanding
establish the Conference
tance from the Student
International Federation that the Confederation
in 1954 and participated
Authority of the Ministry
of Football Associations discuss his proposal for
in
all
subsequent
Asiatic
-of Absorption. There are
and contrary to the spirit Saadon to be dismissed
currently 5,600 young soccer tournaments un-
for presenting the ouster
of sports."
people studying at vari- der Confederation spon-
proposal,_ but the cable
ous universities through- sorship.
The ouster motion was was not read at the meet-
out Israel with the help of
made by Ahmed el- ing.
Education
Israeli
the authority.
There was a possibility
Saadon, a member of the
Minister Aharon Yadlin
The vast majority of
Kuwaiti delegation. In an- that Israel might be ac-
said, in the first official
these people emigrated
ticipation of the ouster ac- cepted by the European
reaction to the ouster,
from the U.S.S.R. and the
tion, Michael Almog, regional soccer group.
that
this
move
was
an
ex-
West.
Israel Voted Out of Asian Soccer
uMewAyHavoAkioe rpm)* Tenb-aelieckwx nriparos.
_PAK.,
.E4Nemaie.
This political cartoon, published in Izvestia and
obtained by the National Conference on Soviet Jewry,
depicts the Soviet version of the Israeli rescue at Ugan-
da's Entebbe airport. Though the planes destroyed by
the Israeli forces were Soviet built MIG-interceptors,'
they are depicted as passenger liners. No mention was
made of the 103 hostages rescued by the Israeli forces.