18 Friday, May 5, 1918
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
An Old Friend's Tribute to the Late Gen. Lucius D. Clay
By WILLIAM HABER
University of Michigan
General Lucius D. Clay
was by common appraisal
one of the most brilliant
war-time administrators.
We worked close together in
war-time Washington. He
was an adviser on military
and production matters to
the director of War Mobili-
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ENTRY BLANK
ON PAGE 9.
zation and Reconversion
and I an adviser on man-
power. I got to know him
well and developed a tre-
mendous respect for him.
It was, therefore, a great
privilege to be asked in
January 1948 to come to
Germany as adviser on
Jewish affairs to the com-
mander in chief of U.S.
forces in Germany and Au-
stria.
The German economy
was, as those of us who are
old enough to remember,
shattered and battered. The
American army had the re-
sponsibility for providing
protection and assistance to
hundreds of thousands of
displaced persons, includ-
ing tens of thousands in
Jewish DP camps.
Gen. Clay had a reputa-
tion as a tough-minded
soldier, and he was. He
spoke with authority and
with consummate skill
overcame the Soviet
blockade of West Berlin. I
was a witness to that suc-
cessful resistance to the
Soviet effort to force the
Allied occupying powers
out of Berlin.
While Gen. Clay was a
tough soldier, it was fortu-
nate for the Jewish DPs that
he was a responsible
authority in West Ger-
many. He understood the
plight of the survivors and
was committed to ease their
burdens while they waited
to get out of 'Germany,
remember
MOTIIER PS DAy
May 14
WITH A SYMBOL OF LIFE
whether to Palestine or
wherever they could get a
visa. We should not forget,
it was a difficult period and
the world did not care for
immigrants, especially
Jewish immigrants. Even
those who secretly went to
Palestine ended up at Cyp-
rus.
I recall his observation on
the morning when
President Truman recog-
nized the newly born state
of Israel. He called me into
his office to read me the dis-
patch from Washington
with the exciting news of
U.S. recognition.
His comment was terse
and, in retrospect, true:
"Congratulations, Bill, Is-
rael will have a quick and
decisive victory. I pray that
it is wise enough to consoli-
date it for unless it does so
its problems and difficulties
are bound to increase."
Thirty years later we can
see how perceptive this ob-
servation was.
Gen. Clay was a
tough-minded man but
also had a heart. A half-
a-dozen DPs were ar-
rested for falsifying their
application for a U.S.
visa. They were to be pro-
secuted for perjury. I
wrote him a memoran-
dum pleading that they
have already been
punished: they had been
denied a visa for admis-
sion to the U.S. and they
could never get one.
To a DP this was punish-
ment enough. To prosecute
him in addition and send
him to jail for perjury would
be going too far.
He contested my view and
said, "It is time that 'these
people' learn to live in a
normal society." I countered
"happening" and that I did
not stop it. He was espe-
cially upset since he as-
sumed that I was aware of
the roads on which such in-
terception would not have
taken place. The incident
told me much about his
sympathies which, as a cor-
rect soldier, he could not
show.
I remember the criticism
heaped upon him at the
time of the Use Koch - "The
Bitch of Buchenwald" - in-
cident. He commuted her
sentence and it was hard for
many, particularly Jews, to
forgive him for being kind to
one who had made
lampshades out of human
skin. He discussed it with
me; he was not kind nor
compassionate but "due
process of law" was part of
our legal culture and, in his
view, it had not been pro-
vided.
A few years ago, when
some Jews were hung in the
public square in Baghdad,
the American Jewish
Committee asked me to
explore with Gen. Clay
whether he would head a
committee of public per-
sonalities to appeal to Iraq
to permit the Jews to leave.
It was heart-warming to
talk with him, nearly 25
years after our close asso-
ciation
in Frankfurt,
Heidelberg and Berlin.
His answer was ac
cording to the rules, "I
will have to consult the
State Department." I
GEN. CLAY
by saying that they sur-
vived only by stealth and
perhaps by bribery and
perhaps by worse methods.
They were alive, their com-
rades had gone up in smoke
and that we had no right to
be too hard on them.
In my memorandum I
quoted Justice Oliver Wen-
dell Holmes who said in one
of his famous cases, "The
law is the product of experi-
ence," and it was their ex-
perience that made it possi-
ble for them to still be alive.
I left my plea with him. The
memorandum was never
acknowledged - the men
were never prosecuted.
That incident told me much
about the man and how soft
a tough soldier can be.
I recall another inci-
dent in which he was
quite disturbed that sev-
eral trucks with DPs of
military age were ap-
prehended at the border.
They were, no doubt,
heading for some Italian
port to head for Israel at a
time when President
Truman had declared an Dutch Balk at
embargo on arms and Joseph Choice
military age manpower.
AMSTERDAM (JTA) —
The general was very up-
The Netherlands govern-
set, found it hard to believe
that I was not aware of this ment has failed so far to ap-
prove the appointment of
Mrs. Gery Joseph of Min-
neapolis as the next U.S.
only non-European country Ambassador to Holland.
She is the wife of Burton
in the competition this year.
As the winning coun- Joseph, chairman of the
try, Israel will host next Anti-Defamation League of
year's Eurovision compe- Bnai Brith and was nomi-
nated by President Carter
tition.
Izhar Cohen and his to succeed Robert McClos-
key
who is now the U.S.
troupe of pop singers and
musicians performed the Ambassador to Greece.
The
objections seem to
winning song before the
jury at the Palais des Con- stem from the fact that
Joseph,
who plans to join his
gres in Paris. It was tele-
vised world-wide and made wife in The Hague, has
Cohen and his group instant business connections with a
stars on Europe's pop music Rotterdam grain firm that
he refuses to give up, thus
scene as well as in Israel.
posing a problem of conflict
of interest.
Israel Song Wins Contest
TEL AVIV (JTA) — Is-
rael won a stunning sur-
prise victory in the Eurovi-
sion pop music contest held
in Paris last weekend.
Jubilant fans swarmed
into the streets here singing
and honking horns to the
rhythms of the winning
song — "Ah-Bah-Nee-Bee,"
with music by Nurit Hirsch
and lyrics by Ehud Manor.
It was the first win by Is-
rael since the contest was
established 23 years ago.
Moreover, Israel was the
Disclaimer on `Peace Now'
JEWISH NATIONAL FUND
TREE CERTIFICATE
PLANT TREES IN ISRAEL
in her name
Why not stop in and pick up a certificate?
Office will be open this Sunday 10 a.m. -2 p.m.
JEWISH NATIONAL FUND,
22100 Greenfield Rd.
Oak Park. Mich. 48237
968-0820
NEW YORK (JTA) —
Hadassah issued the follow-
ing statement regarding the
37 American Jews who last
week sent a letter of support
to the leaders of the Israeli
Peace Now movement:
"The statement on Is-
rael's foreign policy which
was issued by a group of in-
dividuals, including the
editor of the Hadassah
Magazine (Jesse Lurie),
does not reflect the policy of
Hadassah. Hadassah af-
firms the exclusive right of
the people of Israel to de-
termine their own security
needs and their foreign pol-
icy."
Women's Sabbath
WASHINGTON (JTA) —
In a sharp attack on the
Carter Administration's
Mideast policy, Sen. John
Heinz (R-Pa.) said Sunday
that American foreign pol-
icy mistakes had hardened
attitudes in the iMideast and,
made the quest for peice
more difficult
NEW YORK — May 13,
the Sabbath preceding
\ Mother's Day, has been
designated Women's
Branch Sabbath in honor of
the r Women's Branch of the
Union of Orthodox Jewish
Congregations of America.
U.S. Mideast
Policy Blasted
commented that their
advice would be in the
negative. He said, "That
may very well be so but I
will make my decision
independently." He
called within a few hours
and accepted the chair-
manship of the commit-
tee to save the Jews of
Iraq.
A truly good man, an able
man and a great man passed
from our scene after a life of
service to his country.
Library Science
Scholarship Told
NEW YORK —The Asso-
ciation of Jewish Libraries
announces it has made
available a $250 schol-
arship award to be given to
a student attending a
graduate school of library
science who is interested in
pursuing library service in
a field of Judaic interest.
Persons accepted in an
ALA-approved graduate
school of library science for
1978-79 or who are continu-
ing studies into the 1978-
1979 academic year are
eligible.
Applicants must pro-
vide evidence of comple-
tion of courses in Judaic
studies at an academic-
adult level, provide evi-
dence of participation in
Judaic interests, present
evidence of acceptance
from a graduate school of
library science or ex-
pected date of gradua-
tion in 1978-79 and pro-
vide a statement of about
200 words summarizing
interest in Judaic studies
and plans for future par-
ticipation.
For information, write
Association of Jewish Lib-
raries, c/o National Found-
ation for Jewish Culture,
122 E. 42nd St., Room 1512,
New York City, N.Y. 10017.
Deadline is June.
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Hearty Greetings to
Honorable Yitzhak Mayon,
the new President
of Israel
The Center Business Men's Club of 10 Mile Road wish to
commend the Knesset for electing Sephardi Yitzhak Navon as
its 5th president.
We fervently hope he will bring peace and prosperity to Israel
and all its neighbors.
Since the 6 day war, our club contributed $70,000 to the Israel
Emergency Fund.
It is our way of expressing confidence in the future of the State
of Israel.
. Clarence Gottesman
President.
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