THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

r

New Fackenheim-Edited Volume of Essays
Recalls Auschwitz Horrors, Rise of Israel

By ALLEN A. WARSEN

"Hitler envisaged the
camps as places where his
prisoners expiated their
crimes; instead, the camps
created saints and martyrs
on an unprecedented scale."
The above passage from
Robert Paine's "The Life
and Death of Adolph Hitler"
is quoted by Dr. Emil L.
Fackenheim in his book of
collected essays titled "The
•ish Return Into His-
y," subtitled "Reflections
in the Age of Auschwitz and
a New Jerusalem" (Shoc-
ken).
The book, in addition to
nre--Intruclutitiff,
c
lb -aivldad-
into three parts: "Openness
to Surprise, or a Bridge to
Secularity," "The Com-
manding Voice of Au-
schwitz" and "The Cen-
trality of Israel."
The essays, too, bear
profound headings. For
instance, "Jewish Faith
and the Holocaust: A
Fragment," "The Nazi
Holocaust as a Persisting
Trauma for the Non-
Jewish Mind," and "Is-
rael and the Diaspora."
In the essay "Jewish
Faith and the Holocaust: A
Fragment," the author
explores the meaning of Au-
schwitz and looks for a ra-
tional explanation "to the
scandal of evil for evil's
sake, an eruption of de-
monism without analogy."
He asks, "Where else and at
what other time have
executioners ever separated
those to be murdered now
from those to be murdered
later to the strain of Vien-
nese waltzes?"
The author, moreover,
ponders on the attitude of
Christians toward the
Holocaust, and is mystified
by the thinking and posi-
tions taken by such well-
known theologians as Car-
dinal Faulhaber and Diet-
rich Bonhoefer who were
regarded by the author and
many Jews-as saints.
1
To his great sorrow, the
author found out that
Faulhaber defended "Old
Testament" Jews only;
whereas Bonhoefer, though
he saved some Jewish lives,
fought only for the rights of
converted Jews;
Yet, Prof. Fackenheim
remains hopeful. For, de-
spite Auschwitz, the
Jews "responded with an
unexpected will to live .. .
an incredible commit-
ment to Jewish group
-survival." Such a corn-
, fitment he asserts, "is in
itself a monumental act of
faithfulness, as well as a
monumental, albeit as
yet, fragmentary act of
faith."
In the essay "The Nazi
Holocaust as a Persisting
Trauma for the Non-Jewish
Mind," Prof. Fackenheim
examines some of the litera-
ture written by non-Jews on
Nazi Germany. He notes
that some authors argue
"that Nazism was neither
monolithic nor efficient, but
consisted of conflicting fief-
doms or was even a 'to-
talitarian anarchy.' " Thus

-

EMIL FACKENHEIM

-

•rreirnz -rionne- -in his book
"The Order of the Death's
Head" distinguished be-
tween fanatic Jew-haters
and "SD intellectuals"
(Sicherheitsdienst, or Secu-
rity Service) who aimed at
solving the Jewish problem
"in a cold rational manner."
Similarly, Werner Maser
in "Hitler: Legend, Myth
and Reality" maintains that
the Fuehrer, who had "re-
markable knowledge of the
Talmud," at the time of Au-
schwitz was a sick man.
Thus, Maser tries to absolve
Hitler of history's greatest
crime. Maser, moreover,
fails to mention Hitler's
zoological anti-Semitism
prior to Auschwitz and to
comment on the notorious
letter he had written in
1919.
"In this letter Hitler dis-
tinguishes between a
`merely emotional anti-
Semitism which can lead to
nothing more effective than
pogrom,' and one based on
reason which alone can

have as 'its final aoal ... the
removal of the b Jews as a
whole.' " But Robert Paine
in the above mentioned
book writes, "Hitler's letter
is just as terrifying as the
"Protocols" (of the Elders of
Zion), but the terror is of a
different order. It is wholly
German: as methodical as a
German soldier's jackboots
as he stamps out everything
in his path."
In still another pas-
sage, Paine writes, "The
cost of the S.S. in terms of
men, material, buildings
and railroad tracks espe-
,...1.....11j
I:W. 0..
extermination camps ran
into hundreds of millions
of marks. With rare ex-
ceptions the S.S. only kil-
led people who presented
no threat to the regime.
The killing served no
purpose. The soap made
of human fat, the hair
used for stuffing mattres-
ses, the gold fillings that
were melted down to add
to the gold reserves of the
Central Bank were only
marginally more useful
than the lamp-shades
made of human skin by
Ilse Koch, the wife of the
commandant of
Buchenwald."
No wonder the Nazi
Holocaust persists as a
trauma in the minds of
non-Jews.
In the essay "Israel and
the Diaspora" the author fo-
cuses on the diabolical alle-
gation that equates Israel
with Nazism. Such allega-
tions have been made by
Soviet and Arab propagan-
dists and delegates to the

United Nations and
elsewhere, and other un-
scrupulous demagogs. The
author asks these individu-
als these basic questions:
"Where are the Israeli gas
chambers? Where are the
cattle trains? Where is the
murderous anti-Arab prop-
aganda? Where is the desec-
ration for desecration's sake
of Muslim holy places?"
These questions will un-
doubtedly remain unan-
swered, and the cynical ac-
cusers will unquestionably
continue their obscene
propaganda.

I WV, 4- Z.

Iss.. I

crilta u

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•

Lb,

Temple Rebuilt

BUCHAREST (JTA) —
The Sephardic synagogue
here, which was destroyed
by the recent earthquake,
has been restored by the
Federation of Jewish Com-
munities of Romania.
There are no more than
300 Jews of Sephardic ori-
gin left here and most of
them are elderly,.

Jewish "organizations and causes in the
Metropolitan Detroit Community since his
arrival October 1, 1948:

S henandoah

Count ry Chib

author, outraged by this
deliberate falsehood,
warned, "Once the
obscene equation is per-
mitted the world's guilt is
wiped out. The slate is
clean. There is no moral
necessity as far as the
Jewish people are con-
cerned."
Dr. Fackenheim is profes-
sor of philosophy at the
University of Toronto and is
the author of "God's
Presence in History" and
"Encounters Between
Judaism and Modern Phi-
losophy."

Dave
Tanzman
has served or supported the following

Friday, October 21, 1918 19

-Golf Membership Available
at per-person rate
- Privdte 18 Hole Championship Course
-Private Party Rooms
_
to accommodate 500 persons-
- Weddings, Graduations, Parties

We are now taking reservations
for Golf Outings

Limited number of Golf Memberships
available

MEMBERSHIP
$600.00 PER PERSON
PER YEAR

-No Greens Fees
-No Minimum
-No Assessments

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

682-4300

5600 Walnut Lake Road

West Bloomfield, Michigan 48033

DAVE and LOTTIE
WE CONGRATULATE YOU

Gala Reception and Dinner

Jewish Community Council
of Metropolitan Detroit
Executive Committee
Internal Relations Committee
Vaad Sub-Committee, Sub-Committee,
Co-Chairman
Mediation and Arbitration Service.
Founder

Jewish War Veterans of America
Bodzin Post No. 414, Commander and
Founder
Michigan JWV—Chaplain
Brotherhood Night Committee,
Chairman

Jewish Welfare Federation

United Hebrew Schools
Board of Directors
Personnel Committee

Rabbinical Council of Metropolitan Detroit
Vaad Hayeshiroth

Mizrachi Hapoel Hamizrachi
Life Member
B'nai Akiva Member

Zionist Organization of Detroit
Life Member
Program Committee, Chairman
Labor, Zionist Alliance
Branch No. 6
B'nai B'rith

Hillel Day School of Metropolitan Detroit

Jewish National Fund

ORT Detroit Men's Chapter

National Society of Hebrew Day Schools
Recipient: National 'Amudin' Award
1978 Parlour Conference, Co-Chairman

Akiva Hebrew Day School
President
Board of Directors, Chairman
Fund Raising Committee, Chairman
Annual Concert Committee, Chairman
Established: David S. and Lottie Tanzman
Scholarship Fund
Recipient: Man-of-Year Award
Akiva—United Jewish Appeal Committee,
- Co-Chairman-
•
Delegate to Jewish Community Council

Young Israel
Young Israel or Greenfield
Founder, Gabiji Board Chairman
Constitution Committee, Chairman
Young Israel of Oak Woods
Young Israel of Southfield
Young Israel Council of Metropolitan
Detroit
NCSY—Young Israel Teens
Recipient: National Council of Young .
Israel "Scholar" Award
Delegate to Jewish Community council

Beth Yehudah Day School

honoring

DAVID S. TANZMAN

UPON HIS RETIREMENT FROM THE
Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service
after 38 years of United States Government Service

Tuesday, October 31, 1978

Cobo Hall, Detroit, Michigan

Jewish Home for Aged

Women's Orthodox League

Federation Apartments Senior Citizens

Teacher/Lecturer/Auxiliary Cantor
Young Israel of Metropolitan Detroit
Congregation Shaarey Zedek
Congregation Adat Shalom
Congregation Beth Achim
Congregation Beth Moses
Congregation B'nai David
Congregation B'nai Moshe
Congregation Beth Shalom

Mediator: Labor/Management;
Congregation/Personnel; Personal Disputes
in the Metropolitan Detroit Jewish Community

Reception 7:00 p.m.
Dinner 8:00 p.m.

Dietary laws observed.

Couvert $50.00

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