22 Friday, March 16, 1919
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Holocaust' Film Draws Huge Audience
in France for Final Segment an Panel
PARIS (JTA) — Nearly
half of France's population,
over 20 million people,
watched the fourth and last
episode of the NBC-TV
series "Holocaust" last
week. In a country whose
television viewers tradi-
tionally switch off by 11
p.m., four of every five sets
remained on until 1 a.m. to
watch the panel' debate
which followed the final
"Holocaust" installment.
President Valery Giscard
BACKGAMMON
Custom Made
Tahles
equipment,
private lessons
398-6145
d'Estaing extended official
congratulations to Health
Minister Simone Veil, one
of the panel's participants,
and herself a former Au-
schwitz deportee for "hav-
ing said what all Fren-
chmen felt on this subject."
• Mrs. Veil, whose
mother and sister died in
deportation;\ spoke with-
out hatred and with no
passion: "The worst was
not what was inflicted on
us but what we became —
animals thinking only
about our own- survival,
animals who seemed to
have lost all sense of hu-
manity," she said.
Mrs. Veil recalled the
squalor and the hunger
PLAN AHEAD
B & S
LAWN SPRINKLER
SYSTEMS & SERVICES INC.
NOW TAKING ESTIMATES ON
LAWN SPRINKLER INSTALLATIONS
If you are moving into a new house or plan
on improving your present one, the time is
now to get the facts and figures about
SPRINKLER SYSTEMS. We are experi-
enced and our work is fully guaranteed
with excellent references available. We
would like to be your sprinkler contractors
this season.
BILL HEALD
STUART POSNER
569-8344
which she had endured. "We
were dressed in tatters,
bare-footed or wearing
over-size shoes, dirty, hun-
gry and sick." Mrs. Veil who
spoke in a calm and low
voice said the film "fails to
show the real horror of what
we had endured. The worst
actually was what hap-
pened within ourselves."
* * *
NATO's Luns
Admits Nazi Tie
AMSTERDAM (JTA) —
Joseph Luns, secretary gen-
eral of 'the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization, con-
ceded that he had been
enrolled in the Dutch Nazi
Party (NSB) when he was a
student in the early 1930s.
He retracted an earlier de-
nial after he was shown the
NSB membership roster in
the archives of The Nether-
lands State Institute for
War Documents on which
his name appears.
But it remained unclear
whether Luns, who served
as Netherlands Foreign
Minister from 1956-1971,
joined the NSB himself or
was enrolled by someone
else without his knowledge.
The roster shows that
he
-
was a member from 1933
until early in 1936.
Luns' Nazi membership
has been debated in Holland
for several weeks. Last
week, after Luns' admis-
sion, the Dutch Parliament
voted not to investigate the
issue.
* * *
Film Is Bombed
PARIS (JTA) — An in-
cendiary bomb was thrown
last week into the projection
booth of a cinema in Vin-
cennes showing an anti-
Nazi film. The operator was
injured and the film, "In the
Fuehrer's Name," was
damaged.
Recognition Push
STRASBOURG — The
European Parliament has
called upon prospective
members Greece and Spain
to formally recognize Israel.
Ours Alone!
Hand wrought gold Hebrew letters to wear
around your neck, ankle, or wrist
spelling one's name
or sending a personal message. .
Priced from $125
David Mchler & Sons
Internationally famous award winning Jewelers
American Federal Savings Building
24700 Northwestern Hwy. / SoUthfield, MI / (313) 356-7322
Your Master Charge and Visa Card Welcome
Senators Seek U.S. Investigation
of Allies' Refusal to Bomb Camp
WASHINGTON (JTA) —
Three Senators, including
Carl Levin of Michigan,
have called for a fresh U.S.
investigation of why the Al-
lied forces did not attempt to
disrupt the slaughter in the
death camps at Auschwitz
in World War II.
Their statements last-
week came after the Central
Intelligence 'Agency re-
leased aerial reconnais-
sance photographs showing
the Auschwitz layout and
passed them on to the Na-
tional Archives and to the
White House.
. President Carter gave the
photographs to the
Holocaust Commission
which he appoiniisi last No-
vember to establish a suita-
ble remembrance of the vic-
tims of the Nazi horror.
Two freshmen Senators,
Levin and Rudy Boschwitz
(R-Minn.), himself a refugee
as a child from Nazi Ger-
many, brought the matter
to the Senate's attention,
following the publication of
the Auschwitz photos.
Shortly after their state-
ment, Sen. William Prox-
mire (D-Wis.), making his
daily appeal for Senate
ratification Of the United
Nations Genocide Conven-
tion, pointed to the photo-•
graphs as further evidence
of the need for acceptance of
the anti-genocide provision
as U.S. law.
Levin, whose maiden
speech in the Senate in
January urged approval
of the Genocide Conven-
tion, pointed out that "the
photographs taken in
1944 and 1945 provide
further evidence that Al-
lied authorities were
aware of the slaughter
taking place at Au-
schwitz during the latter
years of the war, which
makes even more dis-
turbing the fact that no
direct attempt was ever
made to disrupt it."
•
The question of why the'
Allies did not undertake
any military action against
the camp or the rail lines
used to transport prisoners
to it "has been a painful one
throughout the postwar
years," Levin said. 'The just
released photographs do not
by any means represent the
first evidence that the Al-
lies were aware of the Au-
schwitz death camp."
Historian David Wyman,
Levin noted, published
"Why Auschwitz was Never
Bombed" in the May 1948
issue of Commentary maga-
zine. Author Joseph Borkin,
whose recent book, "The
Crime and Punishment of
I.G. Farben" received
favorable reviews, also dis-
cussed this episode in World
War II history.
Levin observed that "de-
spite repeated appeals that
the U.S. direct bombing
raids at the rail lines or the
murder installations at the
camp, the War Department
consistently refused."
He quoted a War De-
partment statement in
1944 after it was urged to
bomb Auschwitz that
✓
"the suggested air opera-
tion is impracticable for
the reason that it could be
executed only by division
of considerable air sup-
port essential to the suc-
cess of our forces now
engaged in decisive op-
erations." Borkin told the
Jewish Telegraphic
Agency that this state-
ment was made by John
McCloy, then assistant
secretary for war.
"No purpose would be
served by an attempt to as-
sign blame retrospectively
for the failure to take steps
which might have saved so
many lives," Levin said.
"I do think, however,
that we could learn a great
deal about how our society
and its decision-makers
react ito humanitarian
crises. Thee vicissitudes of
the current Administra-
tion's human rights policies
demonstrate that we, as a
nation, still have not re-
solved this critical problem
of how humanitarian con-
cerns should be interrelated
with what are perceived to *
be our overriding political
and military interests. This
conflict is nowhere more
poignantly illustrated than
in our reaction to the ines-
timable tragedy of the Nazi
Holocaust."
Levin also pointed out
that "the investigation
and prosecution of sus-
pected Nazi war crimi-
nals, further demon-
strates this country's in-
effective response to this
terrible tragedy. Despite
Congressional direction,
the Immigration and
Naturalization Service
has not seen fit to
wholeheartedly investi-
gate and prosecute the
hundreds of persons who
were involved in the
Holocaust and who have
entered this country il-
legally since then."
Levin has urged U.S. At-
torney General Griffin Bell
to review the decision by the
INS not to accept $2 million
that Congress authorized
for the pursuit of Nazi war
criminals.
* *
Nazi Statute of LimitatioOs
Issue Discussed in Senate
WASHINGTON. — Cal- ernment.
ling for the West German
The Wiesenthal Center
government to abolish or has been conducting a
extend its statute of limita- world-wide lobbying ef-
tions on Nazi war -crimes, .fort to extend the statute
U.S. Senator Carl Levin of limitations. The center
(D-Mich.) said Wednesday has been distributing
that "it is unthinkable that post cards addressed to
the participants in the West German Chancellor
crimes be- allowed to con- Helmut Schmidt on the
tinue to live freely and issue.-
without the threat of pros-
Meanwhile, the London
ecution.
Jewish Chronicle reported
Levin was speaking in that neo-Nazi activities in
support of a resolution by West Germany_ have been
Sen. Alan Cranston (D- increasing. A German re-
Calif.) calling upon the port says that legal proceed-
West Germans to abolish or ings were pending against
extend the statute of limita- 600 neo-Nazis at the end of
tions on - war crimes. 1978, compared to 317 at
Cranston's resolution has the end of 1977.
33 co-sponsors, including
Between 1975 and 1978,
Levin.
authorities had opened pro-
"It is unfortunate and ceedings or inquiries in 750
ironic that the West Ger- neo-Nazi incidents. The
man statute is expiring at West German Interior
a time when the world- Ministry estimates that ex-
wide interest in major is- treme right-wing organiza-
sues surrounding the tions in West Germany
Holocaust and those who have 17,600 members.
participated in it has
been intensified," Levin
Zionist Criticism
said.
JERUSALEM (ZINS) —
"It is unfortunate because
it -is unthinkable that the Aryeh pulzin, head of the
World Zionist Organiza-
participants in:-the crimes
tion, has criticized Diaspora
be allowed' to continue to
Zionist parties for not doing
live freely and without the
more to increase immigra-
threat of prosecution," he
tion to Israel.
said.
Dulzin said the Zionist
A 28-member delegation
of prominent Americans parties should be more con-
cerned with aliya and the
was in Bonn this week to
Israel of the future, rather
meet with West German
than Israel's current prob-
leaders arid members of the
Bundestag to discuss the lems.
In discussing aliya, Shi-
statute of limitations.
mon Peres of the Labor
The delegation, which in-
Alignment told the same
cludes United States Con-
audience that Israel had
gressmen and national
never "absorbed" new im-
legal, civic, academic and
religious leaders as well as migrants. "Who was re-
Holocaust survivors, was sponsible for absorbing new
olim fiom Russia, Poland,
sent by the Simon Wiesent-
Germany, Romania and
hal Center for Holocaust
Yemen? They took care of
Studies at Yeshiva Univer-
absorbing themselves and
sity of Los Angeles, at the
invitation of the Bonn gov- they built the country."