12
Friday, April 24, 1981
The truth sublime is al-
ways easy.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Hitler Muted Holocaust Opposition
HAMBURG (ZINS) —
Nazi Munition Minister Al-
bert Speer says that several
top Nazis tried to stop the
extermination of Jews, but
all fell powerless to SS
leader Heinrich Himmler,
who systematically mur-
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dered Jews on orders from
Adolf Hitler.
In a new book, "The Slave
State," Speer offers fresh
proof that Hitler personally
ordered the mass murder of
Jews. He also reveals the
systematic murder was the
subject of bitter infighting
among top Nazis. Speer,
who was perhaps Hitler's
only male friend, said that
he and other top Nazis knew
about the transportation of
Jews, but never broached
the matter with Hitler.
Henrietta von-Schirach,
the wife of the Nazi gover-
nor in Vienna, was the only
person who ever stood up for
Jews in an argument with
Hitler at his mountain re-
treat in Berchtesgarden,
Speer wrote. "She had to
leave the mountain home
the same night," he said.
"Hitler never received the
Schirachs again."
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Vorspan Deals With Jewish Issues
By ALLEN A. WARSEN
"Great Jewish Debates
and Dilemmas: Jewish
Perspectives on Moral Is-
sues in Conflict in the
Eighties" by Albert Vor-
span, published by the
Union of American Hebrew
Congregations, is a timely
volume dealing with such
issues as race relations, Is-
rael, the Jewish family,
Soviet Jewry, and the
Holocaust.
In the section titled "Race
Relations" the author dis-
cusses the Andrew Young
affair, the Bakke case, the
Supreme Court's decision
outlawing racial segrega-
tion in public schools, and
the Jewish attitude toward
public education. He recalls
that "Jews have had a hon-
eymoon with American
public education; that sys-
tem afforded the push which
lifted a poor immigrant
community into one of the
most upwardly mobile and
successful minority groups
in the history of America."
Perceptive is Vorspan's
evaluation of the Diaspora's
solidarity with Israel. With
the exception of a small
minority, he states, Jews
the world over share a
common bond with the state
of Israel; and since the UN's
obscene resolution equating
Zionism with racism "all
Jews consider themselves
Zionists."
Does solidarity with Is-
rael mean Jewry's sub-
ordination spiritually
and culturally to Israel?
And is solidarity analog-
ous with the concept of
centrality of Israel?
The author's reply seems
to correspond to that of Dr.
Gerson Cohen, chancellor of
the Jewish Theological
Seminary of America, who
"challenged the concept of
the centrality of Israel,
countering with the theme
of the centrality of the
Jewish people."
Profound is Vorspan's
examination of Jewish fam-
ily life in the U.S. He is
primarily concerned with
such moral issues as unre-
stricted sexual freedom, the
choice of married couples
not to have children, inter-
marriage and homosexual-
ity. He is troubled by the
low Jewish birth rate and
contends that many Ameri-
can Jews value sports, tele-
vision and the automobile
more than they do "Hillel,
Deborah, Isaiah and
Moses."
He notes that of the esti-
mated 10 percent homosex-
uals in America, a signific-
ant proportion "is composed
of Jewish men and women."
He observes that even
among the Reform rabbis
there is no unanimity re-
garding this serious prob-
lem. Rabbi Solomon B.
Freehof, for instance, con-
siders homosexuality as a
sin, yet he would not keep
homosexuals out of the Re-
form congregation. He is
opposed, though, to sepa-
rate homosexual congrega-
tions affiliated with the
UAHC.
Rabbi Leonard Beerman,
on the other hand, advo-
cates that "homosexuals
who want their own congre-
gations should be assisted
by the Union . . . having
their own congregations
will serve a vital function in
helping them to achieve
status and dignity as Jews
and as homosexuals."
Rabbi Beerman's view
prevailed. In 1974, the
board of governors of the
UAHC decided to admit to
membership a congregation
of homosexuals "provided it
was open to all Jews and not
only to gay Jews."
Incisive is Vorspan's ac-
count of the dilemmas fac-
ing Soviet Jews. Foremost is
the dilemma of the Jews
who are eager to live a fully
Jewish life, but are forbid-
den by official anti-Jewish
enactments. Unlike other
nationalities in the Soviet
Union, the Jews are not
allowed to have schools,
newspapers, books, theat-
ers, cultural and religious
associations.
Another dilemma con-
fronting Soviet Jews is
their desire to enjoy full
citizenship rights. These
rights, however, are cir-
cumscribed by gov-
ernmental discriminat-
ory policies. For in-
stance, admission of
Jews to schools of higher
learning is restricted by
quotas; Jews are
excluded from sensitive
positions in the Com-
munist Party and gov-
ernment; and their mili-
tary advancement is
limited to a minimum.
Nonetheless, "something
has happened," writes Vor-
span, "to change the situa-
tion." Suddenly after de-
cades of silence and fear, the
Jews "began to speak out, to
demonstrate, to protest, to
"demand' the right to live as
Jews — or to leave the
Soviet Union."
As a result, "The gates of
Russia began to creak open.
Almost 200,000 Jews left
between 1971 and 1980."
Impressive is the author's
description of the dilemmas
resulting from the
Holocaust.
First are the questioro-
what lesson should
Jewish people draw froin
this great tragedy?
Should they despair in
humankind and rely sol-
ely on themselves or
should they pursue a
dialogue with other
ethnic and religious
groups?
Insightful
are the
author's answers: "If, in
order to survive, we must
bid the world goodbye, sepa-
rate ourselves from
humankind . . . then survi-
val is a dubious virtue." But
if the Jews are to survive
spiritually and culturally in
this world, they must be "a
part of the civilizing and
humanizing force of the
universe."
"Great Debates and Di-
lemmas: Jewish Perspec-
tives on Moral Issues in
Conflict in the Eighties" is a
timely volume, draws the
reader into historical issues
and is popularly written.
Albert Vorspan is vice
president of the Union of
American Hebrew Congre-
gations and the author of
"Jewish Values and Social
Crisis."
Papuan Finds Jewish Roots
By HENRIETTE BOAS
AMSTERDAM (JTA) —
Damianus Barnun is a reg-
ular worshipper at the
synagogue in The Hague.
He is the only worshipper
who is Papuan, a native of
New Guinea, the eas-
ternmost island of the
former Netherlands East
Indies which is now known
as West Irian and is part of
the Republic of Indonesia.
How Barnun came to dis-
cover his Jewishness was
the subject of an article in
the Dutch weekly NIW
which did not, however, dis-
close the name of his mother
or other relatives who still
live in Indonesia although
their names, according to
the writer, are distinctively
Jewish.
The story began during
World War II when Dr.
Samuel Abas, a Jewish
physician from Amsterdam,
escaped from Holland just
as the Nazis invaded the
country and made his way
to New Guinea. He worked
at the hospital in Biak
where Barnun was a medi-
cal orderly.
When the doctor in-
formed him that his fam-
ily name was Jewish,
Barnun was surprised.
He showed Abas a
prayerbook that he pos-
sessed written in strange
characters which, he be-
lieved, were Chinese.
Abas told him it was He-
brew.
Barnun's father died in a
Japanese concentration
camp during the war and
the son was baptized a Pro-
testant. He came to Holland
some 15 years later and
joined a Protestant congre-
gation. But he did not feel at
home there, he said, and
subsequently joined The
Hague Synagogue and for-
mally converted to the
Jewish faith.
Company Finds
Industrial Use
for Solar Power
JERUSALEM (JNI) —
Luz International of
Jerusalem is supplying two
Israeli companies with
what is described as "the
world's most advanced--
tem" of utilizing solar pt,
for industrial use. The units
.iupply energy to produce
steam at 10 percent less
than oil-powered generat-
ing would cost.
Known as the "Shemesh
Utility System," the method
employs parabolic reflectors
to concentrate sunlight on
pipes containing a special
heat-absorbing fluid which
reaches temperatures of up
to 300 degrees centigrade.
Each unit is guaranteed for
20 years and should pay for
itself by the energy it saves
within five years.