64 Friday, April 9, 1982
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Eckardt Volume: Act of Remembering the Holocaust
Profs. Alice L. Eckardt
and A. Roy Eckardt have
roles of leadership in the
movement to assure inter-
faith justice, in major tasks
to expose anti-Semitism, in
religious and other ranks,
and in retaining the mem-
ory of the martyred of the
Nazi era with emphasis on
keeping alive the lessons of
the Holocaust.
They were participants in
the President's Commission
on the Holocaust and were
in Poland with the group
headed by Elie Wiesel. They
are members of the execu-
tive committee of Zachor,
the Holocaust Resource
Center.
Their commitments are
evidenced in "Long Night's
Journey Into Day" (Wayne
State University Press), in
which they expose and con-
demn the crimes and call for
remembrance.
In a deeply-moving
preface to this volume,
Robert McAfee Brown,
professor of theology and
ethics at Pacific School of
Religion, emphasizes
that the Holocaust is an
obligation to know and to
retain as a lesson for
mankind. Jews and
non-Jews, Germans as
well, are involved. He
therefore commends the
very title of the Eckardt
book, "Long Night's
Journey Into Day" as
being "much more than a
clever reversal of Eugene
O'Neill," adding, "Most of
the book is about a noc-
turnal journey. Only
fleetingly does day begin
to dawn at the end."
Because there have
emerged the endorsers of
the crimes, those who are
collaborating with crimi-
nality by denying the very
occurrence of the Holocaust,
the emphasis in the Ec-
kardts' text as well as Prof.
Brown's preface contribute
immensely to a sense of jus-
tice. Prof. Brown, like the
Eckardts, calls for remem-
bering, for proclaiming
"Never Again" as a warning
to those of the Nazi minds.
Thus, Prof. Brown states:
ALICE ECKARDT
"So this book is an act of
"Such claims do not de-
remembering. Remember-
ing has always been an im- serve the dignity of atten-
portant human exercise, tion or rebuttal, and yet
but in • relation to the they exist, and they employ
Holocaust it assumes cen- powerful weapons: they feed
on the implicit anti-
tral importance.
Semitism always lurking
"It has always been im- just below the surface of any
portant to remember the culture; and they feed the
Holocaust as response to insecurities of those who
that stern imperative on the want very much to believe
monument at Treblinka: there never was a Holocaust
Never Again.
— for if there never was a
"But two new factors Holocaust, then we are not
make the imperative so bad after all, we did not
even sterner. One is that do all those things we do not
before long all the want to believe we did, and
eyewitnesses will be dignity is restored to the
gone, and our remembr- human venture.
"Unfortunately for those
ance needs further tutor-
ing by theirs. The other is who want a guilt-free hu-
the emergence of a type manity, and for the Jews
of remembering that tells who were the victims, the
us to forget, that says it Holocaust did occur, and its
never happened, that immoral enormities are
says the Holocaust was a probably even greater than
hoax, that says it was a we yet know about. Only by
plot orchestrated by remembering, then, can we
Jews to gain world sym- avert a repetition.
"As the Baal Shem Tov
pathy for the state of Is-
said, in words inscribed at
rael.
.
A. ROY ECKARDT
Yad Vashem, the Holocaust
memorial in Jerusalem, "To
forget is to prolong the exile;
to remember is the begin-
ning of redemption.' "
Alice and Roy Ec-
kardt's "Long Night . ."
is a continuity of effort on
the part of a couple fre-
quently listed among the
hasidei umot ha-olam,
the saintly among the na-
tions of the world. They
are not the silent. They
have spoken and con-
tinue serving the cause of
justice for the Jew, there-
fore also in the human
need to counteract what-
ever may smack of
Nazism or its related
bigotries.
The Eckardts treat their
subject theologically. As
avowed Christians they are
effective in exposing anti-
Semitism among Chris-
tians. Their book is a verit-
able textbook for believers.
For theologians it is a guide
to the sources that call for
amity and humanism and
therefore as a summons
against prejudice.
The "uniqueness" of the
Holocaust, all its aspects,
the social challenges, are
dealt with by the Eckardts.
They state, to quote one
example:
"So shattering an event
as the Holocaust has opened
a crisis within every facet of
Christian, Jewish, and
other thinking. The singu-
larity of the Endlosung con-
notes, at once, uniqueness,
momentousness, revolu-
tion.
"Insofar as the Holocaust
is a uniquely unique hap-
pening, this is because it is
metanoia, a climactic turn-
ing around of the world
(eine Weltwende). In the
Endlosung, die Stellvertre-
ter ("the surrogates," the
agents of the devil) bring his
nefarious work to consum-
mation.
"And through the
culpable actions of many
men, the history of
humankind reaches a
fateful watershed. But so
too does the history of
God. In the Chinese lan-
guage the word for
'crisis' contains two
components: wei
chi
and
(`danger')
(`opportunity'). The
Holocaust is a crisis for
man and God alike. For
both, it is much more
than a danger, but it need
not be less than an oppor-
tunity."
Is there a "singularity" to
the Holocaust? Is there an
affecting of faith? The Ec-
kardts issue a call to faith.
They draw upon the Chris-
tian as well as Hasidic les-
sons to inspire it, as they
state in one instance:
"There is a passage from
Reinhold Niebuhr that,
when given wider applica-
tion than Niebuhr had in
mind, conjoins him and Elie
Wiesel. The passage brings
as well a little focus to
these poor midrashim upon
the tale of that strange be-
ggar who reaches out to us
from the deep shadows .-)f
Jerusalem — no, from amid -
the sunshine of that city.
The words are almost 30
years old now.
" 'Nothing that is worth
doing can be achieved in a
lifetime; therefore we must
be saved by hope. Nothing
which is true or beautiful or
good makes complete sense
in any immediate context of
history; therefore we must
be saved by faith. Nothing
we do, however virtuous,
can be accomplished alone.
Therefore we are saved by
love.'
"One vital thrust of
post-Holocaust theology,
Jewish and Christian, is
the asseveration that the
`we' here must refer as
much to God as to human
beings."
Indeed, Faith is the sub-
ject and substance of "Long
Night's Journey Into Day."
It is a volume for all who
have faith and a lesson for
those who need it. It is one of
the notable contributions by
a couple whose labors spell
courage rooted in faith.
Countries Throughout the World Are Now Buying
Military Supplies With a 'Made in Israel' Stamp
percent per year, which is
HAIFA — The sub- expected to continue
maching gun known as the through 1983.
Israel did not 'go into the
Uzi, designed and produced
munitions
business by de-
in Israel, has become almost
a trademark of Israel's sign. It all came about in the
armament industry. It is gradual development of cir-
quite common to find in pic- cumstances. As far back as
tures from many countries the 1950s, this country
that police officers, guards overhauled and recon-
and military personnel are ditioned some of its old
shown holding the familiar planes, which had been
weapon. Not long ago it was withdrawn from service,
revealed that Israel has sold and discovered there was a
1,350,000 of the guns to 42 market for them in coun-
tries like Burma, in the Far
countries.
Israel's exports of mili- East, and in Latin America.
tary merchandise are not Indeed, Israel Aircraft In-
limited to Uzis, however. dustries made its first big
The list ranges all the way money reconditioning
from howitzer artillery, planes, and went so far as to
mortars and bombs, to a buy discarded "junk" from
broad range of sophisticated other countries, which it
military electronic appara- turned into first class flying
tus, as well as non-battle craft for which there was a
items like steel helmets and market.
In that same decade
field kitchens. In 1981 the
value of such exports ex- Ben-Gurion agreed to sell
ceeded $800 million, reflect- arms to Germany. India,
ing a growth rate of 20-39 no lover of Israel, pur-
By CARL ALPERT
contact with us. Some year Israel sold $70,000,000
idealists at home have worth of munitions to
recommended that Israel Ayatollah Khomeini's gov-
draw a line and refuse to ernment in Iran. There
sell to nations that violate have been reports that con-
troversial governments in
human rights.
Latin America equip their
Who is to be the judge? armies with Israel's prod-
There is hardly a country in ucts.
the world that is not accused
An opprobrium has al-
by another bloc of countries ways been attached to the
of violating human rights. very concept of "munitioins
Israel, which has been the makers." How ironic that
target of international little Israel, which so ar-
lynching parties in the UN, dently yearns for peace, has
knows how much value can by circumstances been
be attached to decisions of propelled into that very oc-
that august body. Further- cupation.
more, some two-thirds of the
world is closed to trade with
Israel under any circum- Court Revokes
stances. The number of U.S. Citizenship
potential customers is
limited, and many of these of Former Nazi
today buy from Israel only
MIAMI (JTA) — The U.S.
on condition that the busi- citizenship of a Ukrainian-
ness relationship be kept born Nazi collaborator was
completely secret.
revoked by a District Court
Now it can be revealed, of in West Palm Beach last
course, that Iran under the week.
The ruling by Judge
Shah was a major cus-
tomer. In 1978, for example, James Paine that
one Israel company alone, Bahohdan Koziy, a resident
Soltam, sold more than of Fort Lauderdale, lied
$50,000 worth of mili- about his Nazi activities
tary merchandise to the when applying for admis-
Israel has not always Shah. The closing of that sion to the U.S. and for
been happy about its cus- market caused a severe jolt naturalization, opens the
tomers. When Idi Amin to the Israel economy. . way for deportation pro-
More recently, the New ceedings against him.
asked us to sell him
Koziy is accused of having
fighter planes, and we re- York Times has published
fused, he broke off all reports claiming that last killed at least 10 Jews.
which Israel has endured,
and the threats of war,
ensured a local market for
the wide range of products.
In time of peace, the defense
establishment was able to
stockpile its needs.
But there is a limit even
to stockpiling and the sev-
eral large industrial plants,
together with their sub-
sidiary firms, faced a seri-
ous problem. Some could
shift over to production of
civilian consumer goods,
and hold their military
production lines in readi-
CARL ALPERT
ness in case of need. To close
chased supplies here for down completely was out of
use in its war against the question, not only be-
cause of the thousands of
Pakistan.
The principal customer jobs involved, but also be-
for domestic arms produc- cause industrial activities
tion was of course our own like these are not easily re-
military forces. Indeed, the started, at the push of a but-
uncertainties of overseas ton, should national need
supply made it necessary for arise.
Thus it was that markets
us to become as self-
sufficient as possible in were sought, and found,
these matters. The wars overseas for the principal
items which Israel was will-
ing to share with the world.
Needless to say, there are
some things which remain
exclusive here.
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