10 'Friday, May 6, 1983

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

ISRAELSOATE

U.S. Holocaust Rescue Effort Analyzed

By AVIV CANTOR

NEW YORK (JTA) —
There has been a growing
controversy in the Ameri-
from
can Jewish community over
the role of American Jewry
in the rescue of European
ONE WAY
ROUND TRIP
Jews, the Jewish Tele-
• Guaranteed Departures • Jet Direct from NYC
graphic Agency recently
interviewed Dr. Gerhart
Riegner, secretary-general
of the World Jewish Con-
30300 TELEGRAPH ROAD, SUITE 143
BIRMINGHAM, MICHIGAN 48010
gress (WJC).
Q: The (famous tele-
(313) 540-0440 — ASK FOR LINDA
graph you sent to the
OPEN 7 DAYS / MON.-FRI. 8-7; SAT. 9-4; SUN. 11-4
World Jewish Congress
DR. GERHART RIEGNER
in London and New York
CHILD CARE &
a
number of times in his
on Aug. 8, 1942, via
HUMAN
American and British speeches that the one thing
diplomats in Switzer- that was certain was that
DEVELOPMENT
land,
that the Germans European Jews will not
STUDY
were discussing plans for survive the war. Second, the
GROUP
a "final solution" was message showed there was a
based
on a report from a plan (behind) the whole
4 SEATS LEFT
German industrialist. range of deportations from
What made the report the West.
10 DAYS JUNE 20, 1983
We already knew about
credible?
• DELUXE HOTELS
the
deportations from Cen-
A: There were three
• 8 FULL DAYS OF
tral Europe — Germany,
major
reasons
why
I
believe
SIGHTSEEING & STUDY
that report was credible. Austria and Czechoslovakia
• PAN-AM DETROIT/JFK
One, Hitler had threatened • • •
Third, I had seen the
• EL AL JFK/TEL AVIV
Nazis come- to power in
• TA DEDUCTIBLE
SMART
Germany. I knew their
CHARTER TO
PER PERSON
character, their ruthless
DOUBLE OCCUPANCY
LAS VEGAS
fanaticism and brutality.
We knew how they mur-
H.M.H. & F.
CALL
dered political enemies.
557-5145
Q: What action did you
Twin Lakes. WI
expect from American
JUNKETS! JUNKETSr Jews
in reaction to the
341Plie rSink
FOR QUALIFIED PLAYERS
telegram?
fa k
v a t
VEGAS, TAHOE, All. CITY, ETC.
A: I discussed this with
Activities for teens and
children—they're entertained
Prof.
(Paul) Guggenheim,
RYKE TRAVEL
while you play • 3 meals daily • attractive rooms • 18 hole
the legal advisor of the
golf course • floor shows and nightly dancing • horseback riding
356-8400
• swimming pool • water skiing • 5 Tennis Courts
World Jewish Congress. He
felt, and I accepted this, that
Like taking a CRUISE
the Jews in the free world
had better judgement that
in the Wisconsin Woods!
we did, surrounded as we
* 3 meals daily—all you can eat
were by Nazis — in Ger-
included in rate
many, France, Austria and
Activities for all ages
Italy — and that we should
* Children's Day Camp
ID. & VISA
leave it to them to under-
Relax at the Olympic size pool
take action that was appro-
PHOTOS
* 5 Tennis Courts—Volleyball
priate in the judgement of a
PROFESSIONAL
—Baseball—Basketball
Jewry that was completely
PORTRAIT LIGHTING
Nite Club—Floor Shows or
free.
Rock & Roll
Q: Do you think Ameri-
* 18•hole Championship
can Jews did enough to
Golf Course
try to rescue European
Water-ski school—
Jews?
Paddle boats—
A: Let me say, nobody did
bicycling
enough. In such a situation,
per person
as low as $47 All meals
nobody cares enough. I
included
PHOTOGRAPHY didn't do enough, nobody
call E. Goldstein (313) 557-2566
did.
26511 W. 12 Mile Rd.
The question is, what
25839 Southwood—Southfield, MI 48075
Corner Northwestern Hwy.
could have been done at this
stage, when the real war
was on. We have to examine
this situation by situation
. . . We could have saved
more . . . The English
could have been pressured
to take in more Jews, they
didn't take in many. There
could certainly have been
more immigration to North
Africa, going through
O
Spain. Palestine could have
taken in more (if not for) the
AIR FARE FROM- NY
will provide you with 2 weeks hotel ac-
resistance of the British.
via Jumbo 747 EL AL plane
There could have been
commodation, daily Isrieli breakfast, 8
much greater pressure on
stay from 6 to 60 days
days sightseeing, etc.
the neutral countries —
Switzerland, Sweden,
Spain, Portugal, Turkey —
with more guarantees.
We specialize in travel to Israel and Europe, by commercial airlines or
Switzerland finally saved
charters, at best prices.
about 25-30,000. I have no
doubt this could have been
70,000 or 80,000. Sweden
For Reservations Call:
could have taken in more
(too).
Q: What about the U.S.
admitting Jewish refu-
gees — couldn't the im-
Lathrup Landing Plaza corner of Eleven Mile and Evergreen Road
migration laws have been
changed or bent?

$429

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NEDERLANDER TRAVEL

ISRAEL

•

$17610°

SABRA TRAVEL 552-0100
•

Nano!

at oli

INSTANT

COLOR
PASSPORTS

352-70301
LEO
KNIGHT

JUNE 16 EL AL DEPARTURE

$799

$79

GOLDSTEIN TRAVEL
559.2770

A: The immigration laws
were absolutely sacrosanct.
It was considered absolutely
impossible to change them.
I don't think (President)
Roosevelt could have done
it; the opposition was much
stronger than we believe.
Nobody wanted immigra-
tion. The best friends we
had at the time, the trade
unions, the labor people —
who had been the greatest
supporters in the boycott
against Germany — were
the first to oppose (any
change in the laws). Nobody
dared to raise the question
of changing the immigra-
tion laws.
Q: What were some of
your suggestions on re-
scuing European Jews?
A: My suggestions were
mainly in the direction of
getting passports for the
immigrants, immigration
facilities, even .temporary
ones, in neutral countries
(Switzerland, Sweden,
Spain, Portugal, Turkey).
We had to help the neutrals,
get them guarantees — first
that the people they took in
could be fed; and second,
that they would get rid of
them after the war, that
they wouldn't be a perma-
nent burden . . .
More and more, we de-
veloped the idea of help to
the Underground — illegal
means — help to illegal
immigrants, falsification of
documents, helping people
to live underground with
_false papers, passports, ra-
tion cards.
In the last year of the war,
$20 million — Jewish
money — was spent through
the U.S. War Refugee Board
(established January 22,
1944) for rescue and aid to
victims of the Nazis. The
whole machinery of false
papers, tens of thousands of
false papers, was run
through the WRB.

Q: Why didn't the U.S.
ever bomb Auschwitz?
A: There were numerous
requests. Early in June,
1944, we received a message
from Budapest that the
Hungarian provinces had
been emptied of Jews —
which meant that 300,000-
400,000 Jews had been
evacuated and then killed.
In that message, there was a
request that the Allies
bomb the installations in
Auschwitz and the whole
series of rail and communi-
cations lines through which
the transports were pass-
ing, which they listed.
The Allies never did any-
thing. To this day I don't
know why. It was not the
negligence or lack of ac-
tivity on the part of the Jews
. . . Dr. Chaim Weizmann,
president of the World
Zionist Organization, went
to speak to Churchill, who
accepted it and sent it on to
Anthony Eden, the British
Secretary of State for War,
not the greatest friend . . .
(But) the Allied govern-
ments sabotaged it. For
what reason? I don't know.
Q: There have been var-
ious charges, at the time
and today, that the re-
scue of European Jewry
was not a priority for the

American Jewish com-
munity. Hayim Green-
berg, the Labor Zionist
leader, charged this in his
famous essay "Bank-
rupt" .in the "Yiddishe
Kemfer" in 1943. Do you
agree?
A: Generally, this sweep-
ing statement is not true.
There were times when they
tried very, very hard; - and
there were times when they
were in despair.
Q: Have we learned
anything from the way
we behaved in this
tragedy? Has the Jewish
community changed?
A: The community is
quite differently organized
today than it was then. We
were completely disunited
. . . We were people with-
out power. Today we believe
we have power. We have
more power (but) let's not
over-exaggerate its (ex-
tent). That, too, is a mis-
take. Power is also a ques-
tion of the economy of power
— how you use it.
We have to be more
united . . . The guilt com-
plex, that they didn't do
enough, is also a very force-
ful element today, an im-
portant factor in future ac-
tion and, a stimulus to con-
sciousness and awareness
— to be careful not to repeat
the same mistakes.
Never underestimate the
enemy, that is the first les-
son. Start to counteract
when the enemy is weak,
and don't wait until he is
full-grown . . . We have to
watch social and economic
developments. The (Nazis'
rise to power) is unthink-
able without the economic
crisis of 1929, and the na-
tional and social crises of
Germany.
The Nazis were the an-
swer to the desperate de-,
velopment of the German
middle classes' battle
against proleterization and
pauperization . . . The
most important thing is
that young people should
speak to young people, Jews
to non-Jews — show them
what happened and what
can happen.

Braille Group
Initiates Project

NEW YORK — The
Jewish Braille Institute of
America, as part of a project
designed to expand its free
library for the visually im-
paired, is asking Jewish
organizations throughout
the country to aid in the
preparation of large-print
books and manuscripts.
A manual describing the
community service project
as available without charge
from the Jewish Braille In-
stitute of America, 110 E.
30th St., New York, N.Y.
10016.

Bias Down

NEW YORK (JTA) —
Bias based on race, religion,
sex and ethnicity has drop-
ped sharply in most private
social clubs in Philadelphia,
according to a survey by the
Philadelphia chapter of the
American Jewish Commit-
tee.

