PURELY COMMENTARY
Lipstadt's `Beyond Belief'
Continued from Page 2
throughout the war. Their stories
do not differ and always there is a
vast wonderment How creatures,
shaped like human beings, can do
such things.
"Last night I talked with one of
our correspondents, Jack Bell, one
of the most worldly wise and ex-
perienced reporters I have ever
known . 'Bing,' he exploded with
sudden vehemence, it is the
damndest, craziest, most insane
thing that has ever happned to the
world. You think you are awaken-
ing from a nightmare and then
realize that you have not been
sleeping. That what you see has ac-
tually happened — and is happen-
ing.'"
Though Bingay and his col-
leagues talked "far into the night"
in their quest for some explana-
tion, they ultimately concluded
there was none, for this was the
"maze of madness."
Now that there was no longer
room for doubt, various papers
sought to explain to themselves as
well as to their readers why they
had been so filled with doubts. One
theme was repeated in editorial
after editorial. It was the same
answer Bingay and his colleagues
offered one another: this was a
"maze of madness." The New York
Times described the news of "the
cold-blooded extermination of an
unarmed people" as "facts that
pass belief." Even before the
camps were opened and the full
horror known, theAtlanta Constitu-
tion argued that the "horror (was)
too fantastic for belief."
Lipstadt takes into account the influ-
ence of Father Coughlin during the war era
and the popular reactions to his appeals.
This is the important summation of the
Coughlin propaganda:
Americans were hostile to
pro-German groups' espousal of
fascism and Nazism but were not
immune to their anti-Semitic
preachings. Various organiza-
tions' and individuals' depiction of
the Jew as a universally unwanted
burden struck a responsive chord
in the American public. The
American Institute of Public Opin-
ion found that the Detroit-based
radio priest Father Charles
Coughlin had amassed a substan-
tial listening audience. His radio
show, which regularly broadcast
attacks on Jews, including mate-
rial which had originated in Nazi
Germany but which Coughlin did
not identify as such, had an esti-
mated audience of 15 million, of
whom 3.5 million were regular lis-
teners. A majority of the listeners
approved of his violently anti-
Semitic message.
Regular listeners approving 67
percent.
Occasional listeners approv-
ing 51 percent
The columnist Heywood
Broun noted that the Jew served
many Americans as a convenient
"whipping boy." The preachings of
the Nazis on one side and the Bun-
dists and Coughlinites on the other
convinced many Americans that
their antipathy toward Jews was
justified. Surveys taken from 1940
through 1946 show that Jews were
almost consistently seen as a grea-
ter menace to the welfare of the Un-
ited States than were any other na-
tional, religious, or racial group.
In June 1944, with the war in
Europe and in Japan still raging,
24 percent of those responding to a
poll believed Jews a "threat,"
while only 6 percent considered
the Germans to be one and 9 per-
cent believed this of the Japanese.
(Despite their antipathy toward
Jews, Americans strongly disap-
proved of the Nazis' treatment of
them. In the wake of Kristallnacht
94 percent of those polled disap-
proved of German persecution of
Jews. However, an even higher
percent, 97 percent, disapproved
of German ill treatment of
Catholics.)
The appeals for the admission of
persecuted Jews to this country met with
much antagonism in the press. On that
score the Detroit News is quoted by
Lipstadt:
The premise was that Jews —
their actions, interests, economic
endeavors, in short, their very pre-
sence — cause anti-Semitism and
that Hitler, therefore, had legiti-
mate reason for his antipathy to-
ward them. Editorials that con-
demned Nazi outbreaks often went
on to justify the hostility from
which they sprang ...
Rather than admit more
people, it was time to force "these
trouble making aliens to go back
from whence they came." The De-
troit News, without ever mention-
ing Jews but clearly referring to
them, also objected to the potential
flood of Jewish immigrants.
"Further refugees would
largely settle, as the others have, in
cities and particularly New York,
where their presence has not been
to the best interests of those of
their own people, already settled,
whose compassion and active
sympathy they have enlisted."
Adolph Hitler hoodwinked many
editors and newspapers, including the De-
troit News, as Lipstadt indicates in the fol-
lowing:
Shortly after the Nazis'
nationwide boycott against Jews
Hitler's speeches were interpreted
by many editors as showing "an
unexpectedly moderate tone." His
claim to be interested only in
"peace" and "reconciliation" was
described by one Midwestern
paper as "fine and conciliatory
words." The St. Louis Post Dispatch
believed that Germany would soon
return to democracy. The Detroit
News argued that the world "in
fairness must wait and see what
the new regime accomplishes be-
fore it hastens to condemn it."
Persecution of Sigmund Freud re-
ceives important treatment and Lipstadt
makes this reference to him, which in-
cludes a Detroit Free Press comment:
In the first few days following
the Anschluss the abusive treat-
ment meted out to Dr. Sigmund
Freud was the topic of many edito-
rials and the lead item in reports on
Nazi activities. The Detroit Free
Press observed that the news that
the Nazi authorities in Vienna had
taken Sigmund Freud's passport
and impounded his money in order
to prevent him and his wife from
leaving Austria "would be unbe-
lievable if the Nazi record in Ger-
many were not already stained by
a long record of persecution of
members of the Jewish race."
Other papers found it hard to
fathom that Freud's home could
have been raided at night by
"thugs cloaked in the law's vest-
ments," and that Freud himself
could have been "persecuted and
suppressed without reason."
Dorothy Thompson was a leader in the
group of foreign correspondents, together
with the Mowrers, William Shirer,
Heywood Broun and a limited number of
others who recognized the extent of the
horrors from the very beginning and pub-
licly condemned them. Lipstatdt gives this
account of the Dorothy Thompson ac-
tivities, a quotation that is vital for an ap-
preciation of her anti-Nazi role:
Dorothy Thompson was one of
the few journalists to strongly ad-
vocate action. In her column ...
she called what was being done to
the Jews "complete extermina-
tion" and described the victims as
five million "human beings who,
after being removed from western
and central Europe to the east are
being poisoned, shot, gassed, and
starved to death." She tried to or-
ganize an appeal to the German
people from Americans of German
background and from American
Protestants. She proposed that a
group of German-Americans visit
the White House and ask the Pres-
ident to broadcast a direct appeal
to the German people.
None of her plans, with the ex-
ception of a full-page ad in the form
of a "Christmas Declaration"
which appeared in ten major met-
ropolitan dailies, ever came to frui-
tion. The ad was signed by fifty
prominent Americans of German
ancestry, including Babe Ruth,
William Shirer, and Reinhold
Niebuhr. The declaration did
garner attention and was broad-
cast by the Office of War Informa-
tion to Europe and to U.S. armed
forces. In order to be able to place
the ad, Thompson not only had to
tone down the references to Jews
but had to appeal to the American
Jewish Congress to help defray the
expenses.
A few American newspapers
and journals pressed for im-
mediate action. The New York Post
declared it "good, but not good
enough" for the Allies to denounce
the extermination and promise to
"deal out 'retribution"' after the
war. They needed to find a "serious
plan" capable of stopping the kil-
ling and rescuing those in danger.
The Nation and The New Republic
both argued that the Jews of oc-
cupied Europe could do with "a lit-
tle less pity and a little more help."
Beyond Belief: The American Press
and the Coming of the Holocaust, 1933-
1945 is one of the most vital compilations
on the subject. Its indictments will not be
easily erased.
Sephardic Tales
Enhance Education
Constant pleading for priorities for
Jewish schools, for strengthened educa-
tional media, include concern for the Book.
The devotion is to Scriptures. In the prog-
ressive schools there is recognition of the
influence provided by and for the literary
elements, poetry, narratives, humor which
is a necessity, the historic in drama and
narrative.
Mesorah Publications, with an em-
phasis on its traditional and theological
texts, has to its credit a growing record of
genuine achievement of producing most
valuable books that enrich the children's
library. This notable contribution to know-
ledge of history, traditions and peoplehood
is especially evidenced in Mesorah's latest
product of children's book publishing.
A Children's Treasury of Sephardic
Tales is truly a treasury. It is an accumula-
tion by Tzvia Ehrlich-Kline with Nehama
Consuela Nahmoud as consultant, with an
impressive set of illustrations by Channa
Galitzer. The four stories in this impres-
sive book deal with life in Yemen,
Jerusalem, Baghdad and Spain. The
Sephardic experience is detailed in the
tales.
Every story is a drama in its own right.
The focus now related to th Sephardic com-
plex in Israel lends special significance to
these stories. They are positive in their
dramatic tenor. Furthermore, the religious
devotion lends added credibility to the
Mesorah Publications' ideological ap-
proach to titles and subject matter for its
publications.
A more recent experience relates to
another story published by Mesorah. In
The Cohens of Tzefat by Miriam Stark Za-
kon, illustated by Yosef Dershowitz, a sol-
dier in the Yom Kippur War of 1973, while
recovering from wounds, is dreaming. In
his subconscious mind there pass in review
the heroes of the past, the ancient Safad
(Tzefat) defenders and related occurrences.
There is the historic factor that contributes
to a dramatic tale that will enchant the
readers.
Remarkable about all these tales is
that elder readers, parents as well as chil-.
dren, will find them suitable reading
material.
Kar-Ben Copies has emerged as
another traditionally related publishing
house whose works for children enrich
their Jewish library. The latest of the
Kar-Ben works is "The Yanov Torah" by
Erwin and Agnes Herman, illustrated
immpressively by Katherine Kahn is a
48-page paperbacked brochure that con-
tains sufficient activism to match a full-
length book.
This is a story that excitedly relates
the rescue of a Torah from the Jewish
cemetery of Lvov. Smuggled piece by piece
into the Yanov Nazi labor camp for prayer,
the Torah finally is brought for honorable
revering to New York.
This Kar-Ben story enriches the tradi-
tional publishing aims of the progressive
publishers.
The Jewish publishing houses are not
alone in producing important books for
young Jewish readers. Houghton Mifflin
Co. has just evidenced an interest in such
efforts with the publication of three chil-
dren's books:
Notably, The Island on Bird Street is a
tale by Uri Orley which was published in
Hebrew. The English text is by one of the
ablest translators from the Hebrew, Hillel
Halkin.
Then there is the charming story that
relates to Bar Mitzva, Does Any One Here
Know the Way to Thirteen? by Stephen
Kausman.
There is charm and genuine humor in
The Remembering Box by Seth Clifford,
illustrated by Donna Diamond. It is a
grandmother's magical tale that em-
phasizes remembering the past and per-
petuating family tales.
The few books just noted provide em-
phasis on the importance of the Jewish
books for children. Publishing them should
be encouraged, parents should consider it a
duty to buy them in the interest of increas-
ing knowledge.