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PaineWebber We invest in relationships. 32300 Northwestern Hwy., Suite 150 Farmington Hills, MI 48334 Member SIN: Studio in Harvard Row Mall /reitieg :The SPOT 50%-713% OFF ALL NAME BRANDS • Vertical Blinds • Pleated Shades • Levolor Blinds • Wood Blinds w w U-1 — 3 21728 W. Eleven Mile Rd. Harvard Row Mall Southfield, MI 48076 Free Professional Measure at No Obligation Free in Home Design Consulting Hours: Mon.-Sat. 10-5 LA 352-8622 ZcO New Rochester Hills 651-5009 CC F- LU 1 - ARNOLD LU 38 mmpa 445-6080 Automotive Group Ltd. Gratiot Ave. at 12 Mie Road, Roseville, Michigan "Just 25 minutes from the Birmingham/Bloomfield area off of 1-696" 445-6000 Q: Was comedian Freddie Prinze really a reincarnated Lenny Bruce? A: Prinze certainly thought so, but Tell Me Why can make no guarantees until we've had a chance to speak to that wise voice of the ages, the insightful and all-knowing Ramthaberg. Ramthaberg (who charges a mere 54,000 a minute) is re larly in touch with spirits from the past, including the Three Stooges, who offer spiritual guid- ance for a troubled world — "Take time to smell the roses" and "Beans, beans (are) good for the heart" are some of his latest insights. But about your question. The late Mr. Prinze, the son of a Hungarian-Jewish father and Puerto Rican mother, was best-known for his role in the early 1970s sitcom "Chico and the Man." He found both fame and tragedy early in life. He became something of an overnight suc- cess with "Chico and the Man," but soon afterward his marriage fell apart. Depressed over a sep- aration from his wife, he killed himself in 1977 in his apartment at 865-75 Comstock Ave., Bev- erly Hills. He was 22 years old. Throughout his life Mr. Prinze constantly spoke about comedi- an Lenny Bruce, who he said was fortunate to have had such a brief life (Bruce was 41 when he died), thereby guaranteeing him eternal fame. Mr. Prinze often went to the West Hollywood home where Bruce died of a morphine over- dose, and, according to Ken Sch- lessler's This is Hollywood, said to friends that he believed he was Lenny Bruce reincarnated. Q: Did Polish gentiles suffer the same fate as Jews during the Holocaust? A: The German objective to- ward the Jews was genocide, the murder of every Jew through- out the world and the annihi- lation of the Jews as a people. The German objective toward the Poles was first to destroy their leadership and educated classes, then treat the remain- der and their descendants as slaves. It was subjugation, not genocide. Before World War II, Poland's popillntion was about 29 million, including 3.3 million Jews. An estimated 3 million Christian Poles were killed during the war, and about 3 million Polish Jews were murdered by the Germans and their collaborators. The World War II death rate for Christian Poles was around 10 percent. The death rate for Polish Jews was 90 percent. Q: I heard that V.I. Lenin often spoke with tremendous admiration for a certain Jewish woman revolutionary, but I don't remember her name or know anything about her. Can Tell Me Why - help me out? A: You must be talking about Rosa Luxemburg (1871-1919), founder of Germany's Com- munist Party. Born into a wealthy family in Zamosc, Luxemburg was only a schoolgirl when she joined the Polish revolutionary (socialist) movement. She lat- er helped found the country's Social Democratic Party. After moving in 1898 to Germany, Lux- emburg joined the staff of the Arbeiter-Zeitung and other pa- pers, and be- came a leader in the German so- cialist move- ment's left wing. After serving time in prison because of her vocal opposition to World War I (which she la- beled "an impe- rialist war") she joined with Franz Mehring and Karl Liebknecht to found the Spartakusbund, which later be- came the German Communist Party. Luxemburg and Liebknecht were both murdered by army officers in 1919. Luxemburg and Lenin often disagreed — she denounced Bolshevik violence and terror — but they remained close friends throughout their lives. Q: I recently visited England and made a stop at Cambridge Univer- sity. That got me wondering about the first Jew to attend, since I know the school once had restrictions. A: The first Jew to attend Cambridge University was James Joseph Sylvester (1814- 1897). He was allowed to take classes beginning in 1831 — though because of continued anti-Semitism he wasn't allowed to receive his degree until 1872. Sylvester was an interesting character. After being recognized as one of Britain's leadingmathe- maticians, he served as a fellow of the Royal Soci- ety, and held a chair at the Royal Military Academy and at Oxford. He also had positions at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and at the Universi- ty of Virginia. He didn't remain long in Virginia, though. An outspoken opponent of slavery, he was asked to leave within months of his appointment. (:\ Send questions to "Tell Me Why" < c I o The Jewish News, 27676 Franklin Rd., Southfield, MI 48034 or send fax to 354-6069.