1900-2000 Margot and Warren • APARTMENTS As early as 1916, Rabbi Franklin and Fred Butzel, who would become Detroit's premier Jewish philan- thropist, refused to join President Woodrow Wilson at the Detroit Athletic Club because the DAC did not accept Jewish members. Ironically, since he had designed it, extended to an absurdly innocent tribute to Henry Ford in the Jewish Chronicle in September 1916 for his "gracious act" of granting leaves of absence to Jewish workers to celebrate the high holy days. Detroit's Jewish and non-Jewish leaders engaged in all-American expressions of mutual admiration and respect. Americanism appeared tri- umphant. As if in cynical defiance of such 19th-century optimism, 91 issues of Ford's newspaper, the Dearborn Independent, spewed forth the breathtakingly open antisemitism of "The International Jew" in 1920. Touted as Ford's personal expressions (although he did not write), this most virulent anti- Jewish publication stunned the Jews of Detroit — of America — and seemed to confirm Brandeis' assessment of the city. Reactions to Ford's paper included that of a young reporter, Philip Slomovitz, who openly chal- lenged the industrial magnate to a debate. For the most part, however, Jews simply stopped buy- ing Ford automobiles. Anti-Jewish invective in the decade of the '30s grew more multifaceted and threatening. THE ROARING '30s Nov. 9-10, 1938, marked the infamous Kristallnacht, anti-Jewish pogroms that swept Germany and Austria. It seemed to announce to the world what the Nazis As a young reporter and later as editor of the Jewish were about. On Nov. 10, Chronicle and the Jewish News, Philip Slomovitz, Detroit heard its Royal shown above in 1990, openly challenged the unbri- Oak radio priest, Father dled antisemitism of industrial magnate Henry Ford Charles Coughlin, deliv- and Father Charles Coughlin, Royal Oak's "radio er an openly antisemitic priest," above, who was most active in the 1930s and broadcast for the first '40s. The Jewish News was founded in 1942. time. As Kristallnacht struck at premier Detroit architect Albert Kahn German Jews, he launched into an refused a special membership offer, as explicitly anti-Jewish tirade. Father did Rabbi Franklin. Coughlin maintained Jews had caused Based on his observation of the the Russian Revolution and the spread DAC's exclusionary policy, Louis of communism and concluded Hitler Brandeis, upon visiting Detroit, wrote stood as a "defense mechanism against his brother that "anti-Semitism seems the incursions of communism." With to have reached its American pinnacle the broadcast, the priest began one of here." Overt, street antisemitism the most vitriolic anti-Jewish cam- existed; but Brandeis spoke of the paigns in American history. more devious, subtle and sophisticat- A chorus of like voices added to ed type that infected Detroit and Coughlin's harangues. Detroit-based much of the country. Rev. Gerald K. Smith, "the dean of The polite facade of naivete antisemites," insisted, along with We're Celebrating 20 Years of Providing Quality Assisted Living for Older Adults We offer: • Spacious, furnished apartments with private bedrooms and full kitchens /\ • Supportive services and Personal Care assistance provided by trained geriatric care staff and social workers • Kosher-style meals, seven days per week • Jewish Holiday Celebrations & Social/Recreational Activities If someone you know desires a shared, family-like setting, please call Jan Bayer at 248-559-1500 Jewish Family Service of AIrt•upoiitan De:roir 271 WEST MAPLE DOWNTOWN BIRMINGHAM 248.288.021 2 HURRY! Limited Time Offer FREE DIGITAL PHONE FREE NIGHTS FREE WEEKENDS FREE LONG DISTANCE 400 MINUTES $39.95 A MONTH ANY QUESTIONS! PAGERONE eritech Cellular and Paging Services Crosswinds Plaza • Next to Kroger Orchard Lake and Lone Pine West Bloomfield 248-538-2100 ARNOLD LINCOLN-MERCURY-MAZDA Drive East Pay The Least mamas Am PASSION FOR THE ROADTM' LINCOLN Mercury /if GIL PRATT Leasing Manager Your West Side Specialist (810) 445-6000 Gratiot Ave. at 12 Mile Road Roseville, MI 48066. Fax (810) 771-7340 12/31 1999 19