Letters GM: Nazi Regime Was Abhorrent The series "Hitler's Carmaker" by JTA correspon- dent Edwin Black (Dec. 7, page 15) examines once again the role of Adam Opel AG, General Motor's German sub- sidiary, in the period before and during World War II. It has been well docu- mented that, like all German companies, Opel participated in the rebuilding of German industry during the 1930s. As Germany rearmed, Opel sold trucks and other vehicles to the German military, as did all other German vehicle manu- facturers. In independent research supported by GM, historian Henry Ashby Turner Jr. con- cluded that GM executives in charge of Opel strove to evade Nazi demands to convert the firm's main fac- tory for production of dedi- cated war material. His book, Opel Story: Muckraking The article "Hitler's Carmaker" (Dec. 7, page 15) claims that GM "was masquerading as if it did not control its Opel operations" and that "throughout the war, GM in the U.S. controlled all [Opel"] voting stock and could veto or permit all operations." Can anyone seriously believe, much less claim, that Hitler was deterred by such legal niceties? The whole import of the article — indeed, even its title — is that GM furnished Hitler with the vehicles needed to "motorize" the German army and enabled it to "rise above the horse-drawn divisions ... of World War 1." Wrong! Except for the relatively few panzer divisions, equipped with German-designed tanks, the great bulk of the Wehrmacht in World War II moved by horse — over 500,000 of them. Hitler and his generals con- stantly lamented the lack of motor vehicles, especially after the Eastern-front battle of the Kursk salient in July 1943, when the German retreat kept getting overrun by the Russians, who were equipped with American trucks! Indeed, Soviet leader Josef Stalin, in a rare acknowl- edgement of America's contri- bution to the Allied war effort, once said that the Soviet Union could not have prevailed over the Germans without its American-supplied trucks. The IN does a disservice by publishing a muckraking article such as "Hitler's Carmaker." General Motors and the Nazis (Yale University Press, 2005), documents that by mid-1940, soon after the invasion of Poland, the Nazis had taken complete control of opera- tions at Opel. Burt Ansell Bloomfield Hills Students And Israel The University of Michigan's Israel IDEA (Initiative for Dialogue, Education and Advocacy,) with the support of StandWithUs/Michigan and a gift from a generous benefactor, brought Lebanese-born journal- ist and author Brigitte Gabriel to the University of Michigan's Ann Arbor campus ("Survivor's Tale," Dec. 14, page 16). The day before her speech, a veiled threat appeared on the e-mail newsletter sent out by a radical anti-Israel organization. Within hours, this message was repeated on a number of other hate-filled, anti-Israel Web sites and Internet forums. These Internet messages were an attempt to silence the Zionist voice and crush free speech through tactics of intimidation. Less that a week earlier, police intervention was needed to maintain order when members of the audience at a speech from U-M Professor Emeritus Raymond Tanter attempted to halt the event through disruptive and volatile behavior. After careful consideration of potential security risks facing It was during this later peri- od, from 1940 though1945, that the Nazis turned to forced labor to bolster Germany's manufacturing industry and that sanctions against Jews and others grew into the horrors of the Holocaust. During this period, GM had no role in supporting the Nazi regime. In fact, GM became a key part of the American war effort, without which the Nazis might have remained in power for many years longer General Motors finds the atrocities committed by the Nazi regime abhorrent and among the darkest days of our collective history. General Motors deeply regrets any role the company or its vehi- cles played in the Nazi era. While "Hitler's Carmaker" makes for compelling read- ing, it is not news. It covers a period of history that has been extensively researched. For example, following in- depth investigations in 1999, Opel made a $15 million contribution to the German multi-company Trust Fund Initiative to compensate forced labor workers and Ms. Gabriel's appearance, our group decided that we were not going be intimidated by threats and tactics of those who don't want the pro-Israel voice to have a presence on college campuses. With the cooperation and coor- dination of the university, the Department of Public Safety, the Ann Arbor Police Department and the support of StandWithUs, we were able to take the neces- sary precautions to assure the event would proceed safely and smoothly. After a stressful day of prepa- rations and security arrange- ments, we were glad to see an auditorium packed with nearly 300 students, faculty members and community members who listened to Ms. Gabriel deliver a fiery speech defending Israel and responding to the threats posed by radical Islam. Students and professors alike walked away from Ms. Gabriel's speech feeling empowered with the conviction to fight anti-Israel bias and threats to free speech on campus and in the classroom. It isn't easy to be pro-Israel on university campuses today. Student Zionist groups like Israel IDEA can only succeed with the support and solidarity of Jewish communities like ours in Detroit and with the assistance of groups like StandWithUs. We must stand strong and proud as Jews and supporters of Israel in the face of all intimida- tion and adversity. Report's Roots Naive The American Jewish Committee certainly appreciates the efforts of former Secretary of State James Baker and former U.S. Rep. Lee Hamilton in lead- ing the panel that produced the Iraq Study Group's Report. Nevertheless, the underpinnings of the report are naive and based upon ungrounded optimism as the report relates to Palestinians, Iran and Syria. The report urges that Iran be engaged in "diplomatic dialogue, without preconditions," but the Iranian regime is the root of much of the violence across the Middle East. Iran actively sup- ports international terrorism, promotes the annihilation of Israel as state policy, threatens its neighbors, viciously suppresses human rights and pursues nuclear weapons capability in open defiance of its international obligations. The report provides an insuf- ficient rationale for such a gentle approach to so recalcitrant and menacing an adversary. The Syrians actively support Hamas as well as Hezbollah, ter- rorist organizations committed to Israel's destruction. If Syria chooses to seek the Steven J. Harris vice president, communications General Motors Corporation Detroit path of peace with Israel, it can demonstrate that policy shift by shutting down the Hamas head- quarters in Damascus and the rest of the terrorist infrastructure supported by the Assad regime, a close ally of Iran. Israeli-Palestinian peace can- not result from internationally convened dialogue between the democratically elected govern- ment of Israel and, as the report states, "those [Palestinians] who accept Israel's right to exist." Hamas was elected earlier this year to lead the Palestinian government. That terrorist orga- nization adamantly refuses to recognize Israel, honor previous Israeli-Palestinian agreements and end violence — all basic steps required by the internation- al community to advance peace. The report does not explain what purpose will be served by negotiations between Israel and those Palestinians who, while presumably moderate, do not actually have the power to make and carry out any agreements. Todd R. Mendel international affairs chair American Jewish Committee, Metro Detroit Chapter Bloomfield Township For the full analysis of the Iraq Study Group report, visit www.ajc.orq. Letters on page 9 FILEMET 'cha Don't Know How to Send Letters We prefer letters relating to JN articles. We reserve the right to edit or reject letters. Which Jewish language, spoken today, has only about 150,000 words, just a fraction of other spoken languages? Letters of 225 words or less are considered first. Longer ones will be subject to trim- ming. Letter writers are limited in frequency of publication. Letters must be original and contain the name, address and title of the writer and a day phone number. Non- electronic copies must be hand signed. Send letters to the IN: 29200 Northwestern Highway, Suite 110, Southfield, MI 48034; fax (248) 304-8885; e-mail, letters@the jewishnews.com . We prefer e-mail. -Goldfein maglaH :JaMSUy ii>Copyright 2006, Jewish Renaissance Media 6 Nick B. Israel Farmington Hills their survivors. Nor does it reflect the General Motors of today, which is firmly commit- ted to basic human rights. These principles, spelled out in "GM's Human Rights and Labor Standards," the "Global Sullivan Principles" and related documents, are proudly supported by the men and women of GM around the globe. December 21 . 2006 .