looking back

Members of a “Jewish Battalion” pose for a photograph before leaving for the First World War. The young
men are most likely members of the Jewish Legion, who were actively recruited in Detroit in 1918. •

Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan.

Historic photos are curated by the
Jewish Historical Society of Michigan.

From the DJN

Davidson Digital Archive

T

he July 20, 1942, issue of the JN had some very inter-
esting articles and smaller items scattered through-
out the paper. There was the third installment of a
featured historical series, “The Story of Jews in the United
States,” and another “Our Own Quiz Box.” For
the Quiz Box in this issue, the question was:
“How well do you know your famous Jewish
names?” There was also the weekly “World
Wide News at a Glance,” which carried
information about “Democratic Countries,”
“On the American Front,” “In the Palestinian
Homeland” and “In Nazi-Held Territories.”
It was 1942, so there were also plenty of
Mike Smith
headlines on the front page related to the
Detroit Jewish News
war and Nazi atrocities. The lead was “U.S.
Foundation Archivist
Will Avenge Nazi Terrors, FDR Pledges.”

54

July 20 • 2017

jn

FDR, of course, refers to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
And, Detroit’s support for the Hebrew Institute of Technology
in Haifa was noted as well as the role of vital industries in
Palestine.
However, the piece that stood out for me was a guest edito-
rial by Leonard N. Simons: “Are You Willing To Face the Music
I f America Loses the War?” It was an appeal to America’s Jews
to support the war in any way possible, a direct and hard-
hitting appeal by one of the leaders of Detroit’s Jewish com-
munity to other Jews to redouble their efforts to win the war.
Indeed, Leonard Simons and many other Detroit Jews were
doing their best and leading the way. •

Want to learn more? Go to the DJN Foundation archives,
available for free at www.djnfoundation.org.

