looking back
Rain or shine, every G-Day, women went door to door to seek donations for the Allied Jewish Campaign. Armed with a solicitation
kit and a comfortable pair of shoes, these women were instrumental in raising money for Detroit’s Jewish community. 1959. •
Courtesy Leonard N. Simons Jewish Community Archives.
Historic photos are curated by the
Jewish Historical Society of Michigan.
From the DJN
Davidson Digital Archive
I
n my last column, I noted several stories in the JN regarding
Jews fighting the Nazis in World War II. In the Dec. 11, 1942,
issue of the JN, there was more supporting evidence to this
fact. On the front page, there was a photo display of Palestinian
Jews serving with the British Army in North Africa. At this point
in the war, it was reported that more than
47,000 Palestinian Jews were serving with the
British. There was also an interesting photo of a
group of Polish and Jewish Boy Scouts fraterniz-
ing in Tel Aviv.
The dramatic story, however, was not an arti-
cle, but a list. Beginning on page 13, the JN had
compiled a “Roll of Honor,” a four-page “partial”
list of the hundreds of Detroit Jews serving in
Mike Smith
the American military. Check it out — you may
Detroit Jewish News
know some of these servicemen and women.
Foundation Archivist
Two interesting stories of Jewish Detroiters
86
December 7 • 2017
jn
also appeared in this issue. One was about community leader
Maurice Aronsson, who was celebrating his 50th birthday. His
party was a bit different than usual — he was providing dinner
and theater to 500 servicemen. Aronsson certainly displayed a
great type of patriotism. It is no wonder he was a highly respect-
ed member of the Jewish and Detroit communities.
Another article noted that Albert Kahn had passed away. It
would not be an exaggeration to say he was the most famous and
influential industrial architect of the world in the 20th century.
Kahn changed the face of Metro Detroit, from Ford’s Highland
Park and River Rouge factories, to the Fisher Building and
General Motors former headquarters on Grand Boulevard . His
firm, Albert Kahn Associates, is still in Detroit, based in the —
you guessed it — Albert Kahn Building •
Want to learn more? Go to the DJN Foundation archives,
available for free at www.djnfoundation.org.