62 January 24 • 2019 jn Looking Back “The Holocaust Unfolds” — An Exhibit from the Pages of the Jewish Chronicle/JN. Mike Smith Detroit Jewish News Foundation Archivist W e are going to try something new on the “Looking Back” page. Instead of my usual column that focuses on an interesting bit of Detroit or Michigan Jewish history I find in the pages of William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History, for the next 12 issues of the JN, we will present an exhib- it — “The Holocaust Unfolds.” This exhibit is also drawn from the Davidson Digital Archive and was on display at the Holocaust Memorial Center in Farmington Hills from October through December 2018. The exhibit began with two questions and an idea. The question: When did the Holocaust become known as the Holocaust, the Shoah? This question was a topic of discussion at a meeting with HMC CEO Rabbi Eli Mayerfield and then-Director of Education Robin Axelrod, along with Arthur Horwitz, JN publisher/executive editor and me. Well, the answer to the question is that the Holocaust did not become a commonly known, agreed-upon term of description until a decade or so after World War II, when the magnitude of Nazi atrocities against the Jews and other groups came to light. And, we asked ourselves another question that led to the creation of the exhibit: How did the Detroit Jewish Chronicle and the JN report about the Holocaust as it was hap- pening? The short answer to this question is that, indeed, the Chronicle and the JN con- stantly reported on events that make up the Holocaust, from Hitler’ s rise to power and Kristallnacht, to the atrocities against Jews and the stories of survivors — reports most often ignored by the mainstream American press. It is also the story of how Detroit Jews supported the war against the Nazis, fight- ing in America’ s armed forces and helping the millions of displaced persons afterward. This, then, is the essence of “The Holocaust Unfolds.” I hope you will find the exhibit panels as they appear on the “Looking Page” to be most interesting and informative. Never forget. ■ Want to learn more? Go to the DJN Foundation archives, available for free at www.djnfoundation.org. Detroit was known as the “Arsenal of Democracy” during World War II, as nearly 25% of the Allies’ war material was produced in Southeast Michigan. Detroit’s Jewish community did its part to support the war effort. Its members worked in factories building tanks, planes, guns, and ammunition, while also managing life at home in the midst of rationing of foodstuffs. Despite the difficult times, the community provided millions of dollars for the war effort. The front page of this issue of the Jewish News was devoted to a call by The Jewish Welfare Federation of Detroit for unity and service. This was the forerunner of today’s Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit. The Detroit Jewish community heeded its call. Slowly but surely, the world began to understand the horror and scale of the Nazi atrocities. The headline for the front page of this issue of the Jewish News described protests from the Allied nations and the western world. But was protesting enough? The front page also featured a headline about another aspect of World War II – Jews fighting against the Nazis. As the War progressed, the Jewish News reported on Jewish resistance in Europe. Slowly but surely, the world began to understand the horror and scale of the Nazi atrocities. The headline for the front page of this issue of the Jewish News described protests from the Allied nations and the western world. But was protesting enough? The front page also featured a headline about another aspect of World War II – Jews fighting against the Nazis. As the War progressed, the Jewish News reported on Jewish resistance in Europe. The escalating danger to European Jews was reported in this issue of the Detroit Jewish Chronicle. Here we see reports of Nazi-inspired rioting against Jews and the destruction of synagogues and Jewish-owned stores and property. An early report, “Brown War Clouds Over Europe,” warned of the looming war in Europe as well as a threat to Jews. World War II was still four years away, but evidence of Hitler’s growing territorial and military ambitions – and his increasing support for and orchestrating of anti-Jewish activities – was there for those who could see it.