46 | MAY 14 • 2020 

Looking Back

From the William Davidson Digital Archive 
of Jewish Detroit History

accessible at www.djnfoundation.org

Walter Reuther: 
A Friend to Jews
F

ifty years ago, legendary presi-
dent of the United Automobile 
Workers of America (UAW) 
Walter P. Reuther died in a plane crash 
near Pellston, Michigan, on May 9, 
1970. Reuther’
s funeral in Detroit was 
a massive event, attended 
by thousands of people, 
including UAW members, 
American labor leaders, 
officials from nations 
around the world, U.S. con-
gressmen and senators and 
many other dignitaries. 
In Metro Detroit today, 
the name of Walter Reuther 
refers to an expressway in the northern 
suburbs, an academic library at Wayne 
State University and a middle school in 
Rochester. There are schools named after 
Reuther in Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia 
and Wisconsin. Most people will not, 
however, know anything about the man 
behind the name, or that Reuther was a 
friend to Detroit Jews.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Reuther was 
the most prominent labor leader in 
America and an influential statesman. 
Reuther led the UAW when it boasted 
1.5 million members, during an era 
when nearly four of every 10 American 
workers belonged to a union. 
Under his leadership, UAW members 
became the elite of the world’
s industrial 
workers, and the union was a power-
ful force for social justice, civil rights 
and the fight against anti-Semitism. 
Moreover, unlike the recent history of 
the UAW, during the Reuther era, there 
was never the slightest hint of scandal 
among the top officials of the UAW. 
Reuther himself was known to be incor-
ruptible.
Reuther is cited on 196 pages in the 
William Davidson Digital Archive of 
Jewish Detroit History. He was first men-
tioned in 1937, just as he was beginning 
his career in the UAW. By this time, 

Reuther had married a Jewish Detroiter, 
May Wolf, who was a teacher and labor 
activist in her own right (May died in the 
plane crash with Walter). 
As president, Reuther appointed many 
Jews to important positions within the 
UAW. For example, one of his closest 
advisors and friends was Vice President 
Irving Bluestone. For another, Reuther 
asked the esteemed Shaarey Zedek 
Rabbi Morris Addler to head the UAW 
Public Review Board, which is a non-
partisan, independent citizen organi-
zation that serves as a mediator for 
disputes between UAW members and 
their administrators. In Metro Detroit, 
Reuther was often a guest speaker at 
local Jewish organizations, such as the 
Workman’
s Circle, the Jewish Federation 
and various synagogues. 
Reuther was also a staunch support-
er of Israel and provided substantial 
support for Histadrut and the Jewish 
National Fund, to name only two initia-
tives. As reported in the Sept. 2, 1955, 
issue of the JN, he visited Israel in 1955. 
When asked for comment upon his 
arrival, Reuther immediately spoke to 
Israel’
s right to defend itself: “The peo-
ple of Israel have a right and a moral 
obligation to stand up and fight for it 
[the nation].”
In 1968, the Weizmann Institute 
of Science in Israel honored Reuther 
with the Weizmann Award in the 
Sciences and Humanities and estab-
lished the Walter P. Reuther Chair 
of Research in the Peaceful Uses of 
Atomic Energy in his honor. The 
Chair still exists today. 
By his death, Walter Reuther 
was a famous American. The 
next time you drive on the 
Reuther Expressway, you’
ll 
know why it bears his name. 

Want to learn more? Go to the DJN 

Foundation archives, available for free 

at www.djnfoundation.org.

Mike Smith
Alene and 
Graham Landau 
Archivist Chair

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