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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