54 | SEPTEMBER 3 • 2020 

Looking Back

From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History

accessible at www.djnfoundation.org

75th Anniversary of VJ Day
T

here is another important 75th 
anniversary this week. On Sept. 
2, 1945, on the deck of the battle-
ship U.S.S. Missouri, the Japanese Empire 
formally signed the papers of surrender 
to the Allies. World War II was officially 
over.
The fighting in the Pacific Arena had 
actually ended earlier in 
August 1945 when atom 
bombs were dropped 
on the Japanese cities of 
Hiroshima and Nagasaki 
on Aug. 6 and 9 respec-
tively. A few days later, in a 
radio broadcast on Aug. 15, 
Japanese Emperor Hirohito 
announced that Japan had 
surrendered. That day marked the end of 
the fighting in the Pacific and was cele-
brated around the world as Victory over 
Japan Day, or VJ Day. 
Victory in Europe Day, or VE Day, 
had occurred three months earlier on 
May 8, 1945. This was, perhaps, a more 
poignant moment for Jews, for those who 
remained alive in Europe, and for those 
in America and Detroit, because VE Day 
meant the end of Hitler and the Nazis 
and, therefore, the end of the Holocaust. 
But we should not forget that Detroit 
Jews were also deeply involved in the war 
in the Pacific. 
The Aug. 17, 1945, issues of the JN and 
the Chronicle celebrated the end of WWII. 
As the headline on the Chronicle’
s front 
page stated: “City’
s Jewry Hails End of 
Greatest War.” Both Jewish newspapers 
published lists of VJ Day services held 
at the city’
s synagogues and temples, as 
well as other such events around the city. 
Both issues were also full of meaningful 
articles about the end of the war.
A great editorial in the Chronicle neatly 
sums up the war within a Jewish context: 
“
A People Unconquered.” It takes the 
reader from rise of Hitler through the 

events of the Holocaust as it developed, 
using a Jewish lens. In the same issue on 
page 2, there are a series of articles under 
the title: “Detroit Rabbis Hail Peace; See 
Dawn of New Era.” 
For example, Rabbi Leo Franklin 
from Temple Beth El “Urges Fight for 
Universal Peace” and Rabbi Leo Fram 
from Temple Israel noted that “Peace 
Will be a Challenge.” Mrs. Joseph Welt, 
president of the National Council of 
Jewish Women, wrote about “The 
Significance of Victory.”
Also on the front page, however, was 
another story: “Four Jewish Scientists 
Credited for Bomb.” Indeed, there 
were a number of stories regarding 
the bomb in the Aug. 17 issues of the 
papers. The Editor of the JN, Philip 
Slomovitz, penned a preceptive edi-
torial: “The Atom and Mankind.” 
Subsequent issues of both news-
papers that fall published other 
articles that discussed the ramifica-
tions of the Atomic Age. 
One other category of stories 
from these issues should be 
noted — stories about the courage 
and dedication of Jewish Detroiters who 
served in the Pacific Theater of the war. 
For example, on Aug. 17, the JN wrote 
about Sgt. Louis Kaminsky, who was 
credited with downing six Japanese Zero 
fighter planes, and about Major Mordecai 
Fralick, a U-M medical school graduate, 
who had just returned after 38 months in 
the Pacific. 
The end of the greatest conflict in 
history was something to be celebrated, 
and something to remember. Hopefully, 
such a celebration will never be needed 
again. 

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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