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The
Southern
Israelite
Friday, December 14, 1934
Do Liberals Want Fascism?
Why Democratic Forces Must Unite to Stem The
Tide Toward Authoritarianism
Bv PIERRE VAN PAASSEN
Page Two
The
Southern Israelite
KSTAHUHHKO IKS
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Subscript too Price $2.00 per year
ICnlanil aa mmim-cIm matter at the
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Act «t March ». 1ST*.
The Beuthcrn Israel U Invitee corns-
poaSence ami liter* rr contributions,
’ hot the editor U not to be cone id*red
as sharlac the views aapreaeed by the
writer* nrcpt thoee enunciated la the
editorial columns.
THE LEAGUE'S BETRAYAL
When the League of Nations gave
its official blessing to the Franco-
Oermao agreement on the Saar it
voted. In effect, to hand over fresh
victims to the inquisitors of the
Third Reich. Superficial reading of
the terms of the agreement gave
public opinion the mistaken idea
that Oennany had agreed not to
discriminate against Jews and other
anti-Nazis in the Saar for a period
of one year after the January pleb
iscite if it resulted in the return of
the Saar to the Reich. Careful
reading of the agreement reveals
that the opposite is the case. Ger
many merely offers to guarantee
Jews and other racial and political
minorities In the Saar one year of
protection from reprisals provided
such minorities have been Inhabit
ants of the Saar for three years at
the time of the plebiscite. After
that period they must either get
out of the Saar or take the conse
quences. The nub of the situation,
however, is the fact that by Janu
ary 13th thousands of refugees
from the Third Reich will not have
been residents of the Sa&r for three
years. By the terms of the agree
ment such refugees are left at the
meroy of the Nazi regime if the
Saar population votes to return to
German rule.
That the League of Nations gave
Its approval to an agreement con
taining such barbarous terms passes
undestanding. One of the primary
reasons for the oration of the Lea
gue was to afford protection to mi
norities. During its sixteen years
of existence the League has made a
show of trying to enforce existing
minority treaties, but never before
has it deliberately sanctioned a
pact which leaves a great power
free to do what It pleases with a
minority. Samuel Untermyer ac
curately described this action of the
League of Nations as “the most
itmadng surrender and breach of
trust of which a great international
body was ever guilty." Unless by
some miracle the Saarlanders vote
to maintain the status quo, the
League of Nations will have doom
ed thousands of Jews, Catholics,
Socialists and liberals to a fate
worse than death.
A YEAR OF GRACE
There will doubtless be a great
deal of harsh criticism levelled
agrind the Amateur Athletic Un
ion because its recent convention
failed to repudiate the American
Olympic Committee’s acceptance of
Germany's invitation to the 1W6
Olympic Games. An open fight on
this question was expected before
the convention opened, but, with
the consent and approval of the
Jewish delegates, the entire Issue
was quashed, and it never came up
on the floor of the convention. In
By PIERRE VAN PAASSEN
la this trenchant criticism, Mr.
Van Paassen, noted foreign cor
respondent, charges the liberals
with being blind to the ominous
perils hanging over the world and
warns that the universal assault
on the Jews Is the prelude to a
world-wide attack on liberals.
—THE EDITOR.
Nothing Is more disturbing In
the present hour of peril than to see
the colossal indifference prevailing
among non-Jewlsh liberals and
democrats in the face of the grue
some tide of anti-Semitic barbar
ism let loose by the Nazi regime In
Oermany and now coursing through
the world In waves which are not
only growing ever more formidable
and relentless but which are invad
ing countries whose democratic in
stitutions were thought to have
rendered them Immune for all time
against a resurgence of blackest
medievalism. In spite of the vast
amount of material published on
the menace of Hitlerism by scrupu
lously objective observers, In spirit
of the alarm-signals sent up by the
Jews at Madison Square and else
where, In spite of the constantly
more bitter and virulent anti-Jew-
ish agitation of the Nazis—tdoay
they do not hesitate to broadetst
that Jewish money finanoed the as
sassination of the Jugoslav mon
arch—the liberal world on the
whole, it cannot be denied, has re
mained strangely indifferent. There
aro, of course, notable exceptions,
but they remain individuals. In
their group organizations, collec
tively, the liberals have not taken
fire. They certainly have not come
forward In a mighty, single-minded
clan to bar the road to the brown-
shirted despoilers of humanity.
Sometimes It seems as if the gen
erosity and the humanity of the
liberals, which has been poured out
so often on behalf of this or that
oppressed or downtrodden group of
people, has suddenly frozen up. It
Is as If they stand mesmerized be
fore what appears to them an In
escapable historic fatality against
which It Is futile to marshal their
strength. And Inevitably the ques
tion arises In our minds whether
the liberals have not grown tired,
explanation of tills action, or, rath
er, lack of It, it was pointed out that
there was nothing to gain by dis
cussing the question now since the
American acceptance is still condi
tioned upon Germany keeping her
pledges. In the event that these
pledges are not upheld the next
oonventton of the A. A. U. could
still act, it was pointed out. “in
other words, the entire case can be
reopened if developments warrant
it.
Since these sentiments were held
by an overwhelming majority of
the convention it would seem that
the decision not to make a fight
was sensible. To have fought and
lost would have meant nothing.
Without a battle, however, the A.
A. U. administration conceded two
Important points: first, that the A.
O. C.’s acceptance of Germany' in
vitation was conditional; and sec
ond, that the 1933 resolution of the
A. A. U. refusing to participate in
the 1936 Olympics unless Germany
ceases to discriminate against Jew
ish atheletes is still In effect. To
our way of thinking it appears that
the A. A. U. merely gave Germany
another year of grace. If by the
time of the 1935 convention Ger
many Is still discriminating against
Jewish athletes, the A. A. U„ by the
terms of its own resolution, is in
duty bound to refuse to certify
members of the American team—
which would vitiate any acceptance
by the American Olympic Commit
tee.
or whether it can be that the mag
nitude of the evil bearing down up
on us In the form of Nazism has
struck them with paralysis both of
speech and action. And the sec
ond question which flows logically
out of the first Is this: Are the lib
erals going to stand by Idly as the
attacks upon their dearest posses
sion—democratic freedom—multiply
and bring to their knees the one
citadel of democracy after the oth
er? Isn’t the destruction of demo
cratic Institutions and of the labor
organizations In Germany, Austria
and Italy enough? Must France,
Britain and the United States In
turn pass under a regime that
knows no other Issue out of the
economic crisis but pogroms, cultu
ral nihilism, the enslavement of
women, the militarism of the mas
ses and ultimately, Inevitably war?
Are we really to plunge back Into
the Middle Ages? Are we liberals,
whose flag has been borne forward
on every batlefleld of thought, are
we spiritually so Impoverished that
we must leave the final struggle for
the salvation of democratic free
dom to the Communists?
The trouble Is that the liberal
elements are not aware to this day
of the Insidious nature of the Nazi-
fascist propaganda in the United
States, in France and in the re
maining democratic countries. The
Nazi propaganda makes it appear
as If their activity Is solely directed
igalnst the Jews. By a ceaseless
propaganda they seek to hammer it
into the heads of the masses that
the Jew Is responsible for the dev
astating economic crisis which is
raging In the world, and so arouse
popular anger for the purpose oi
depriving the Jews of an Influence
which they do not possess. In real
ity, they are exerting all their
strength to gather around themsel
ves shock-troops and to give their
movement a mass-basis. But when
that mass- basis has finally been
achieved, when they have become a
power In the state, when they fejl
strong enough to attack, in that
hour their onslaught is by no means
directed exclusively against Jewish
organizations and Jewish life in
general. In that moment, but not
before, Nazism fakes off the mask
and stands revealed as the most in
transigent foe of democracy and ol
human progress and also as the lo
rn enter of war In the interests of
the International munition trusts
BUt in that moment, we should not
forget, It Is also too late to organize
resistance. In the moment of Nazi
triumph no argument avails, for no
discussion Is permitted. In one
blow, or by the Invocation of a non-
existing threat to law and order, as
happened In Germany, the Nazis
simply suspend the operation of
democratic institutions. The Jew
ish question is a false issue to' mo
bilize the pent-up dissatisfaction in
society. But the objeetlve of the*
Nazi attack is the same everywhere,
namely the destruction of demo
cratic government. Democratic in
stitutions are the object of their
bitterest hatred, because they are,
as a true expression of the people’s
will, the last great barrier against
an armed world-conflict.
Here in France, where the Bu-
cardists. the Croix de Feu. the
Francists, the Ligueurs. the Nation
al Socialists, the Solidarists. the
j Camelots du Roi and hair a dozen
other powerful groups, not merely
advocate the expulsion of the Jews
from dominant positions in the
state, from the colleges and from
Industry, but openly speak of a real
St. Bartholomew, a total extermin
ation of the Jews—“to rid the world
once and for all from the Jewish
curse” as their six dally newspapers
repeat day after day. The people
are being led to expect that a Fas
cist Internationale in which each
nation is armed to the teeth, shall
be the surest guarantee of peace.
There are Indeed some strange
'ritmal o~ganizations in this world.
But a Fascist Europe, that Is to
say, chaulnist nationalism enthron
ed In every country, each nation
defiantly watching the other with a
chip on its shoulder, would not de
lay more than a years the greatest
catastrophe the world has ever
seen. The nations would fly at
each others’ throats and tear each
other to pieces and on the smoking
ruins of Paris and Berlin and War
saw and Bucharest would be raised
the red banner of Bolshevism.
We have a choice: bar the road
to Nazi Fascism now in a united
front with all the believers in prog
ress, or eventually be shoved into
the armies of an eventual Nazi
America as cannon-fodder to fight
equally helpless and terrorized vic
tims of another Nazi land on the
battlefields.
It Is not for nothing that the
great munition trusts in Europe are
the mo6t loyal financial backers of
the nascent Fascisms, as they were
of the Hitler movement In its years
of incubations. The munitions
trusts, it is true, did and do not
aim at the destruction of the Jews.
They do not care a great deal how
Hitler gathered the masses around
him, cn what slogan the Sturm-
Abtellungen were formed, so long
as the movement led to the com
plete subjugation of the German
people, the eradication of peace so
cieties, the destruction of demo
cratic Institutions. The road to
war had to be opened up as a way
out of the depression. If the Jewt
,iad to bear the brunt of the at
tack, well, after all, they were only
Jews.
Today one great nation has pass
ed under the diabolical power ol
Nazism and now prepares cynically,
openly for war with a tempo that
is constantly being speeded up. All
organizations which were Interna
tional In outlook have been dissolv
ed in Germany. All who believed in
the brotherhood of men have been
silenced. All societies looking to
wards collaboration among the peo
ples have been crushed out of exis
tence. No man Is allowed to speak
words of peace or consolation. The
mind of Germany is daily more im
pregnated with the poison of the
Nazi press. Forgotten are Hitler’s
promises of bread and freedom for
the masses. The German masses
are drilling. All this could never
have happened If Hitler had not
had the Jews on whom to concen
trate the anger of an insulted and
humiliated German nation. With
the injection of the Jewish question
he befuddled the mass-mind and
led the German people into that
cage of steel and terror from which
there seems no escape.
The Jews served as a scapegoat
and the attack on German. Jewish
life as the thin edge of the wedge
to open a breach in the defenses of
democracy. The same manoeuvre
is bethg repeated in France and in
the United States. The Jew® are
under fire. The attacks against
them are multiplying. This is,
therefore, the hour of decision. This
Is the blossom hour of fate. H the
liberals continue to stand by apa
thetically dismissing the formation
of Nazist battle groups In America
as a mere quarrel between German
and Jews, between two racial mi
norities and continue to close their
eyes to the larger implications of
events, not only will the Jews o£
America in that case fare infinitely
worse than the Jews of Germany,
but American liberals and intellec
tuals and friends of peace and hu
manists and progressives will feel
In their own bodies the full bestial
ity of a Nazi terror. For Nazis have
but one enemy: democrats. The
shade does not matter.
It Is still time to halt the ad
vance of these enemies of civiliza
tion. But time is pressing. The at
tacks to which the Jews of America
THE
ORACLK
By CARL ALPERT
THE ORACLE answers all ques .
tions of general Jewish interest
Queries should be addressed to THX
ORACLE in care of this paper,
should be accompanied by a sell,
addressed, stamped envelope.
Q. Please tell of the career ol
the famous French statesman, Crt.
mieux.—S. O.
A. Isaac Adolphe Cremieux wtu
born in 1796. He was admitted to
the bar In 1817 and soon became
famous. Some of the most import
ant cases In the country were en
trusted to him. He was an un
flinching patriot and at all times
favored the party which he felt
was to the best interests of France
though this at one time led to his
imprisonment. He was active in
behalf of his people, abolishing the
humiliating Jewish oath to which
his co-religionists were subject in
court, used his influence in behalf
of the victims of the Damascus af
fair, and at all times protected the
social status and interests of the
Jews. As Minister of Justice he
introduced many humane laws. Un
til his death in 1880 Cremieux's life
was an example of patriotism and
nobility of character.
Q. Has malaria been completely
■tamped out in Palestine?—T. G. D.
A. There are still sections In
Palestine which have not yet been
cleared of this disease. However
the number of cases is declining
rapidly. Attendances at dispen
saries throughout the country for
treatment of this disease fell from
13,280 in 1923 to 2,984 In 1932. Prac
tically no cases are reported in the
principal towns.
Q. Who was Heinrich SoathehnT
—M. S.
A. Sontheim was an operatic
singer who is said to have retained
his voice longer than any other
singer on the operatic stage. After
Soatheim had passed the age of SO
and was still appearing in leading
roles a critic wrote of him that "be
made an impression as though he
were his own grandson.”
Q. What have been some of Mor
ris Gest’s outstanding presenta
tions?—A. J.
A~ Morris Gest, who came to
country at the age of nine, staged
the Miracle Play, and brought over
the Chauve Souris, Ballet RuS6e
and the Moscow Art Theatre.
Q. Please give an estimate of the
fields in which Jewish talent is at
Its best.—A. S. C.
A. The following is taken from
"The Conquering Jew” by John
Foster Fraser. “Jews are superior
in drama, medicine, commerce
(chiefly finance), metaphysics, mu
sic, poetry, philology and chess
playing. They are equally distin-
quished with Europeans as archi
tects, artists, antiquories, in no-
tural science, political economy,
science and sculpture. They are
less distinguished than Europeans
as authors, engineers, soldiers,
statesmen and travellers. They
have done nothing notable as agri
culturists."
are exposed at present are a wara-
I ing that the decisive moment is
j drawing near. For liberals to allow
the Nazis to continue their opera
tions against the Jews with impun-
j iiy is to hasten the advent of Fas
cism, that Is to say, to assist in dig
ging the graves of millions of young
Americans.
This Indeed is not the hour to!
j dream and dally in futile debate. !
The enemy is at the gate. The Jews
are the first to feel the impact of
his assaults. We will come next.
The hdltr to rally our forces in the
widest possible united front, t.«nn e
The ORACLE will soon be avail
able In book form as a handy Jew
ish reference book. See your book-
dealer or write this paper for In
formation.
in all the true friends of America’s
democratic institutions wherever
they may be found, that hour has
arrived. To fail now Is to go down
in history as unworthy of the name
of liberals. To hurl back the Nazis
now will mean the turning point in
the world’s headlong dash for bar
barism and a black century - long
night of slavery. — Copyright 1934
for The Southern Israelite.