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EMIL LUDWIG BEFORE THE IUDGE
A Close-up Double Interview with the
Noted Biographer and the Judge Brodsky
By Meyer F. Stemglass
The writer oj this interview happened to he prejent
when Judge IS rods kg catted on the distinguished
German-Jewish exile. The result is a fascinating
double interview with Ludwig and Hrodsky.
W HEN Emil Ludwig came to New York,
the first tiling he did was to ride in the
subway. He wauled to see the seething
megalopolis from the underground up. An
innocent enough venture for a prosaic innjik
of the big city, but. for our distinguished biog
rapher-historian this proletarian quirk had a
somewhat embarrassing denouement.
He told the story in Herman, for the specific
convenience of the reporter from the Staatszei-
tung, whose presence made Herr Ludwig squirm
a little. The rest of us formed a close circle
straining for the unfamiliar syllables in order
not to miss the point.
“Well, you see,” our visitor said in a rather
high-pitched voice, “I wanted to see your city
from the bottom lip. Hut the train was crowded,
and being a stranger, 1 couldn’t be sure that 1
had taken the right train. After we had gone
a few stops, 1 decided to look around for a map
or a guide, lbit then just as I was making my
way toward the end of the car, a squareheaded
German wit h t lie sharpaiul forbidding feat ures of
a Nazi turned to me and said in German: 'Herr
Ludwig, may 1 direct you to your destination?’
How this perfect stranger recognized me 1
cannot say. I was annoyed with him and l
replied: ‘Hut aren’t you a Nazi?’ ‘Yes, that's
true, 1 am a Nazi, but I should like to help
anyway,’ the unknown said. Frankly, this was
too much for me, 1 was furious. It no longer
mattered where 1 wanted to go or whether or
not 1 would ever get there. The important
thing was to get rid of this man. 1 did not
answer but 1 tipped my hat, rushed out and
jumped on the first train that came along. It
was, of course, the wrong one, but 1 had suc
cessful! v slipped away.”
It was a picturesque setting for an interview.
From the balcony of Herr Ludwig’s suite on the
roof of the St. Moritz, the green and brown
expanse of Central Park stretched far to the
north of the city, a rich verdant valley engulfed
by miles of brick and skyscraper. Over all the
twilight cast an unnaturally sentimental glow
that broke down even the most hard-boiled
reporter’s indifference.
The incident of the Nazi in the subway led the
noted biographer of Napoleon and Ilindenburg,
to the subject of Judge Brodsky. Eagerly and
with a deep sense of pride he described how the
bold and vigorous decision in the Hremcn
case had been warmly applauded and admired
throughout the capitals of Europe.
“You have no idea what repercussions it has
had in Europe. It is on everyone’s lips. Every
one talks of H rod sky. Where is Hrodskv? I
should very much like to see him, I want to
congratulate him. Heir Ludwig said in a
pleat ling tone.
The appeal touched one of the reporters in a
vital .spot. lie mumbled something about
fifteen or twenly minutes and disappeared.
Herr Ludwig answered everybody s question,
paying particular attention to the queries
with “a Jewish angle’’ (What has happened to
t he Jew isli curve?)
“What is the ultimate destiny of German
Jews?’’ we asked. This was the question that
Herr Ludwig had been waiting for. In animated
spirit he said: “Hitler will be forgotten in a
few years, but he will have a beautiful monu
ment in Palestine. \ou know,” and here the
biographer-historian seemed to assume the role
of a patriarchal Jew—“The coming of the Nazis
was a rather welcome thing. So many of our
German Jews were hovering between two coasts;
so many of them were riding the treacherous
current between t he Scylla of assimilat ion and t lie
Charybdis of a nodding acquaintance with
Jewish things. Thousands who seemed to be
completely lost to Judaism were brought back
to the fold by Hitler, and for that I tim per-
sonallv verv grateful to him.
“Of course, mv re-conversion to the Jewish
life 111 err Ludwig had been baptized when he
was still a child. His original name had been
Cohen) did not wait for Hitler. 1 saw the
futility of our ways thirteen years ago when
Kathenau was assassinated. I saw then that we
were doomed," he added.
Hut the future, llerr Ludwig, what is the
destiny of the Jews in Germany?’’ we per
sisted. I'he medium-sized, stubby figure with
the large head and peculiarly arched eyes, sep
arated by an unusually narrow bridge, replied:
“Ei ten years there will be no more than
150,000 Jews left in Germany. All their best
talents and brains will be gone, scattered to the
four corners of the earth, many of them to
America, as for instance Einstein, Reinhardt,
Klemperer and Elizabeth Rergner. After ten
years of Nazi rule the Reichswehr will gain the
upper hand and unseat Hitler. And the Reich
swehr may be astute and shrewd enough to
rescind the anti-Jewish laws and ask the Jews
to come back. That would be sad. For 1
should like to see a Germany without Jews
better 1 ” delll0nstrated that * he deserves nothing
^ ° £> v ' Mill .
1 am afraid that many of them will,
large section of them have sunk their roots
deep in the life of Germany to be strong eni
o remain outside of the country longer
they have to. i ersonally, 1 hope that wher
ime comes when a new government rev
the anti-Semitic decrees, the German Jews
sa\ to one man: ‘No thank you. We do
care to return. We prefer to remain when
Sn.,- , Ver 'n‘ am afrai,! that I know
situation too well to expect this. There is ai
If MIL LI'Dina
“liven/,me talks ,>f
IS, •odski/"
proverb in the Koran
which says that no
man should be mar
ried to the same wo
man three times. I
cannot help feeling
that the Jews will
marry Germany a
third time."
I lerr Ludwig spoke
with considerable en-
t husiasm about I he re
cent World Zionist
Congress in Lucerne,
which he had at tended
for three days. He
described his talks
with Dr. Weizmann
and Dr. Kuppin. He
was deeply stirred by the dramatic atmosphere
surrounding its proceedings. The spectacle of
the representatives of more than a million
Jews from practically every country in the
world assembling in Lucerne to speak for Jewry
tilled him with a peculiar sense of courage and
triumph. He was, however, somewhat per
turbed by the situation which the question
of the discussion of the German Jewish posi
tion threatened to create. The common talk
that the Transfer Agreement, whereby Jews
coming from Germany are permitted to bring
their money to Palestine in the form of German
goods, might seriously interfere with a free and
untrammeled debate on the Jewish tragedy
in Hitlerland frankly upset him, he said. 1 nder
these circumstances he was greatly relieved by
the address by Dr. Stephen S. Wise, which
vigorously arraigned the Nazis for their per
secution of the Jewish people.
As for the Transfer Agreement, Herr Ludwig
remarked, “Hitler was certainly the Shylock
in this transaction.”
"Hut Hitler has built a beautiful monument
for himself in Palestine. In a few vears lie will
be gone and forgotten, but in Palestine the
thousands of German Jews who have emigrated
there since his regime went into effect have
contributed the scientific and professional fer
ment that will enrich the entire A ishub for
Abruptly, llerr Ludwig left the sentence in
mid-air and turned to the door to see who it
was that had just come in. The soft-hearted
reporter marched up to our noble guest and
with the air of a “master of ceremonies an
nounced that he had just brought in Magistrate
Brodsky. No other picture than that of a child
being told that Santa Claus has just arrived
could convey the reaction of Herr Ludwig to
this announcement. Breaking through our
circle he rushed to greet the man whose words
concerning the Swastika have made the whole
world resound with his name.
"Judge Brodsky, how are you, Judge? Aou
don t know how happy I am to meet you.
When I left my home {Please turn to Page 1~
18]
* THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE