INFORMATION - The Association of Jewish Refugees

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Page 4 AJR INFORMATION, March 1948 Ignaz Af ayciaum : MARTIN BUBER—SEVENTY The Jewish world is celebrating Martin Buber's seventieth birthday. Four different groups of wellwishers will appear. Zionist Jewry, the world of Jewish learning, that world-wide society of Philosophers, Philologians and Educationists who drew inspiration from Buber's work, and lastly the remnants of German Jewry. I venture to say that the congratulations of this fourth group, the good wishes of German Jews, dispersed all over the world, will be very dear to the septuagenarian, now living in Jerusalem. Martin Buber is not a German J ew by birth. But his work would not have been possible without the historic scene set by German Jewry. I know that those in Palestine who reject his wise counsel in the present political situation speak of him as a German Jew. Indeed, the various religious and political programmes of modem Jewry originated from the history of German Jewry, and those who embark on the strange ways of not trusting in the power of the spiritual values, may very well reject the history of German Jewry and its great representative :Martin Buber. Until 1918 Martin Buber brought the message of what he called the " Jewish Renaissance" to Western Jewry, which saw the possibility of a Jewish life within the Western nations only in closest adherence to the liberal ideas of the West. Buber preached a nationalism which he considered in its possible coim.ection with a humanism; and to the amazement of the Western world, which regarded religion only at home, in synagogues and churches, he made us familiar with a collective, and at the same time religious movement: Chassidism. After the first World War, 19th century nationalism changed into the 20th century nationalism of the mass movements, and the religious problem became the question how to escape despair and nihilism. Buber had to give something to this generation, too. He could give freely. He had in the meantime himself received new inspirations. His work bacame now closely connected with that of Franz Rosenzweig. Buber has never publicly said anything which indicates a change of his attitude towards Chassidism, or even mark him a Mithnagged, an opponent of Chassidism. On the contrary, now the septuagenarian publishes his lifelong collection of chassidic utterances, thus affirming his valuation of Chassidism as he cherished it in his youth. But it is obvious that with Franz Rosenzweig's appearance in Martin Buber's Ufe the Bible attained an importance to him which it did not have before. At the funeral of Franz Rosenzweig, Buber who was oldei' than the departed friend, said: "The master has died and left us alone." Once, Buber was an opponent of the " Liberals," who preached in synagogue sermons on the " Jewish mission " to the well-to-do bourgeoisie cf the West. Now, after he had met Franz Rosenzweig he was able to write his " Koenigtum Gottes " with which the English speaking public became acquainted by his just published " Moses." There no longer Chassidism but Mes.sianism is his subject, that Messianism which the nineteenth century preachers of the Jewish mission, too, tried to bring to life. Once, Buber opposed Hermann Cohen's Liberalism which, based on the teaching of the prophets, was indeed a Jewish religious Liberalism. Now, Buber is opposing those Zionists who discard the prophetic teaching in politics; he has not only done so since 1944, but demanded collaboration with the Arabs for the first time at the 12th Zionist Congress of 1922. Once, we took sides for Hermann Cohen against Buber, or for Buber against Cohen. Now, at the close of this chapter of Jewish history we are able to understand both Hermann Cohen and Martin Buber, and to be the pupils of both of them. Buber's role in Palestine of to-day makes him appear a true disciple of Hermann Cohen's Messianism, opposing a brutish nationalism with the prophetic message of peace, brotherhood and justice. Since Buber left for Palestine, his work went on and remained creative. It is with admiration for the youthfulness of the seventy years old Martin Buber that we read his latest book " Between Man and Man." He did not stagnate: there is living progress in the exposition of his thoughts. Once, he gave the Jewish answer to Continental idealistic philosophy, but the great men, representing this school of thought, are dead, their last followers died in Hitler's concentration camps. The new generation of Continental thinkers swung over to a new school of thotrght, to " Existentialism." Whether this new movement is a camouflaged nihilism or whether out of the strength of creative despair, it may be able to express prophetic ideas in the shape of Western philosophy, is stiU undecided. Here, again, we have the guidance of Martin Buber, who, in his " Between Man and Man," gives the Jewish answer to Existentialism. Our wishes for Martin Buber on his seventieth birthday cannot view him as an individual only. We see him inseparable from the way of the Jewish people. The height of Martin Buber's " prophetic career "—that is something else and something more than his international status as a scholar and thinker —was in the days of 1933-1938 in Germany. He was then no longer the philosopher of a Jewish renaissance, he became the preacher of Jewish revival. His romantic dream of a Jewish renaissance was purely political and exclusively aesthetic, that means, it remained a secular hope. Such hope became meaningless on German Jewry's deathbed. Buber made the decisive step. He gave us what we needed in the hour of our greatest danger. Those who escaped death and torture shall not forget Buber's sermon preaching not only a political Jewish renaissance, but a spiritual revival of Judaism, which as such is amounting to a survival of Jewry. May Buber, in the Palestine of 1948, win disciples and followers, as he did in the years 1933-1938 among German Jews. LAW and LIFE Legal Advice Hours {for persons with limited means only): Wednesday 5-6.30 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.-I2.30p.m LIABILITY FOR DAMAGE In last December's issue it was reported that English law, within certam limits, has developed liability for damage caused by dangerous property, independently of the owner's negligence. It has been mentioned that this development has been stopped, for the time being, by a famous judgment of the House of Lords in the case of Read v. Lyons, delivered October 18, 1946. Mrs. Norah Read was employed in a factory owned by Messrs. J. Lyons & Co. and used by them, under a war-time agreement with the Ministry of Supply, for making munitions. Without anybody's fault an explosion occurred which injured the plaintiff. She sued her employers for damages and her case was, that by reason of the dangerous nature of the work, the defendants were under the obligation to safeguard her from harm. She won the case before the High Court, but lost before the Court of Appeal and definitely before the House of Lords. Five Law Lords, essentially in agreement with one another, delivered lengthy judgments which, compressed in a nutshell, may be formulated like this: (1) as English law now stands, an allegation of negligence is in general essential to the relevancy of an action of reparation for personal injuries, (2) an exception to this rule was made, in the cases quoted in our December issue, if the injury was caused by dangerous things (fumes, water, animals, etc.) escaping from the owner's premises ; but there was no reason to extend that exception to an accident happening on the defendant's premises. It can well be said that very serious juridical opinion is critical of that decision which, inter alia, prevents an adaptation of English law to rules contained in many other laws. But a decision of the House of Lords is English law and can only be reversed by ParUament, by way of the enactment of a Statute. "THE AXE OF WAP«)SBEK" The new novel by Arnold Zweig " The Axe of Wandsbek " (Hutchinson's International Authors, 12/6) follows in its composition the great example set by " The Case of Sergeant Grischa." Here again, society, an era, a political philosophy are led ad absurdum by the experience of an individual, this time Albert Teetjen, master butcher, who acts as a deputy executioner of four men, four rebels against Hitler's order. While in " The Case of Sergeant Grischa " the machinery of war is analysed ar.d taken to pieces, in the case of Albert Teetjen the party machine of the Nazis and their ideology are shrewdly scrutinised. Life in Hamburg in 1937 is reconstructed in minute detail and the whole fabric of intrigues between petty bourgeois and storm troopers, of rivalries between party officials and Wehrmacht officers comes to life again. Among them are the last remnant of Hamburg Jews, some of them on the verge of emigration, others caught in the then still cold pogrom. Not so much alive as the pattern of society are the characters, although .\lbert Teetjen and his wife Stine are figures cut by Zweig's master hand; they are being boycotted, reduced to poverty and their tragedy—she hangs herself and he shoots himself—reflects the tragedy of the ordinary man in those days. The plot is no doubt dramatic. The narration, however, sometimes flows heavily and only some of the people emerge from a sea of reflection into real life and reach the reader. H.F. " ENGLISH FOR FOREIGNERS " The publication of this handbook by E. Lewy and W. Percival (Longmans, Green & Co., London, price 7/6) will be warmly welcomed by everyone cormected with this journal. While many, and more particularly the younger people, have succeeded in sailing smoothly on the familiar surface of the language—no doubt, when probing into the depth of this sea, everyone will be only too happy to consult a guide. The advanced student for whom this booklet has been compiled, will be pleased to find only a limited amount of grammar and more practical examples than theoretical rules. A considerable part of the book is taken up by a chapter entitled " The English Language and its Difficulties " which gives a number of examples on how to avoid mistakes in the use of the article, prepositions, tenses, etc., also pointing out some common errors in the use and order of words. The authors' method of simultaneously impressing, in a series of terms and idioms, on the reader's visual memory what he should and what he must not say, may not appeal to everyone, but will be welcomed by many who feel that this may help them to avoid the traps the English language still sets them. A short and careful comment on punctuation, illustrated by one of G.B.S's letters to the Editor of " The Times," will be greatly appreciated. Colloquial English is mostly contained in a number of short dialogues. The book also presents a series of " model " letters which may help some people to improve their style of letter-writing. The section on " "Traditions and Customs " provides handy information on some popular subjects. To the more ambitious the bibliographical notes offer a number of suggestions on what to read, and the question " how to read " is answered by Virginia Woolf in an extract of her delightful essay. Several appendices contain tables on weights and measures, with conversion rules, a list of current abbreviations, and one of legal and commercial terms. As a reliable help for intensified study, and also in cases of occasional uncertainty or doubt the book will be valued by all those to whom the English language is not their mother tongue. NEW BOOKS.—Victor H. Bernstein; " Final Judgment," The Story of Nuremberg (Latimer House); J. Mervyn Jones: " British Nationality Law and Practice " (Clarendon Press, Oxford); J. W. Wheeler-Bermett: " Munich, Prologue to Tragedy " (Macmillan); William L. Shirer: " End of a Berlin Diary" (Hamish Hamilton); Dr. Hans Bernd Gisevius: " To the Bitter End " (Jonathan Cape); Emil Ludwig: "Bolivar" (W. H. AUen); Barker Fairley: " A Study of Goethe " (The Clarendon Press); " Maximilian Harden-Brevier" (Bruno Henschel und Sohn, Berlin); Heinrich Heine:" Eine neue Auswahl" (Dobbeck,Speyer).
AJR INFORMATION, March 1948 Pag« S Heroert Freeden: AGENT OF HUMANITY In July, 1944, a man sat for 24 hours in the crowded train leaving Berlin for Budapest, holding on to a knapsack which he would not leave for a moment. It contained a list of names of Jews in Budapest and of opponents of Nazis in Hungary. The man was Raoul Wallenberg, the emissary of the United States War Refugee Rjard and a Swedish diplomat with a special mission who has become the humanitarian hero of the late World War. His task was to persuade Admiral Horthy, the then Hungarian premier, to stop the further extermination of Jews. The whole drama after his arrival in Budapest developed into a duel between him as a representative of Swedish King Gustav, for the rescue of the Jews, and Veesenmayer, the representative of Himmler, for the extermination of the Jews. Wallenberg organised the so-caUed " C " Department of the Swedish Legation which was at that time to become its most important section. He issued " Protective Passports " which put the owners under the protection of the Swedish Legation, documents which had no legal precedent in international law and which were then accepted by the Hungarian and German authorities. The Germans were made to believe that their owners would at the earliest opportunity be repatriated to their " Swedish native country." Soon there were more than 10,000 people under Swedish protection. Other neutral Legations, especiaUy Switzerland, foUowed suit. But all these efforts would have been worthless but for the resourceful and courageous man who backed them and intervened personaUy on behalf of arrested Jewish famUies. Protective Passports The Hungarians as well as the Germans understood from the beginning that these protective passports had a very weak legal foundation; the Hungarian officials were repeatedly persuaded by WaUenberg that they would buy a return ticket to the outside world for themselves and their country if they tolerated his action. By arguments and, if necessary, by promises, threats and intrigues, Raoul Wallenberg, who before his mission was an ordinary business man, succeeded in establishing authority and respect in the Hungarian capital. Letters to the Editor * Dear Sir, I suggest that the AfR makes an effort of drawing in more of the younger set among refugees (/ do not refer to the 300% Britishers, I loathe them). The AJR should therefore arrange social functions instead of or in addition to their present meetings, and I should like to suggest that these should be open also to non-AJR members so that members may be able to introduce friends who may prove to be prospective members and would bring fresh blood to the AJR. I have discussed my proposal with other AJR members and shall be glad to learn the views of your readers. Yours, etc., 8, Grove End Gardens, N.W.S. Peter Johnson. • Dear Sir, Whilst expressing appreciation of the interesting article by Dr. Bienenfeld on the recent Human Rights Conference at Geneva, it is perhaps regrettable that the omitted completely any reference to the representation of this organisation there. Although at thai time we had not yet been afforded consultant status {this has since been rectified), we were represented by a delegation comprising Rabbi M. Munk of New York, Rabbi Dr. Ehrmann of Zurich, and Mr. H. A. Goodman of London. Dr. Bienenfeld does refer to the joint proposals submitted by the three recognized bodies in regard to freedom of religious worship. In the official report issued by the Board of Deputies, it is stated that " This submission followed from consultations that took place with the Agudas Israel." Jewish public opinion is justified in asking why four separate organisations should have been present at Geneva, presenting four separate memoranda. Previous discussions in London could quite easily have attained a united approach. Yours, etc., Agudas Israel World Organisation, 37/38. MUre Street, E.C.Z. M. R. Springer. His organisation had, towards the end, a working staff of about 600 persons. He often managed to liberate hundreds of Jews who had already been assembled for deportation by bribing a few officials with protective passports for themselves. Once when a group of Jews were about to be deported under the supervision of a German soldier, Wallenberg soon noticed that the German did not understand Hungarian; he cried out to the prisoners, " All those possessing protective pas,sports should come here." The Jews grasped the intention and everyone who had any official Hungarian document, such as vaccination certificates, tax receipts, etc., was saved. Wallenberg had rented thirty-two big houses and had given them extra territorial rights. The Swedish Red Cross and other neutral legations foUowed and they created the so-called " International Ghetto " where about 80,000 people found refuge. St. George and the Dragon Things changed for the worse when the new Hungarian dictator Szalasi took over. Deportation trains started to leave and where trains were not available any more, the notorious " death marches " took place on the highway to Vienna. Even then, Wallenberg, with trucks filled with clothes, shoes, food and medicines, intercepted the marching columns on the road and became the secret agent of humanity. He also succeeded in saving some of the victims in St. Stephen's Park, where the Jews were herded together before deportation. The City of Budapest will erect a monument at this place, symbolising Raoul's work as the fight of St. George and the Dragon. At the end of December, 1944, the Russian armies launched the final assault on the City. In January, 1945, Wallenberg established, on behalf of the Swedish Minister, contact with MarshaU Malinovski, the Russian Commander. He himself intended to go to Debrecen, the headquarters of the Marshall so as to suggest certain provisions to solve the problem of the homeless Jews crowded in the ghetto. On January 14 the Commandiiig Russian General communicated in his report that he had taken Raoul Wallenberg and his property under Soviet protection. A few weeks later, Marshall Malinovski confirmed this fact. Three days afterwards, Wallenberg visited his offices in the company of Russian guards to inform his officials that he was going to Debrecen but did not know whether as a guest or prisoner. On January 17, the Soviet Foreign Ministry communicated to the Swedish Ministry in Moscow that Raoul WaUenberg had been taken under Soviet protection and Mme. Kollontai, the Soviet Ambassador in Stockholm, assured Raoul's mother that Raoul was well. All Swedish notes and inquiries since then regarding Wallenberg's whereabouts have received no Russian answer. The organisations working for his release decided to support his nomination for the 1948 Nobel Peace Prize, a nomination which was warmly supported among others by Albert Einstein and Martin Buber. His gallant fight for the persecuted is one of the most brilliant examples of our time of what a private person with passion, courage and personality can achieve for the cause of humanity. PROFESSOR BRODETSKY 60 YEARS OLD On February 10, British Je\vry celebrated the 60th birthday of Professor S. Brodetsky. As the President of the Board of Deputies and as one of the leading personalities of the Zionist movement and the Jewish Agency for Palestine he has gained a high and well-deserved reputation within World Jewry. We Jewish refugees are especiaUy indebted to Professor Brodetsky. When the AJR was founded, he promised to lend her his full support. And he kept his promise. Whenever his assistance was needed, the AJR could rely on him. At a time when the position of refugees was not fully established in this country, not even within British Jewry, he never hesitated to take our side. Time and again he used to say that all Jews were refugees. It is a deep meaning in the saying: there is no distinction between Jews and Tews, we all are wanderers on the earth. It proves Professor Brodetsky's true understanding for the fate of his Jewish brethren that he always fought for this idea. Old Acquaintances Btrlin Afterthought .'—Of course, wherever you are in tne world, you speak German freely; but the people around you speak the " other " language. Returning to Berlin and noticing that your neighbours talk your own tongue, you think at once: " What a lot of refugees they have. . . ?" To put it bluntly: you don't feel any more " at home "; you are quite a stranger. Some things are famUiar, some places or houses bring back memories; but altogether it's like visiting a museum —it's amazing that they speak the same language, you think. You don't have to believe Dr. Fabian, editor of Berlin's Jewish weekly, " Der Weg," who says: " Warn everyone not to come back to Germany; it's no place for Jews, and we all want to get out "—you know it immediately. Refugees from London, who returned, complain that even friends tell them, " You were not here—so don't talk." They feel resentment against people who " dodged," in their opinion, the past fifteen years in Germany. " We don't mind the occupation, but we very much mind the ' false ' Britons and American , employed by the authorities," they say. The Germans hate those former fellow countrymen, because they are afraid. They know quite well that these returnees hav3 a good memory, and that they are doing their job very well. It isn't done to speak about the near past; I never heard the name of Hitler mentioned in any conversation; they seem to hav5 suppressed the last fifteen years. I met Peter de Mendelssohn, who is control officer for the British sponsored press; Egon Jameson, who is with the Americans at " Neue Zeitung," and Walter Behr, who controls the actors in Bavaria to name only a few; they all like their job, and feel that they are not liked here, and they are doing their job very well. Theatre and film people :—" How many dollars do you earn in tnglana.'" asked a reporter Mady Christians when she arrived here. But she doesn't earn any dollars at all, she gtts pounds, and cannot help it, that she had to cast a lot of continental actors for her production of van Druten's " I remember Mama " in the " Aldwych Theatre." Frederic Valk, Adrianne Gessner, Lily Kann, Gerard Hinze, and Milo Sperber are in this comedy which ran on Broadway for a long, long time.—.\nother play " Cockpit " in the " Playhouse " in London has also a cast of Continental actors mainly. Its a play about " displaced persons," and Tatjana Lieven, LUy Molnar, and Paul Hartmuth are in it.—I regret to report that Walter RUla's wife, sister of the once famous actress, Ida Roland,, died in London after a long iUness, and this is the reason why we have not seen the well-known actor for such a long time.— Dolly Haas appeared on Broadway together with John Gilgud in " Crime and Punishment," but the production was not a success in New York.— Professor Ernst Stern wiU do the decors when Hans May's new operetta " Carissima " wUl be shown in London's " Palace."—Carl Zuckmayer settled near the lake of Geneva to write the script for a picture " Nach dem Sturm " which Gustav Ucicky will direct in a production of the former Ufa-man Guenther Stapenhorst.—Maria Becker, Maria Fein's daughter came to London from Switzerland where she is with Zurich's " Schauspielhaus " to speak " Elektra."—Viennese actor Eugen Jensen Uving in Switzerland, celebrated his 75th birthday and finished his autobiograpny with memories of Kainz, Sonnenthal, and Girardi.—By the way, oldtimer Eduard von Winterstein just published in Berlin his memoirs under the title " Mein Leben und meine Zeit."—And Fritz Kortner who came on a visit to Berlin, made his first appearance when the " Buehnenklub " celebrated Alfred Kerr's 80th birthday. Of writere and authore :—Hertha Pauli's biography of Alfred Nobel was published in London just now; also Emil Ludwig's " Bolivar."—John (Hans) Kafka who started in BerUn as a journalist, published his first novel " The Apple Orchard " in New York: it's the story of European refugees to the United States hundred years ago.—Louis de Wohl's " The Living Wood " was published by GoUancz in London, and is sold already to Rank for a picture; de Wohl wrote the story of Britain's first woman Saint.—Alfred H. Unger sold his film story " The Man of the Hour " to producer Hanbury.—Berthold Viertel adapted the American play " Alle meine Soehne " for production in Berne; Viertel is back from the States, and produces for the German section of the B.B.C. PEM
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