President John F. Kennedy and Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller today praised the heroism of the Jewish martyrs who fought against the Nazis in the Warsaw Ghetto in 1943. The President and the Governor sent messages commemorating the heroism of the Warsaw Ghetto martyrs to Adolph Held, chairman of the Jewish Labor Committee, in connection with a commemorative service to be held April 19, at the Statler Hotel, under the auspices of the World Congress of Jewish Culture.
“The rising of the people in the Warsaw Ghetto against the terrible oppression and cruelty they were made to suffer,” stated President Kennedy, “has left a permanent impression in the minds of men. It was an epic act of courage. To a darkened world, it meant, at the time, new hope in the ultimate triumph of freedom.”
“With the passing years,” the President’s message continued, “the uprising has right-fully become a symbol of the endurance of man’s hope under the most ruinous of circumstances. In this guise, the honor you pay is not only to the survivors among you, but to Man himself.”
Governor Rockefeller issued a formal proclamation, establishing April 19 this year as “Warsaw Ghetto Day.” In his message, the Governor declared: “While it is obviously a day of mourning for the people of Israel, it should also be a day of extreme and justified pride. The six million men, women and children who perished have become the symbol of true heroism. It is well that we commemorate this day which marked a triumph of the human spirit over tyranny.”
NEW YORK’S ‘TIMES SQUARE’ RE-NAMED ‘WARSAW GHETTO SQUARE’ FOR A DAY
New York City’s “Times Square,” sometimes called the “crossroads of the world,” was re-named Warsaw Ghetto Square for the day today in commemoration of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. The ceremony was sponsored by the Zionist Organization of America and was addressed by Max Bressler, ZOA president, Dr. Isaac I. Schwarzbart, former member of the Polish Parliament, and others.
Mr. Bressler said that in commemorating the courage and supreme sacrifice of the Warsaw Ghetto resistance fighters, “we pay tribute to a valiant group in that has forever destroyed the myth of Jewish submission to persecution and slaughter.” Dr. Schwarzbart said that the meaning and purpose of the uprising would be realized only if Jews “feel and understand” that the uprising was an integral part of the “eternal spirit which keeps our people alive and active, creative and optimistic, despite all disillusionment and ever recurring suffering.”
United Hias Service held memorial services today for the 6,000,000 Jewish martyrs of the Nazi regime. Murray I. Gurfein, United Hias president, gave the memorial address. Other speakers were Adolph Held and James P. Rice, executive director.
Similar events were scheduled for next Monday by the American Technion Society and by other organizations. Ogden R. Reid, former American Ambassador to Israel, and Dr. Binyamin Eliav Consul General of Israel in New York, will be the speakers at a special American Technion Society meeting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
