A reception in honor of Emil Ludwig held by the American Jewish Congress at the Commodore Thursday night was an occasion for a discussion of the German persecutions of Jews by leaders of the Congress and Herr Ludwig, with characteristic reserve, reaffirmed his faith and sounded a fervent plea for a vigorous united world Jewry.
Dr. Stephen S. Wise, honorary president; Bernard S. Deutsch, president of the Congress, and George Gordon Battle, honorary chairman of the Million Dollar Emergency Fund Against Hitlerism, spoke and in scathing language assailed Hitlerism, which they called “the disease of Europe.” Mr. Deutsch discredited a report that business discrimination against Jews has been suspended by the German Minister of Economics, and pleaded for continuation of the boycott of German products which he said is taking marked effect.
One of the highlights of the reception was the welcome of Herr Ludwig, now a Swiss citizen, self-exiled from Germany, into the Jewish fold. By his own declaration, until the age of forty he was scarcely aware of the fact of his Jewishness. The assassination of Walter Rathenau, German-Jewish statesman and thinker, awakened him to his religion. He has since been a devout supporter of Jewish causes and a warm adherent of Zionism. Dr. Wise hailed Herr Ludwig as “a great addition to the race” and remarked that Hitlerism has given Jewry more than it has taken.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.