Publication of the Rogge report linking the Nazis to highly placed figures in the United States was demanded today by the closing session of the 51st national encampment of the Jewish War veterans of the United States.
The action came after an address last night by Mr. Rogge, former special assistant to the Attorney General, in which he urged the JWV to press for release of his report, which has been suppressed by the Justice Department. The growth of organizations such as the Columbians and the revival of the Ku Klux Klan are “living proof” of Mr. Rogge’s exposures, a resolution adopted by the delegates said. It urged Attorney General Tom Clark to “take the necessary steps against the enemies of our state mentioned in the report.”
Col. Paul Griffith, national commander of the American Legion, who spoke last night, reiterated his stand against new immigration to the United States on the ground that we must protect American veterans from over-crowding and job competition. Griffith’s view brought an immediate answer from Rogge who was the next speaker. Rogge said that America must abandon its “closed club” policy in regards to immigration. He declared that the U.S. could absorb all the displaced persons. Another speaker was Secretary of War Robert P. Patterson who commended the Jewish war record and the activities of the JWV.
Two resolutions on Palestine were adopted; one reaffirmed the JWV’s previous stand on “the establishment of a homeland for the Jewish people in Palestine” and the other commended the Jewish resistance movement in Palestine conducted by the Haganah. The resolution asked President Truman “to demand that Great Britain relinquish its control over Palestine in favor of the United States” and to instruct the U.S. delegates to the United Nations. “to institute measures so that the United Nations shall become the haven for the remnants of European Jewry.”
Congress was asked to take measures to insure that the 100,000 Jewish DP’s and other victims of Nazism and fascism who are now eligible to enter this country under existing immigration quotas be allowed to come at once, and to modify at least on a temporary basis the “present system of allocating fixed quotas and visas according to countries of origin.”
Other resolutions urged the unseating of Senator Bilbo, called for legislation to make anti-Semitism illegal and protested War Department discrimination against enlistment of Negroes in the Army.
Col. Milton Richman of Hartford, Conn., a veteran of both World Wars was elected national commander to succeed Maxwell Cohen of Boston.
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.
