Nation-wide interest was shown yesterday in the charges that anti-Semitic literature is being distributed in the German department of the Women’s College branch of Rutgers University by members of the faculty of this department.
The American Civil Liberties Union has been invited to participate in the inquiry launched by the board of trustees into the charges made by Prof. Leinard Bergel who was dismissed from the German department because, as he claims, he tried to combat the Nazi propaganda there.
STUDENTS DEFEND BERGEL
Dr. F. J. Hauptman, head of the department, continued to insist yesterday that Prof. Bergel was dropped for reasons of economy and efficiency. Students of the university, however, substantiated Prof. Bergel’s charges that the members of the German faculty used the classrooms for propaganda for Hitler and for spreading anti-Jewish literature among the students.
The State of New Jersey is also expected to take part in the investigation of the charges since a new law was recently passed making it a misdeameanor to spread Nazi propaganda in New Jersey.
The Rutgers case, it is being predicted, may lead to a wide investigation affecting other colleges where it is alleged anti-Jewish propaganda is being conducted by professors as Nazi agents, as reported by Dr. A. L. Sachar, head of the Hillel Foundations, at the recent convention of the B’nai B’rith in Washington.
A petition signed by more than 400 of the 900 students in the Women’s College has been submitted to the Rutgers University administration, uring the reappointment of Dr. Bergel, emphasizing that he is one of the best teachers in the college and that his efficiency could not be questioned.
The Campus News, Rutgers student organ, publishes today a num-
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