Dr. Gerhart Riegner, who in 1942 as representative of the World Jewish Congress in Geneva first informed the Western world of the Nazi plan for the genocide of of the Jewish people, indicated today that he felt it improper to cast judgement today on what should have or could have been done to help rescue European Jewry during World War II.
“Certainly we could have rescued more, but don’t have any illusions that we could have rescued millions,” Riegner told a group of American representatives of the World Jewish Congress at the Minskoff Center here. He said the international political situation was different and the American Jewish community’s influence was limited compared to what it is today.
Observers interpreted Riegner’s remarks, which included a reference to Stephen Wise, the former president of the American Jewish Congress, as having been a direct reference to the ongoing investigation under the chairmanship of former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg into what the Jewish community did or did not do in its efforts to save European Jewry. An interim report issued by the Goldberg group has specifically cited Wise’s wartime efforts.
The gathering today was in commemoration of the 45th anniversary of Kristallnacht (Night of Shattered Glass), when Nazi anti-Jewish attacks on the night of November 9-10, 1938, decimated Jewish-owned property and synagogues throughout Germany. The event is considered a turning point in the treatment of German and Austrian Jewry marking an end to independent organized Jewish life, with the dissolution of cultural and communal bodies and the banning of the Jewish press.
While no complete tally of the destruction exists, reports said at least 30,000 Jews were arrested in Germany, some 8,000 in Austria, and were sent to concentration camps in Dachau, Buchenwald and Sachsenhausen.
Reports said 815 Jewish-owned shops were destroyed, and 29 warehouses and 171 dwellings set on fire or otherwise destroyed; 191 synagogues were set on fire and a further 76 completely demolished. Thirty-six Jews were killed and 36 severely injured in the anti-Jewish attacks.
‘A DAY AND NIGHT OF HORROR’
Rabbi Arthur Schneier, spiritual leader of the Park East Synagogue and who participated in today’s discussion, was in Vienna 45 years ago and said he was a boy on his way to school on November 9, 1938. “It was a day and night of horror. I can still here the shatter of glass, see the burning of the synagogues and see hundreds and hundreds of Jewish men lined up waiting for shipping to Dachau and Buchenwald.”
It was Riegner who in 1942 transmitted a telegram directed to the U.S. State Department and British Foreign Office that contained the first authentic news about Hitler’s decision to exterminate the Jews. The name of the informant who passed the information to Riegner has remained a mystery until just several months ago when historians verified the informant as German industrialist Edward Schulte. But Riegner, who is the last person alive to know the identity of the informant, will not verify whether it was Schulte, saying he gave his word not to reveal the informant’s identity.
DESPITE WARNINGS, ‘NOTHING HAPPENED’
According to Riegner, the Jews outside Germany could not comprehend what was taking place although he said it was clear in three separate instances that what was occurring would be fatal to the Jews. This included a 1933 Nazi ouster of Jews from professional positions, the 1935 Nuremburg laws, and the 1938 night of shattered glass. He said despite the warnings, “nothing happened.”
Riegner said he was not seeking to “exonerate” anyone for what they did or failed to do but pointed out that it is essential to put actions by individuals in historical context. This, he said, included an assessment of the actions of President Franklin Roosevelt, who at that time was confronted with challenges from isolationists and the strictures imposed by U.S. public opinion.
Meanwhile Neal Sher, who is the acting director of the Office of Special Investigations, the Justice Department’s office responsible with investigating and prosecuting war criminals living in the United States, said today that Israel is ready to seek the extradition of war criminals from the U.S. He said he could not go into details of who those persons are or when formal action may begin.
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.
