The death of George B. Catlin, Michigan historian and librarian of the Detroit News at the age of seventy-six recalls the deep interest that this Christian scholar took in Zionist affairs and in Jewish matters generally.
Many notables of Michigan, together with a host of friends, joined in paying tribute to this eminent newspaperman and scholar for his genius in historical fields.
Two letters addressed to the writer by him reveal how polytropic his genius actually was.
On August 12, 1933, two days after his seventy-sixth birthday, he acknowledged greetings in a letter in which he condemned race prejudice and religious fanaticism.
“As we grow old we find a flood of memories rising about us at each birthday, and sometimes we grow weary and wondering as we see the present generation grapping with problems which have constantly recurred through all the ages, and seeming to have learned nothing from the experiences of earlier generations.
“Spain’s religious fanaties put a terrible blight upon the nation more than 400 years ago when she expelled the Jews and the Moors, and Hitlerism, regardless of that demonstration, is repeating the outrageous folly, after a fashion of its own. I look upon the pressent folly as a passing phase of history, for religious fanaticism and race prejudice do not belong anywhere in the 20th century of this era.”
Later he wrote: “Though a Christian, I am heartily in sympathy with it (Zionism). There are several excellent reasons for its promotion and two of these stand out very prominently. Possession of Palestine in peace has been the dream of the Jewish people since the time of Moses–a dream as yet unfulfilled but kept alive and active by successive prophecies and by the undying hope and faith or a wonderful race which has carned the right to existence as a nation. The fulfillment of that dream would bring joy and renew hope in the hearts of a great multitude of Russian, Polish and other Jews who live among people who are more or less hostile to them. I would not expect much of an exodus from the United States or England, where prejudice is vanishing beyond prospect of revival, but as I look at the situation in the light of history and experience, the Jews of Russia and Poland seem to be facing a peril.”
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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.
