Stammering and confused by questions of his alleged anti-Semitism, Dr. Frederich J. Hauptmann, German professor at the New Jersey College for Women, refused to commit himself on the Jewish question at today’s session of the Rutgers University trustees investigation into the charges that Hauptmann recommended dismissal of Dr. Leinhard Bergel, an instructor, because he was anti-Nazi.
He did, however, vigorously defend the Hitler regime in Germany and denied that any Jewish books were ever burned or that Jewish professors were exiled.
Under cross-examination by Sidney J. Kaplan, Dr. Bergel’s attorney, Prof. Hauptmann said that some of his best friends are Jews.
Kaplan handed Dr. Hauptmann the written question of one of the trustees:
“Do you believe the anti-Semitic policies of Germany a good thing?”
The witness examined the slip of paper at great length. Then he gulped, flushed red and looked at the ceiling. “The question is up to the German government,” he stammered finally.
Pressed for a further reply, Dr. Hauptmann hedged again and said haltingly, “It is within the power of the German government to decide on our own racial problems.”
Dr. Hauptmann denied during the course of the day’s testimony that he or members of the German department which he heads, spread Nazi propaganda among the students of the college.
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.
