The State Department has not yet replied to a protest by the New York local of the American Federation of Musicians against the tour of the United States by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, led by Herbert von Karajan and managed by Gerhardt von Westerman, both former members of the Nazi Party. The protest, adopted by the executive committee of Local 802 of the AFM, was sent to the union’s president James C. Petrillo, who forwarded it to the State Department with request for clarification of the orchestra’s status.
Meanwhile, at a press conference in New York, von Westerman admitted past membership in the Nazi Party, insisting that he was not in sympathy with the Nazis but joined to protect his job. He made a similar admission about von Karajan’s membership. The Jewish War Veterans and the Congress for Jewish Culture have joined the campaign to end the orchestra’s tour under von Karajan’s conductorship.
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