Cambridge University Press 0521812879 - Buried by The Times: The Holocaust and America’s Most Important Newspaper Laurel Leff Frontmatter More information
BURIED by THE TIMES
Buried by The Times: The Holocaust and America’s Most Important News- paper is an in-depth look at how the New York Times failed in its coverage of the fate of European Jews from to . It examines the many de- cisions that were made up and down the chain of command at the Times – decisions that ultimately resulted in the minimizing and misunderstanding of modern history’s worst genocide. The fascinating and tragic narrative of Buried by The Times is unfolded by Laurel Leff, a veteran journalist and professor of journalism. She recounts how personal relationships at the newspaper, the assimilationist tendencies of the Times’ Jewish owner, and the ethos of mid-century America all led the Times to consistently downplay news of the Holocaust. It recalls in precise detail how news of the Nazis’ “Final Solution” was hidden from Times readers and – because of the newspaper’s profound influence on other media – from the larger American public. Buried by The Times is thus required reading for anyone interested in the Holocaust and America’s response, as well as for anyone curious about how journalists determine what is newsworthy.
Laurel Leff has been a faculty member at Northeastern University since . Prior to her university appointment, she was a professional journalist for years, reporting for the Wall Street Journal and the Miami Herald. She also served as an editor for American Lawyer Media and the Hartford Courant.
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Advance Praise:
“Laurel Leff has written an exceptional study of one of the darkest failures of the New York Times – its non-coverage of the Holocaust during World War II. How could the best newspaper in the United States, perhaps in the world, underestimate and underreport the mass killing of more than ,, Jews? Read this book, which provides answers and in the process stands tall in scholarship, style, and importance.” – Marvin Kalb, Senior Fellow at Harvard’s Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy “This is the best book yet about American media coverage of the Holocaust, as well as an extremely important contribution to our understanding of America’s response to the mass murder of the Jews.” – David S. Wyman, author of The Abandonment of the Jews: America and the Holocaust “This important book answers – in a compelling fashion – some of the questions which have long been asked about the New York Times’ coverage of the Holocaust. Probing far behind the headlines, Leff tells the fascinating story of how the Sulzberger family was rescuing its relatives from Germany at the same time that it was burying the story of the Holocaust in the inner recesses of the paper.” – Deborah E. Lipstadt, author of Beyond Belief: The American Press and the Coming of the Holocaust “Laurel Leff has written an engrossing and important book about the abject failure of the world’s most influential newspaper, the New York Times,toreportonthe Holocaust that its owner and key figures knew was occurring. Her book tells us much about America at the time, the level of anti-Semitism, and the assimilationist desire of the Jewish owner of the Times to avoid stressing the unique Jewish nature of the genocide. It is part and parcel with the same mindset of the Roosevelt Administration. One can only wonder in great sorrow at how many lives might have been saved if the nation’s and the world’s conscience had been touched by full and complete coverage by the Times of what remains the greatest crime in world history.” – Stuart E. Eizenstat, a former senior official in the Clinton Administration and the Special Representative of President Clinton on Holocaust-Era Issues, author of Imperfect Justice: Looted Assets, Slave Labor and the Unfinished Business of World War II
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Buried by The Times The Holocaust and America’s Most Important Newspaper
Laurel Leff Northeastern University
© Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 0521812879 - Buried by The Times: The Holocaust and America’s Most Important Newspaper Laurel Leff Frontmatter More information
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, Sao˜ Paulo
Cambridge University Press West th Street, New York, -, www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/
C Cambridge University Press
This book is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published
Printed in the United States of America
A catalog record for this publication is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Leff, Laurel, – Buried by the Times : the Holocaust and America’s most important newspaper / Laurel Leff. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. --- (hardback) . Holocaust, Jewish (-) – Press coverage – United States. . World War, – – Press coverage – United States. . New York Times Company. . Journalism – Social aspects – United States. I. Title. .. . –dc
– ---- hardback – --- hardback
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Dedicated to the Memory of
Sarai K. Ribicoff – and Ricardo Hunter Garcia –
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Contents
Acknowledgments page ix Note Abbreviations xi
Introduction: “Last Voice from the Abyss”
-- “Not a Jewish Problem”: The Publisher’s Perspective on the Nazis’ Rise and the Refugee Crisis “This Here Is Germany”: Reporting from the Berlin Bureau “Worthy of France”: The Vichy Government’s Anti-Semitic Laws and Concentration Camps “A New Life in Nazi-Built Ghettos”: German Domination of Poland, Rumania, and the Baltic States
-- “To Awaken the Conscience of Christendom”: Pressure to Publicize the First News of the Extermination Campaign “Amidst the Advertisements on Page ”: Placement Decisions and the Role of the News Editors
vii
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viii Contents
“All Jews Are Not Brothers”: The Publisher’s Fight with Zionists “The Semitic Question Should Be Avoided”: German Atrocities and U.S. Government Propaganda “Final Phase of Supreme Tragedy Has Begun”: The War Refugee Board and the Destruction of Hungary’s Jews “Political Prisoners, Slave Laborers, and Civilians of Many Nationalities”: The Liberation of the Concentration Camps “Lessons from the Hitler Tragedy”: The Publisher and the Aftermath of War Conclusion: “The Horrible Story Was Not Told”
Appendix A: Key Individuals Appendix B: Key Institutions Appendix C: List of Front-Page Stories Notes Index
Photographs located on pages –
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Acknowledgments
learned to be an editor by working with great ones: John McPhee at I Princeton University; William Blundell and Byron Calame at the Wall Street Journal; Matthew Walsh and Edward Wasserman at the Miami Herald; Steven Brill, Eric Effron, Julie Lipkin, James Lyons, and Edward Wasserman at American Lawyer Media; and David Fink, Pamela Luecke and Lawrence Roberts at the Hartford Courant. I also had the fortune of working with a great editor on this book, Andrew Beck of Cambridge University Press, who praised, prodded, and improved in appropriate measure. During my years teaching at Northeastern University in Boston, I have had a number of talented and inspiring graduate students, some of whom helped in researching this book. Among them are Lisa Eramo, Sarah McDonald, Nathan Fox, Hollie Gowen, Robert Greene, and most of all, Karen Fischer of Germany and Jacques Maes of France, who not only pro- vided invaluable assistance, but who also exemplified the best of a genera- tion of Europeans able to learn from the past. Among the many archivists who assisted me, Lora Korbut at The New YorkTimes Company Archives stood out for her cheerfulness and her willingness to help me make full use of that priceless resource. In conducting my research, I received finan- cial support from the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture and from Northeastern University’s Research and Scholarly Development Fund. Although only a few people were available to be interviewed for this book, they more than made up for their small number by their generosity in terms of time and insights. They include Clark Abt, Neil MacNeil, Jr., Margarete Midas Meyers, Marylea Meyersohn, Ruth Nussbaum, Daniel Schwarz, Louis Shub, and Jacob Trobe. In addition, Eli and Shoshanna Eliat and Otto and Gizella Heda helped me understand my family’s in- volvement in the greater catastrophe of the Holocaust.
ix
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x Acknowledgments
Several people encountered early incarnations of this book and offered encouragement when it was most needed: Nicholas Daniloff, Colette Fox, Debra Kaufman, Ada G. Leff, Ernest Leff, Thelma Magun, Bonita Miller, Eve Paul, Lawrence Roberts, James R. Ross, Vicki Schultz, Judyth Singer, Avi Soifer, Cassie Solomon-Gillis, Jerry Sontag, Sarah Tomlinson, Gillian Whitman, and my father-in-law, Robert D. Paul, who was the first person to read the entire manuscript and who sadly passed away before it was published. Still others devoted many hours to making this a better book through their penetrating criticisms: Nathan Fox, Ricardo Hunter Garcia, Julie Lipkin, Rafael Medoff, and Jeremy Paul, my best critic and best friend. My children gave me hope during what was often a dark and disturbing endeavor: Jason Paul, through his dedication to tikkun olam (repairing the world), and Russell Paul, through his determination to recognize the best in others. A final note in the interest of disclosure and remembrance. On June , , the New York Times published a two-paragraph story on page five reporting that half of Slovakia’s estimated , Jews had been sent to ghettos in Poland and Russia. Among them were my great aunt and uncle, Anna and Jacob Heda; their daughter, Vilma Kaufmann; my great aunt and uncle, Rudolfina and Armin Grunmann; and their -year-old daughter, Judit. Only Vilma, who was in Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen, survived.
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Note Abbreviations
Archives AJA American Jewish Archives AJHS American Jewish Historical Society BU Brandeis University CAHJP Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People CU Columbia University CZA Central Zionist Archives FDRL Franklin D. Roosevelt Library HI Hoover Institution HU Harvard University JTS Jewish Theological Seminary LC Library of Congress NA National Archives NYTCA New York Times Company Archives PU Princeton University WSHS Wisconsin State Historical Society YIVO Yiddish Scientific Institute YU Yale University
Collections ACJ American Council for Judaism AHS Arthur Hays Sulzberger AK Arthur Krock AS Abba Hillel Silver BB Berlin Bureau BGR Bernard G. Richards
xi
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xii Note Abbreviations
BV Bernard Valery CH Cordell Hull CLS Cyrus L. Sulzberger CM Charles Merz DB Daniel Brigham DN David Niles EK Eugen Kovacs ELJ Edwin L. James EPS Ernest and Paul Sulzberger FDR Franklin D. Roosevelt FF Felix Frankfurter FMS Fred M. Sulzberger FTB Frederick T. Birchall GHA Gaston H. Archaumbault JGM James G. McDonald JJ Jews and Judaism JLM Judah L. Magnes JM Julian Meltzer JML Joseph M. Levy JSS Jules S. Sauerwein JTA Jewish Telegraphic Agency LCR Leo C. Rosten MB Moscow Bureau MSL Morris S. Lazaron NM Neil MacNeil OWI Office of War Information PZ Palestine and Zionism RB Ray Brock RD Raymond Daniell RM Raymond McCaw SSW Stephen S. Wise SW Sumner Welles WRB War Refugee Board
Other NYHT New York Herald Tribune NYT New York Times
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ISLANDS Kaujuitoq Baffin (Resolute) Bay
Baffin Island
Iqaluit (Frobisher Bay) Davis Nuuk (G Strait
Hudson Bay
Labrador Sea A Island of AD Newfoundland CAN New York of Arthur Hays Sulzberger,Gulf Publisher (1935-1945) Adolph Ochs, Publisher (1933-1935) Julius Ochs Adler, ViceSt. President Lawrance and General Manager (1935-1945) Charles Merz, Editorial Page Editor (1938-1945) Edwin L. James, Managing Editor (1933-1945) Lester Markel, SundayHalifax Editor (1933-1945) Lake Ontario Raymond McCaw, Night Managing Editor (1933-1945) Boston Neil MacNeil, AssistantSt.Pierre Night Managing Editor (1933-1945) Theodore Bernstein, Cable Editor (1939-1945) Anne O' Hare McCormick,and miquel Columnist (1936-1945) James Reston, Assistant(FRANCE) to the Publisher (1943-1944) Turner Catledge, Assistant Managing Editor (1944-1945)
Washington, D.C. NORTH Arthur Krock (Chief, 1933-1945) Turner Catledge (1933-1941, 1943-44) ATLANTIC John Crider (1940-1941, 1943-1945) James Reston (1940-1942, 1944-45) OCEAN
Turks and Caicos Island BritishVirgin (U.K.) Islands (U.K.) Anguilla (U.K.) DOMINICAN ST. KITTS AND NEVIS REPUBLIC Santo Puerto Domingo Rico (U.S.) ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA *The dates listed cover only the years 1933 through 1945. In some cases, the journalists held their positions before and/or after this time period. They also may have held other positions with the Times. In addition, some reporters left these bureaus for extended periods either to cover combat or to travel throughout a region.
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SELECTED NEW YORK TIMES BUREAUS 1933-1945*
Greenland Greenland Sea (DENMARK)
Denmark ICELAND Godthåb) Strait Reykjavík Berlin London Guido Enderis ( Raymond Daniell (Chief, 1939-1944) Frederick T. Birch Herbert Matthews (Chief, 1945) Correspondent, 1 Milton Bracker (1943-1944) UNITEDGeorge Axelsson Clifton Daniel (1944-1945) Percy KnauthNo (r Gene Currivan (1944) C. Brooks Peterss e( Tania Long Daniell (1939-1945) Otto Tolischus ( James MacDonald (1933-1945)Dublin UNITED James Reston (1939-1940)IRELAND KINGDOM Jerzy Szapiro (1940-1942) NE Brussels Celtic BELGIUM Paris Sea Percy J. Philip (Chief, 1933-1940) Gaston H. Archambault (1933-1940) FRANCE George Axelsson (1940-1941) Daniel Brigham (1936-1940) Herbert Matthews (1933-1935) Jules Sauerwein (1933-1942) Jerzy Szapiro (1939-1940) ANDORRA Lansing Warren (1933-1940) Vichy Gaston H. Archaum PORTUGAL SPAINDaniel Brigham (1 Lansing Warren (1 AZORES (PORT.) Ceuta (SR) Gibraltar(U.K.) A MADEIRA Oran ISLANDS Casablanca (PORT.) Rabat Marrakech MOROCCO CANARY ISLANDS (SP.) ALGERIA Laayoune (El Aaiún) Western Sahara
MAURITANIA Nouakchott MALI
Tombouctou CAPE VERDE Dakar . SENEGAL Prala Banjul BURKINANlamey Bamako THE GAMBIA FASO
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Longyearbyen Svalbard NOVAYA (NORWAY) ZEMLYA Barents Sea
Norwegian Sea Murmansk NORWAY white sea SWEDEN Stockholm FINLAND Arkhangel'sk George Axelsson (1942-1945) Bernard Valery (1940-1943) Moscow (Chief, 1933-1941) St.PetersburgG.E.R. Geyde (1939-1940) hall (Chief Foreign William Lawrence (1943-1945) 1932-1939) (DENMARK) EST. Ralph Parker (1942-1944) (1941) Baltic Sea Cyrus L. Sulzberger (1941-1942,1945) (r1939-1941)th LAT. LITH. e(a1938-1941) RUSSIA 1933-1940) Vilnius Minsk POLAND Warsaw ETH Jerzy Szapiro (1933-1939) GERMANY Kiev L'viv CZECH SLOVAKIA UKRAINE LUX. Munich Bucharest LIECH.AUSTRIA Budapest Eugen Kovacs (1933-1940) Berne HUNGARY Cyrus L. Sulzberger (1940-1941) Gaston H. Archambault (1942-1944) ROMAN Sea of Daniel Brigham (1940-1945)ALB Azoy GuidoVATICAN Enderis (1942-1945) ALB Tirana Sofia Jules SauerweinCITY (1942-1943) Ankara BULGARIA Ray Brock (1940-1943) Skople Istanbul Joseph M. Levy (1943-1945) mbault (1940-1941) Rome 1940) Milton Bracker (1944-1945) 1940-1942) Herbert Matthews (1939-1944) TURKEY Adana Algiers MALTA Valletta Nicosia TUNISIA SYRIA Mediterenian Sea CYPRUS LEB. IRAQ Beirut Damascus Tel Aviv-Yafo Baghdadh Amman Cairo JORDAN
Jerusalem LIBYA Gene Currivan (1945) EGYPT Clifton Daniel (1945) Joseph M. Levy (1933-1935, 1941-1943) Julian Meltzer (1940-1945) Alexander C. Sedgwick (1942-1944) Cyrus L. Sulzberger (1943-1944)
Mecca Port Sudan
NIGER Omdurman ERITREA CHAD Khartoum Asmara
SUDAN
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SULZBERGER/OCHS GENEOLOGY Maier Sulzberger (1721-1789)
Low Salmon M M Sulzberger Sulzberger Lazarus Nanette Marx Rosette (1758-1823) (1761-1838) Ochs (Ochsenhorn) Wetzlar Wetzlar Dellinger (1780-1840) (1785-1831)
M M Maier Maier Elkan Leopold Sophie M 1854 1848 Sulzberger Sulzberger Sulzberger Sulzberger Lindauer Isaac M. Therese Julius Bertha Jette Lazarus (1786-1855) (1797-1874) (1807-1888) (1805-1881) Wise Bloch Ochs Levy Wetzlar Lowensohn (1819-1900) (1826-1888) (1833-1901) (1819-1902) (1818-1858) M 1884 M M Rachel Moses Aaron Samuel Cyrus 1883 1868 Sulzberger Sulzberger Sulzberger Sulzberger Peixotta Hays Iphigenia Adolph Adolph Clementine Henry (1815-1890) (1833-1903) (1840-1907) (1858-1932) (1861-1938) Wise Ochs Midas Lowensohn Zinn (1860-1937) (1858-1935) (1847-1925) (1849-1930) (1833-1875)
M M Maier Sigmund Bertha Max Paula Leo David Arthur 1917 M Sulzberger Sulzberger Heisheimer Sulzberger Priester Sulzberger Hays Hays Iphigene Hugo Lothar Joseph Emmy Louis Rosie Irma Leopold (1857-1914) (1868-1940) (1875-1955) (1876- (died Gurs) (1885-1926) Sulzberger Sulzberger Ochs Midas Midas Midas Hesslein Zinn Zinn Zinn Abt d.Auschwitz) (1897-1962) (1891-1968) (1892-1990) (1877 (1875-1963) (1873-1949) (1879-1952) (1870-1938) (1869-1936) (1874-1936) -deported, died) M M M M Sophie Paul Betti Josef Ernst Fritz Else Cyrus L. 1938 1925 M Sulzberger Sulzberger Sulzberger Altmann Sulzberger Sulzberger Lomnitz Sulzberger Robert Elsbet Eric Thea Elizabeth Eugen (1890-?) (1891-?) (1894-?) (1896-1974) (1897-1980) (1903- ) (1912-1993) Gerst Midas Midas Nathan Abt Peissak (1910-1943, (1916-?) (1901-1987) (1903-1990) (1898-1973) died Auschwitz)
Hermann Sofie Eva Lore Rolf Margarete Clark Altmann Altmann Altmann Sulzberger Sulzberger www.cambridge.org Midas Abt (1925-?) (1927-?) (1929-?) (1924- ) (1929- ) (1927- ) (1929- )