, .. ~-:.-J"J¥ ,~, , ". Page Fourteen THE JEWISH POST Thursday, September 4, 1975 , _Thurs_d_lI_y, September 4. 197_5 ___T H E JEW I S--=H=-:.P-=O:.:S:.T=-______p_ag::.e-.-:~_ifteen_ Nahum Goldmann Spokesman For World Jewry A Farewell Letter From,· The Undergroul1~ (Reprinted from the Jills News) , . , • (The highly controversial Dr. Nahum Goldmimn, mit to the wishes of the majority", he said, "that Juives which merged with the W.J.C. (Editor's Note: This is' a translated and condensed us to share our pain with you in this way, but taken by trucks, but were chased on foot to a president of the World Jewish Congress, is presented is democracy". The XIXth Zionist Congress (1935) was a version ofa letter written by Fi.'ancis Rubinlicht our experiences have hardened us so, that what special place where old people and children were of (Romanowska) to her remai.ning relatives in the to others may seem cruel, is, to us, a mere trifle, killed'immediately, and where young people were here as one Jewry's greatest spokesmen. The vit­ Albert Thomas, Director of the International turning point in the Zionist life of Goldmann. riolic and at times aggravating Dr. Goldmann, whose Labour Office in Geneva, told the XVIIth Con­ As Vice.,president of the Congress he conducted United States during the seige of the Warsaw Ghetto. and tears that could result from a letter such as packed into railway cars, with up to 120 in each. The letter was written, at irregular intervals and un- this are, for us, a luxury."" These' people were then sealed in, ~d the cars BOth birthday was celebrated in July, IS portrayed gress (1931) after listening to Goldmann's its most difficult sessions and the success of the here as a benefactor to Jewish mankind. Whatever speech: "I seem to"hear the echo of the speech Congress was attributed to the ability he dis­ • der extreme suffering and hardShip, over a period We o~n nothing but potal:!t>i~m, 9.£ cyanide, pulled out on side tracks where they remained the reader's feelings "On the subject, he Qr she will by M. Briand','. The same Congress adopted a played when presiding over the dramatic"Gen­ of nine months (March 21 to November 12, 1943), which has been secured for a fantastic price. for 'several days. During that time, the inmates find some interesting sidelights to the' elderly gent!­ resolution of the Political Commission formu­ eral-debate". He was also the spokesman of the while she, together with her brother, Hemy Rubin· We ,will use it, only when we see that we cannot died a horrible death, being burned alive by the man, who refuses to give up the reins of leadershl1l'.) licht (Romanowski) were hiding from the Germans possibly escape the tortures. This is what we l~eaction of chemicals with human urine. Then , , lated and presented in the, plenum by Goldmann, Political Commission and was elected representa- ' in the Aryan section of Warsaw. Six days :ifter she promised each other when,.we distributed this tne burnt Corpses of Oul' compatriots were un- By JOSEF FRAENKEL regretting the ,views of Weizmann in an inter­ tive of the Zionist Organization to the League view with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency which of Nations at Geneva, (1935-1939) and member ended the letter, Miss Rubinlicht died. rescuing medicine amongst our whole family. I loaded. AHUM Goldmann, born in Wisnovo, ,Lithu­ made the election of Weizmann impossible. Na­ of the Zionist Executive. To his duties· were Before the war, Miss Rubinlicht was a stage set do not know whether those who are already dead The first victim in our family was Father; N ania, on 10th July 1895, was trained to hum Sokolow became President of the Zionist added the problem of refugees and the negotia­ and cos,tume designer in the Wad'saw Opera and other had the chance' to use this 'infallible poison. when, on July 26, 1942, being hungry, he left serve ,Zionism and th,e ,Jewish people. His father Organi~a:tion ,and in March, 1932, Sokolow and tions with the High Commissioner' for Refugees. Polish theatres. Mr. Rubinlicht is presently a rem- What happened is this:" ,the house to buy some bread with coupons. The Salomon (186g..1933)', a Hebrew teacher and Goldmann condtrCted a successful Keren Hayesod He often came to London to assist in political dent of Montreal. ' The first day of the war was, already tragic cut-throats grabbed him and put him on the The letter was transtated 'by Lillian R,ubinlicht.) "deat'h'car" Tw'o days later we lost Morrl's and writer, who wrote under the pen-name "Shal­ campaign, in America. It wou 1rl h~ rlH'i'i ('" 1+ .. ~ ~ ntivities. At later Zionist Conresses he courage­ for us when Henry was mobilized for the front.' . mon", settled in' Frankfurt, when his.,son • - • ;>'. '- " ously advocated partition of Palestine for March 21,1943•. The other men of the family~stayed at home Lola, to whom Hala had just had time to give was six years old. His parents' home was a "viable Jewish state" which led to his be­ ODAY is the first day of Spring, a day which because there was .:no time, ~o call1,lpon them too. some potassium of cyanide. This happened on the meeting place of leading Zionists 'and ing attacked and called an "appeaser". T awakens hope and faith in a hetter tomorrow I cannot de.scribe all the terrifying experiences July 28; 1942. " journalists among who~ was his uncle, ~en , At the beginning of the Second World for the whole world, but, unfortunately, not for of September. Perhaps there,,:-.y.ill be time to do It seemed that only those Jews who worked , , Avigdor (1866-~921), the Hebrew writer. War Goldmann left Europe for America to us, not for this handful of Jews, condemned to so later. ," :,', in th\! camps would be saved. For this reason, Young Nahum breathed the Zionist atmos­ continue his Zionist work and his struggle death, whose verdict of death was signed on About the 5th of September':~enry appeared, Henry placed himself, Lutka, Lily, Hala, Joseph July 22, 1942, and in whom a small spark of life d d HIt f and myself in a work camp for hard labour, at phere. At the age of ,13 he sfarted- to against Hitler. With others, he 10rmulated woun e. e was a mos craw'l~-'-- mg on a 11 ours, the ,cost' of four machines, one motor, and other publish articles under .. the name ,"Ben the "Biltmore Programme" (1942) and par­ still keeps smouldering, as if by a miracle. We a wreck of his company. Having recovered some- Koheleth". ' As. a. student at Heidelberg ticipated in the fight against the White are no longer human. We are merely frightened what from his wounds, he went Off straightaway valuable things. Ruta and Uri were suppo,sed'to II University (1912 -1914) he joined the Paper of 1939. After the war he decided ghosts, bearing ourselves with a kind of doped to defend Warsaw which, as you've probably be safe by having jobs in a welfare center. But i "Kartell Zionistischer Verbindungen" and to "tell the British and the Americans and resignation, rejecting all hope of salvation-ex- heard, had become a fortress." However, the all this 'was, unfortunately, useless. On the day cept for death. We are watched and spied upon, bl ff t . . Aft "', h 'bl b ttl of the forced evacuation, August 9, they took became a, practised speaker.; In 1913 he the United Nations, the Jews and the Gen­ no e e or was m vam. . er a, OITI e a e, away from us, within one hou,r, Lily and Lutka•. visited Palestine and his impressions apr· tiles: We don't want any more trusteeshipi! and tortured 'SO horribly that the only rescue can Warsaw was on f;~e Wl'th ~'b'xut 90 000' killed ~ , ' "'c..: v, , Oil that same da"', Uri died, and Rala follow, ed, ju. a volume,· "Eretz Israel-Letters ,and foreign regimes in Palestine. We need be by a miracle, which would be the end of the and a great number wO\lDded. ,Qn the 27th day J I " 1'.. """ Palestine". (Frankfurt, 1914).· He Statehood". He made repeated representa­ war. - But if this end is still far away then, really, of the war, she fell into the hands of the enemy. ,him on the next. " tions in Washington and Downing Street only charitable death, which soothes and ends Then came a' period fiUed,with dismal strug- . FOl; the past four weeks we, have been hiding , ' ~f:~~~,;~:~~'Of time examining the , edl11c.a~tio'nn:a] and advocated .the He,-I (to Ernest Bevin), and in the decisive all pain, can save us. gles, a battle for Ufe, and ,a 'time of hunger, in . a "dungeon" in the Aryan section. Unfor- years of 1947-1948 he was one of the rep­ Emotionally, we have been prepared for death especially when we, overlool{M.,by death until tunately, we shall have to >'l.Ve here" since we rf~e~iw:u~~j~~~~~~~ . schools" thel'Allian~eof the "Hilf- '. resentatives to the United Nations. for over one year - therefore, we shall not meet now, were enclosed within the, walls of the are spied upon and hounded. worse than. animals. ~ and the Evelina de... Dr. Noah Barou (1889-1955) took the it as heroes, but rather, with resignation. Ghetto, when bodies sw-olien,bY:,ihunger became For this reason, ,and .because yve, as well as our He .. continued . his initiative and Goldmann, founder and Presi­ Until a short while ago, I believed that Henry a natural ,phenomenon, whgit Ruta.and Hala ,protector~, run, the rIsk of' bemg, de.nounced, we Berlin .and again in dent of the Conference on Jewish Claims and I would 'have the chance to'share the load reached a weight of 35 kilograms, when Heriry have deCIded to somehow ,pla~e ,Uttle 'Arthur , a pupil of theTal~ against -Germany, negotiated with the Ger­ of our tragedy with you, to share the deep pain became a mere skeleton,:ande'when I became ill ' somewhere, and, to give ourselves, up, into the Rabinkow, and he . man authorities leading to the conclusion that fills our hearts after the loss of our whole, ,with;" stomach ulcers.. Rub(and I.workedal:!··. ,the murders, swallowing our poison in).- of Hebrew .and., ;.,. of the "Lu"embourg Agreement" (1952), family. But .today we bEieame convinced that seainsiresses,prl, Henry' ' We cannot <;ommit suicide toll. ,,,, German/Eng- despite a storm of protests in Israel and the opportunity' will never come, because our' also'tried,tOearn way we our patron would become the ,victim Diaspora. As President of the Committee fate has been sealed ;md, in a, short while, we· strove forward, ' war':'" .' . . It-is forbidden to all Poles, not. only 'for Jewish Claims in Austria (1953) he will probably perish. Perhaps it will be for the . I am ill Jews, .but also to help them iii wl:\atever conducted negptiations with Vienna. ' ' best, for we are 'exhausted. To prevent your false; m:li).l1ler;· Every. good. citizen, is simply expected ',; After the establishment of the State conclusions, we have decided to write this let,ter" mi:l W.J,J"JJL,U over every Jew or Jewish ,child to the·SS. of Israel he intensified his ,Zionist activi­ probably our last, which will give you some idea even offer, rewards ,for .such noble ~tion. , ties. "The view that the, Zionist programme of what has happened to us. '. . - ttlo~al~et;~~~.~~.eg;',;Now; my dear ones, I, must, stress that, not ~, " has been fulfilled by the' proclamation of , , It, is imPo!lsibie to desCribe,.in detail,. what, tl ~:~~1~'::!~;:~~£~1~~~;d~{~~g~~~:: of' family perished in ,the 'same manner. . . ! the State is wrong and illusory", he stated. we went through, regarding not only our lDline- ,eliql1i(ll!i.ti~;n;, 'T.'I~'-it1stanee, HaJa' heeame insanej and when. our In ,the' fiery discussions about the future diate family, but also all the others-'-relatives a~~~~;iJ~ , . ,) the heall of the' faCtory~ whose' and status of the ZioIiist Organization, he and common friend,s.· This. great 'catastrophe VI ie:1'c~)ptioiJl;! J~i'?~lti~~~e:w:·as also to provi!ie victims for the defended the Z.O. against dangerous at­ which hasaff1icted the whole world..in generalg , of the blood-thirsty' SS ~ pulled tacks from various directions, including and the Jews in particular, is SO aWful and hor- 'her row"she ran, away tWice and :bid the Ben Gurion circle. ' rible that I doubt if anyone· will· ever .. be able to herself4n .a bundle·· of linen'; .. They .. got her .. out, . Nahum, Goldmann was e~ected President describe it ,completely... Perhaps it, is 'selfish of .handled ,her; brutally; . and, brollght her. to Treb,- . of the Z.O. ,in 1956. He was the sixth .. linka,Whel'~ they had specially "public President of the Z.O. (1956-1968) (the 'b'th",a ..1;",.... ,',' "i .. ,forerunners were Theodor Herzl, (1897- 11904,), David Wolffs<;lhn (1905-1911),'Otto Warburg ,(1911-1921), Chaim WeizJ)lan , " , has nQtvisited (1921-1931 and 1935-1946) 'and Nahum Sokolow 'Zionist affan-s;" He has (1931-1935) 'and cOllcentiatedhis efforts on over the the Jewish unity: "For the Jewish State cannot exist, without the Jewish people, 'anct-the continuation of tl1e Jewish people Without the State is less feasible". ' , , " Goldma,nn addressed meetings at which, he I i made known his views on the situation of the ,I , Jews'in,coun~ries where they are perseCuted. He visited presidents, ministers, governInent' offi':' • cials and even the Pope, to Persuade tneni to ~in­ terVene o~ b~half of the oppressed Jews and to- ' ,'plead' ,for, freedom to' emigrate." But whenever, • he,spokeaoout the policies of the State of Jsi'ael ~e :Was; u/?ually, criticised by s0ll!-e of ,the C Israeli JournaIl~ts.', !:Ie, ,has pften been their. ~pegoat an,d the~c~ef target of attack. It started-even, "before the establishmeQ~ of 'tneState,of, lsrael when he" adv?Ca.ted .partition and, years Iate}."' , , when he n~o~lated WIth' West Germariy, on resti.:.:' , tution.• ,:' qol,dm~n, ha!il'~ev,er been a'''yes~nian''. ~lt He is:indepe,ndent and n~erafnijd, to.Bii.~.:'What" ,t he: thinks:' ' , . ' ,.;, ", , ,iI, " " ,,"', ;', ",>~ ;,' .' (Co~\l~ of bge 23)