{"id":776,"date":"1942-07-22T10:10:47","date_gmt":"1942-07-22T14:10:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/ww2-0\/?p=776"},"modified":"2017-07-27T16:42:39","modified_gmt":"2017-07-27T20:42:39","slug":"jewish-organizations-hold-anti-nazi-rally-at-madison-square-garden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/ww2-0\/1942\/07\/22\/jewish-organizations-hold-anti-nazi-rally-at-madison-square-garden\/","title":{"rendered":"Jewish organizations hold anti-Nazi Rally at Madison Square Garden"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thousands of community leaders, political figures, and Jewish citizens gathered at New York City’s Madison Square Garden last night to speak out against the Nazis\u2019 campaign to terrorize and slaughter the Jews of Europe.<\/p>\n

An official message from President Roosevelt that was read to the audience focused on America’s intention to preserve democracy and end the atrocities being committed by Hitler and the Axis powers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe American people not only sympathize with all victims of Nazi crimes but will hold the perpetrators of these crimes to strict accountability in a day of reckoning which will surely come,\u201d he said. \u201cI express the confident hope that the Atlantic Charter and the just world order to be made possible by the triumph of the United Nations will bring the Jews and oppressed people in all lands the four freedoms which Christian and Jewish teachings have largely inspired.\u201d<\/p>\n

The president initially articulated these \u201cFour Freedoms\u201d in his State of the Union address on Jan. 6, 1941. It was an appeal towards maintaining the fundamental freedoms that everyone in the world should be able to enjoy, he said. They are freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear.<\/p>\n

The entire audience stood for the reading of the president\u2019s brief message. Throughout the night, the attendees cheered every time Roosevelt’s name was mentioned.<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Winston Churchill\u2019s message was also read last night and it held similar sentiments to the president’s: \u201cOn Oct. 25 last, both President Roosevelt and I expressed the horror felt by all civilized peoples at Nazi butcheries and terrorism and our resolve to place retribution for these crimes among major purposes of this war,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

These messages differ widely from America\u2019s stance prior to entering the war. For example, in 1939, the Hamburg-America Line\u2019s motor ship, the \u201cSt. Louis,\u201d which held over 900 Jewish refugees from Germany, was denied entry into the U.S. and several other countries in the Western Hemisphere.<\/p>\n

Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia of New York City, who attended the rally at Madison Square Garden, stated that simply protesting and hoping for victory against the Axis will not stop \u201cthat swine Hitler.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs far as I am concerned, I am through protesting. I protested when it wasn\u2019t so popular to do it,\u201d La Guardia said in his address. \u201cWe are in a long and difficult war. We are not going to win this war by making speeches, slogans, epigrams, or headlines. This war is going to be won with the lives and the blood of the free men fighting the Nazis.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"

Window of a Jewish religious shop on Broome Street in New York City. From the Library of Congress.<\/p><\/div>\n

Gov. Herbert Lehman of New York also took the position of waging war without hesitation, citing that the fight for freedom and democracy should not be handled with \u201chalf-way measures.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere must be no appeasement or compromise in this fight for freedom,\u201d he stated. \u201cEither we destroy the Nazi, the Fascist, and the Japanese war lords, or they destroy us. Either their way of life disappears or ours disappears. There can be no compromise between freedom and slavery.\u201d<\/p>\n

As each day passes, there is evidence throughout Nazi-occupied Europe that Jewish persecution persists. Adolf Hitler and the Nazis have boldly proclaimed their intention for several years to decimate the Jewish population in Europe.<\/p>\n

In the past two weeks alone, anti-Jewish ordinances have been enacted in occupied France and German colonies. Jews are banned from principal streets and most public places in France\u2019s main cities. They are restricted to the use of the rear car on subway trains. Their property is allowed to be taken by authorities and thousands are being deported to Eastern Europe.<\/p>\n

Despite being one of the main targets of war crimes and ethnic hatred, Jews have been in the forefront of resistance to Nazi aggression through military enrollment and civil defense, according to Churchill. He disclosed that more than 10,000 Palestine Jews are serving with the British Middle East forces and 20,000 more are enrolled in police groups in the area.<\/p>\n

\u201cGreat numbers [of Jews] are employed in that front line constituted by pursuits and industries essential for the prosecution of war industries and in various services for civil defense,\u201d he said. Churchill also stated that Jewish communities around the world have made their contributions to the Allied cause.<\/p>\n

In addition to the rallying cries of leaders and attendees, there was a solemn commemoration and chant for the thousands of Jewish men, women, and children who have already been slaughtered since the Third Reich took power in Germany.<\/p>\n

The message of the American Jewish Committee read: \u201cWe join in mourning for the destruction of the innocent and helpless victims of Nazi terror, and at the same time highly resolve that we shall not permit the world to forget these crimes so that the perpetrators may be brought to answer for them before the bar of civilization.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sources:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cNEW PARIS CURBS ON JEWS: Laws Bar Them From Some Principal Streets.\u201d The New York Times, July 11, 1942, p. 3.<\/p>\n

\u201cJEWS IN FRANCE: Barred from Public Places.\u201d The Guardian and The Observer, July 15, 1942, p. 5.<\/p>\n

\u201cVICHY ORDERS CURBS ON JEWS IN COLONIES: French Decree Provides for Taking Over.\u201d The New York Times, July 16, 1942, p. 8.<\/p>\n

\u201cTO DEPORT 20,000 JEWS.\u201d The Weekly Irish Times, July 17, 1942, p. 1.<\/p>\n

\u201cNAZIS ARREST JEWS IN PARIS ROUND-UP: Possibly 20,000 \u2018Aliens\u2019 to Be Sent to East, Berlin Says.\u201d The New York Times, July 18, 1942, p. 6.<\/p>\n

\u201cNew Curb on Paris Jews.\u201d The New York Times, July 19, 1942, p. 20.<\/p>\n

\u201cFIGHT MASS SLAUGHTER: Jewish Groups to Hold Rally in the Garden Tomorrow.\u201d The New York Times, July 20, 1942, p. 4.<\/p>\n

\u201cNAZI ATROCITIES: Mr. Churchill\u2019s Message.\u201d The Guardian and The Observer, July 22, 1942, p. 5.<\/p>\n

\u201cNAZI PUNISHMENT SEEN BY ROOSEVELT: Says Hitler Will Be Held To \u2018Strict Accountability\u2019 \u2013 Churchill Greets Rally.\u201d The New York Times, July 22, 1942, p. 1.<\/p>\n

\u201cReckoning Day Coming, Nazis Told by President.\u201d The Washington Post, July 22, 1942, p. 1.<\/p>\n

\u201cMR. CHURCHILL AND THE JEWS: MESSAGE TO U.S. MEETING.\u201d The Irish Times and The Weekly Irish Times. July 22, 1942, p.1.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thousands of community leaders, political figures, and Jewish citizens gathered at New York City’s Madison Square Garden last night to speak out against the Nazis\u2019 campaign to terrorize and slaughter the Jews of Europe. An official message from President Roosevelt that was read to the audience focused on America’s intention to preserve democracy and end […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3780,"featured_media":778,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-776","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-minorities-and-the-war-effort","category-news-analysis","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/ww2-0\/files\/2017\/03\/8d21921v.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8bpwr-cw","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/ww2-0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/776","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/ww2-0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/ww2-0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/ww2-0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3780"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/ww2-0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=776"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/ww2-0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/776\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1171,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/ww2-0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/776\/revisions\/1171"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/ww2-0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/778"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/ww2-0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=776"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/ww2-0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=776"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/ww2-0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}