This article appeared in the Nov. 17, 2005, Jewish Advocate.

Program to examine local reaction during early Nazi era

BY SUSIE DAVIDSON

In the minds of many American Jews, US involvement during World War II will always represent a despondent scenario of too little, too late. The ultimate victory, amid emotional liberations of survivors by kind soldiers, is tragically offset by images of the St. Louis, the delayed involvement, the misplaced bombings, the public officials and newspaper editors, even Jewish ones, who appeared to look the other way. The history is as perplexing as it is disturbing, full of “if onlys” and “what ifs.”

But what about Boston? A progressive bastion with a proud revolutionary tradition, a center of literature, philosophy, and education, rooted in Transcendentalism, abolitionism and all forms of social justice ? What happened here during the Nazi era?

Professor Stephen Norwood, a member of the Department of History at the University of Oklahoma, will discuss this local angle from 4-5:30 p.m. on Nov. 20 at the Boston Center for Jewish Heritage at the Vilna Shul on Beacon Hill. “Vos haben zey gezogt b'Boston? What were they saying in Boston?” will seek to expand the range of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum’s “Fighting the Fires of Hate” exhibit at the Boston Public Library. In his presentation, Norwood will look back at this very newspaper, as well as others that were published in Boston at the time of the Nazi book burnings.

Norwood, who holds a Ph.D. from Columbia University and is an expert in 20^th century U.S. American Social and Labor History, Judaic Studies and Sport history, will examine articles, letters to the editor and other press materials of May, 1933.

The mission of the nonprofit Boston Center for Jewish Heritage, Inc. (BCJH) is to restore the Vilna Shul and create a center offering exhibits and programs that showcase the American Jewish experience. The city's only surviving immigrant-era synagogue, it is located near the site of what was, during the 19^th and early 20^th century, Boston's populous West End, home to many Jews and other new Americans.

According to Executive Director Steven M. Greenberg, the event continues the Center’s focus on programs on the history of Jewish Boston. “For far too long, the experiences of the Jews of Boston have been a mystery to all but a few,” he said. Although he acknowledged the growing body of scholarly work that is being conducted in this area, Greenberg said that there is much left to be done. “We must not lose our understanding and appreciation of the rich and vibrant history of what is today a major Jewish community,” he said.

Norwood's lecture will portray an active community that stood up against the growing threat of Nazism, and will explain who the people were, what they said, and who they protested to.

"What were they saying and what were they doing in Boston as they were burning books in Germany? Did anyone hear them? What was the reaction?” asked Greenberg.

“Do you know? I certainly don't, but I am excited to find out.”

The program is sponsored by the Boston Center for Jewish Heritage, located at 18 Phillips St. in Boston. Reservations are requested. For more information and to make reservations, please contact Steven Greenberg at 617-523-2324 or info@bcjh.org.