Evening star., 1953-01-18

ruthleSSly suppressed in the drive
for classless. conformist state.
Pre- e-Revolution Terror
1t was in Russia. too, that anti
Semitism reached its worst fury in
the first quarter Of the century.
Russia under the Car had suffered
humiliating defeat in the 1904-5
war with Japan. The Czarists found
a scapegoat among the Jews whom
they charged with high treason.
p THE Jews" they said, plotted with
the japanese with whom they are
racially akin
Later, when Nicholas II was forced
to grant some constitutional rights
to his subjects, great power passed
into the hands of the Union Of
Russian People, a reactionary coali-
ton which allowed Russian anti
Semites free rein. BY World War I.
there was hardly an accusation that
had not been made against Jews
including the fantastic charge of
ritual murder that was advanced by
the governments prosecutors them
selves.
The first war halted some of these
excesses and the 1917 revolution
brought equal rights to Jews. But
it did not end anti-Semitism. Jews
became full citizens. But there was
Bolshevik persecution of their Jew
ishness. Communists talked up the
rights of all minority groups. but
in this new MARKHAM society there
was no place for worship of any
god but that Of Lenins brand Of
communism.
TrioIs Of Thirties
Then despite the "Stalin clause"
despite public dedication to the
rights of all men. the Communists,
in the purge and liquidation trials
of 1886 and 1888, wiped out Jews
who were "Old Bolsheviks." But
anti-Semitic violence in Nazi Ger
many at the time overshadowed the
anti-SemitiSm of the first Russian
purge trials.
theological differences between
fasciSm and communism were some
what obScured by the Nazi-Soviet
pact of 1899. Molotov, Stalin's chief
foreign deputy, blithely referred to
faScism as "a matter of taste"
The Soviet's effective anti-Jewish
policy was intensified in 1947 as
corollary to it's anti-Western cam
paign. Intelligence filtering through
cracks in the Iron Curtain reported
the growth of a systematic campaign
ito eliminate Jews from posts Of
responsibility and especially from
positions involving contact with the
outside world" There were care
fully documented reports of assaults
on individual Jews in Moscow and
Odessa. Soviet officials were indif-
ferent to the complaints of Jewish
victims; they took no action to curb
such incidents Notwithstanding the
Soviet constitution ban on anti
Semitism. The establishment OF
Israel and the desire of many Rus
sian Jews to emigrate to that coun-
TRY only whipped the Politburo to
greater frenzy in carrying out its
anti-Jewish program.
Brosh as Hitler
The current charges are surprising
only for the fact that the Com
munists made use of anti-Semitism
as a political weapon with the
brashness of the Hitler pattern.
Communists outside the Iron Cur
tain, particularly the American
party-liners whose propaganda is
built on their supposedly humani-
tartan devotion to minority peoples.
are suddenly left high and dry, ex-
periencing the same embarrassment
they once before were squeezed into
by the 1899 Soviet-Nazi pact. Why
this abrupt departure from the care
fully nurtured myth that commu-
nism is the salvation of oppressed
minoritieS?
Accepted Opinions
At this time, these seem to be the
generally accepted opinions:
Q The charges from Prague, Mos
COW, East Berlin were meant to win
favors of Nazi and neo-Nazis in
Germany. A West German election
is scheduled this spring; the Soviets
have hopes of winning support
there.
Q The charges are Communist bid
for friendship with Arab nations
and a grab for Arabian oil con-
cessions.
o The Czech trials we're meant to
cover up failures to meet production
quotas set by the Kremlin. This.
added to the systematic looting OF
Czech resources to feed the Soviet
war potential, has mired the pop
ulation in economic despair; they
needed scapegoat.
The scapegoat theory is widely
held and for multitude Of reasons.
The number of highly placed Jews
in Soviet and satellite countries is
very small. but in many cases they
are considered fair game. Lazar
Kaganovitch, a brother -in-law Of
Stain, still remains as an important
commissar in Moscow. Ana Pauker
in Rumania and Gerhardt Eisler in
Eastern Germany have been round
ly condemned and deposed. Premier
Matyas Rakosi of Hungary. accord
ing to latest reports. will be subject
to charges of "Zionism." Only
Jakob Berman and Hilary Mine in
Poland have been untouched so far.
and even they must be sleeping
f1tfully.
Power Drives Evident
In these cases, there have been
strong indications of power drives,
internal party campaigns for leader
ship in which non-Jews have found
anti-Semitism handy weapon, one
acceptable to the Kremlin.
The American State Department