March 5, 2010

Celebrating 80 years ...

The March 1, 1940, issue of the Jewish Western Bulletin was all about the need for community unity worldwide. As the Second World War began, Jewish communities were working feverishly to raise money for the Joint Distribution Committee to provide relief to those Jews who had “managed to escape from the brutal and inhuman cruelties of Hitler’s armies, and ... found temporary havens in neighboring neutral lands. They need our help, and that immediately.” (Jewish Western Bulletin, Feb. 2, 1940)

Despite the many articles published in the paper about the pogroms, expulsions, executions and starvations of Jews that were taking place, the March 1 editorial illustrates that the extent of the horror was not at all comprehended. Democracies were engaged in much more than a “life and death struggle” for “their principles,” as we all know now.

The optimism of the editorial’s final sentence is hard to read, not only in hindsight, but in considering the state of the world today: “Unity, above all, whether in world or communal affairs, is the NEW system of the modern world structure.” We’re still waiting....

If anyone in the community knows who “M.F.,” the editorial’s author, might be, please let us know.

Queens Esther update

The Independent received a few responses to the “Celebrating 80 years” article in the Feb. 19 issue, from women whose memories had been jogged by the community Purim Ball’s candidates for Queen Esther in 1937.

Faye Shafron identified the Purim Queen Esther second from the left as her mother’s cousin, Rhea Cohen. Cohen represented the group Poale Zion in the contest, as can be seen by the banner she is wearing. According to Shafron, Cohen went on to marry Julius Blatte. The couple moved to Bremerton, Wash., where they had one son. Cohen had a twin sister, Clara, and an older brother, George.

Janet Genser identified the woman in first picture as that of her mother, Anne Lillian Korbin (née Mann). She added that she believes her parents were the first couple to be married in the Jewish Community Centre, on Dec. 26, 1937.

As well, Reita Goldberg, who was crowned Queen Esther in 1948, called to share her story of that day. With her help, the Independent found her “coronation” photo in the April 1, 1948, issue of the paper, despite both her first and last names being misspelled in the article (and those leading up to the year’s ball). Seems that the newspaper has always had the occasional problem with getting people’s names right – thankfully, readers like Goldberg are forgiving.

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