This is not the first time the Emerald has been in hot water for its portrayal of Jews. I was doing some research in old issues of the Emerald and happened upon a series of articles from Oct. 12, 1933 titled “The New Germany.”
A disclaimer was run above one article saying how much “dissention” it had caused on campus. The series was written by Richard Neuberger, who had been the editor of the Emerald the previous year. He spent his summer vacation in Germany. Hitler’s Nazis had risen to power and were actually admired by many people outside of Germany.
Neuberger’s reports in the Emerald tell of the madness that was gripping Germany. In town after town he witnessed the atrocities against Jewish people of all ages. While visiting the university in Heidelberg, an old professor pleads, “America must help us. This is not alone a fight of the Jews. It is the battle of everyone who believes in democracy and freedom.” It would be seven years before America listened. Six million Jews died.
Sometimes it may seem to those of us who have never experienced racial hatred that Jews are hyper-sensitive. However, these Emerald articles written in 1933 show how long the world stood by, knowing what was happening and doing nothing.
This young former staffer had courage, foresight and a bright future. Neuberger graduated in 1935 and was later to be elected to Congress from Oregon. Perhaps his articles about the rise of anti-Semitism in Germany could be reprinted in some university publication or put on a Web site. They are too good to be forgotten.