In the Shadow of Hitler: Alabama’s Jews, the Second World War, and the Holocaust

343 Pages·2014·2.43 MB·English

by  Dan J. Puckett

In the Shadow of Hitler
<the MODERN SOUTH logo>
Series Editors
Glenn Feldman
Kari Frederickson
In the Shadow of Hitler
Ala bama’s Jews, the Second World War,
and the Holocaust
Dan J. Puckett
THE UNIvERSITy OF AlA bAMA PRESS
Tuscaloosa
Copyright © 2014
The University of Ala bama Press
Tuscaloosa, Ala bama 35487- 0380
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
Typeface: Caslon
Cover photograph: Religious service held at Temple beth- Or, Montgomery, Ala bama.
Courtesy of the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the Ameri can Jewish Archives,
Cincinnati, Ohio. americanjewisharchives.org
Cover design: Kate E. K. barber
∞
The paper on which this book is printed meets the minimum requirements of Ameri-
can National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed
library Materials, ANSI Z39.48- 1984.
library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Puckett, Dan J.
In the shadow of Hitler : Alabama’s Jews, the Second World War, and the holocaust /
Dan J. Puckett.
pages cm.—(The modern South)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISbN 978-0-8173-1328-9 (trade cloth : alk. paper)—ISbN 978-0-8173-8107-3 (ebook)
1. Jews—Alabama—History—20th century. 2. World War, 1939–1945—Jews—
Alabama. 3. World War, 1939–1945—Refugees—Alabama. 4. Alabama—Ethnic
relations. 5. Holocaust, Jewish (1939–1945) I. Title.
F335.J5.P83 2013
305.892'40761—dc23
2013016593
for Mae—

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Abbreviations xiii
Introduction 1
1. Ala bama’s Jews and Nazism, 1933–38 19
2. The Refugee Crisis, 1938–41 40
3. Zionism in Ala bama, 1933–45 74
4. The Ala bama Press, Nazi Antisemitism, and the Holocaust 105
5. The War 131
6. Antisemitism and Racism during the War 185
7. Postwar Ala bama 206
Postscript 225
Notes 235
bibliography 293
Index 313
Illustrations to follow page 166

Acknowledgments
This book on Ala bama’s Jews and the Holocaust grew from my earlier re-
search on the subject. I had origi nally planned to write a book that described
how Nazism, war, and the Holocaust affected Af ri can Ameri cans’ demands
for civil rights, which at the time was my primary focus. I also planned to
include a small section devoted to the Jewish community. I began working
on the Jewish reaction first, which I had relegated to roughly two chapters,
largely to get them out of the way. In the course of further research and writ-
ing, it became clear that a separate study of Ala bama’s Jews was required.
The University of Ala bama Press, which had agreed to publish my origi nal
study, encouraged this decision, and editor Dan Waterman has been both
supportive and patient as I steadily worked on the book. As this project pro-
gressed, south ern Jewish history, not Af ri can Ameri can history, became my
overriding interest. The result is a book significantly different from what I
had origi nally imagined.
This book would not have been possible without the assistance, both great
and small, of a number of individuals. First, special thanks should go to four
individuals who have shaped my professional career. As an undergraduate
at the University of West Ala bama, I was fortunate to have Joe b. Wilkins,
Fred Sakon, and the late David W. bowen as professors. The three were
as different as could be, but their obvious love of history and their support
and encouragement of a clueless undergraduate student inspired me to fol-
low them into the his tori cal profession. My graduate advisor at Mississippi
State University, Johnpeter H. Grill, taught me how to be a historian. I am
grateful for the lessons I learned in his seminars and in the many hours sit-
ting in his office. I’m especially grateful for his encouragement as my re-
search floundered. In many ways, this book is a product of their faith in me.
Thank you all!
Two individuals deserve special mention in connection with this book:
Sol Kimerling and Mark bauman. I met Sol Kimerling years ago at a panel
discussion at the birmingham Civil Rights Institute where he was speaking