‘Warsaw Ghetto memoria.

Never forgive, never forget’

By ETHEL OSTRY

We renew our pledge, “Never
to forget, Never to forgive” —
this was the theme of the 30th

“Warsaw Memorial Meeting ar-

ranged by the United Jewish
People’s Order on April 19, at
the Forest Hill Collegiate, To-
ronto.

About 350 people, young and
old, husbands, wives, parents
with children filled the audito-
rium to solemnize the occasion.

The evening’s proceedings told
the story of 30 years ago, when,
on April 19, 1943 there began
the immortal Warsaw Ghetto
Uprising, a story which has
been told many times and will
never cease to be told, when,
the small remaining group of
Jewish men and women in the
Ghetto, gloriously challenged
the Nazi beasts.

The. program served to recall
the history of fascism, and to
express the pledge to uphold
the heritage of the six million
of the Jewish martyred people,
victims of Hitlerism, as well as

the millions of other victims of

Nazism, “that never shall such
a holocaust be repeated.”

Remembrance Program

This pledge was enhanced as
six young boys and girls, each
carrying a lit.candle, walked in
procession to the stage to set
their candles atop the monument
to the Warsaw Ghetto Martyrs,
carved by the well known
sculptor Sam Kagan. This was
a touching demonstration of de-
dication and devotion to the
fighting spirit of the ghetto
fighters who gave their lives to
the dignity and honor of the
Jewish people for a better fut-
ure for all mankind.

A dramatization, based on the
poem by the famous Soviet
poet, Itzik Feffer, supported by
the rich voices of Peter Manier-
ka in ghetto songs, simultane-
ously with screen flashes of
films reminiscent of the geno-
cidal crimes of the Nazis, was
well documented and. received
the earnest and undivided atten-
tion of the gathering.

Songs by the Toronto Jewish
Folk Choir under their able dir-
ector Searle Friedman contri-
buted greatly to the spirit of
the occasion..

A recitation in poetry, “The
Ghetto” televised on the 20th

anniversary of the Uprising was
again presented on this occa-
sion.

Hopeful Signs

Joshua Gershman, editor of
the Canadian Jewish Weekly
was the speaker of the evening.

The Jewish heroes of the up-
rising, he pointed out; have in-
scribed a never-to-be-forgotten
page in Jewish history. He call-
ed for the dedication of the
Jewish and other peoples, to the
fighting spirit of the ghetto re-
sisters. :

Though, the speaker said, the
Hitler monster has been crush-
ed, thanks to the millions of re-
sisters to fascism, the danger,
however, of this braital, inhuman
system has by no means disap-
peared. Its re-emergence is to
be found in many countries in
the world, and is evident in the
growing activity of the fascist
ultra-right in Canada.

Gershman pointed out the
hopeful signs in the interna-
tional arena, of peace and justice
for mankind everywhere. At the
same time he called for vigil-
ance — for a concerted, united
front in the Jewish communities
against these fascist forces
which are leading to incitement
and violence against Jews.

Peace Struggle

He was highly critical of the
official Jewish establishment in
Canada, for its failure to give
leadership on the burning issues

of our time, the struggle. for.

universal peace.

Tribute to Paul R obeson

TORONTO —Friends of Paul
Robeson Committee have plan-
ned a tribute to this great Ame-
rican progressive artist on the
occasion of his 75th birthday.
Publicity materials by the Com-
mittee’ describe Paul Robeson
as having “been in the forefront
of the people’s struggles for lib-
eration; a scholar, a great figure
in sports, one of the greatest
actors and singers the world has
ever known ....”

A partial list of sponsors in-
clude:

Dr. Ursula Franklin

Lloyd W. Perry, Q.C.

Prof. John Buttrick

Alderman Dan Heap

Dr. Hans Blumenfeld

Kathleen Macpherson

Prof. D. E. Willmott

Prof. D. Goldstick

Charles Roach, Barr.

Prof. Kenneth May

Harvey Murphy

Alderman Karl Jaffery .

Prof. Terrell Gardner

Prof. Myron Gordon

Dr. Wilson Head

Kathleen Livingstone
Nelson Clarke

Prof, James Steele
George Carter, Barr.
Prof. F. Cunningham
Prof. Lee Lorch :
Prof. H. Bassford.

The tribute will take place at
the Unitarian Congregation Au-
ditorium, 175 St. Clair Ave.
West on Sunday, May 6 at 8
p.m. Everyone is welcome and
admittance is free.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, MAY 4, 1973—PAGE 6

“Revolt in Ghetto” by Lea Grundig of the GDR.

“ie ee

In regard to the urgent need
for a peaceful solution in the
Israel-Arab conflict, the speak-
er pointed out that the UJPO
called for a solution, based on
the resolution of the United
Nations Security Council of
Nov. 1967. This he _ stressed
could provide true security for
the state of Israel and its Arab
neighbors.

The UJPO memorial meeting
served as a poignant reminder
of the heroic-onto-death struggle
of the remaining inhabitants of
the Warsaw Ghetto. It portray-
ed in documentation the crimin-
ality of the Nazi ideology and
its bestiality.

What, however, are some of
the ‘key lessons of the uprising?

The defeat of fascism in the
Second World War, has not yet
been fully accomplished — the
danger of its resurgence is pre-
sent in the growing ultra-right
movements in the United States
and in Canada.

Few Protests

What are the major Jewish
organizations and their spokes-
men doing to combat this men-
ance of the ultra-right and neo-
fascists in our midst?

There are few’ protests or
mass demonstrations — no pub-
lic meetings — no protestations
to government bodies.

On the contrary, there are all-
out campaigns against fasely-
alleged “Soviet anti-Semitism’!
This is meant to confuse. It is
intended to turn the Jewish peo-
ple against the Soviet Union,

which has proven to be the.

staunch defender of their inter-
ests. This is a ploy, meant to
align the Jewish masses with
the ‘ruling class forces of anti-
Sovietism; its purpose is to
direct the fight against a non-

existent “anti-Semitism” and to

tum the struggle away from the
real anti-Semitism fostered by
monopoly capitalism and fom-
ented by the ultra-right.

Ideological Battle

The efforts in the thirties to
align the Jewish people with
the appeasers of Hitler contri-
buted to the ultimate extermin-
ation of six million Jews.

The failure in the thirties to
direct the struggle against the
real enemy is similarly fraught
with serious danger for the
Jewish people today. |

This is a key lesson of the
Warsaw Ghetto — a lesson
which has to be brought home
to the Jewish people. To accom-
plish this, it is necessary to
wage all-out war against the

poisonous influences of the —

Zionist reactionary ruling-class
ideology.

The profit-price pattern

The most powerful weapon in getting ideas across is con-
trol of the news media. The news media is 99 percent in
the control of big business, either through outright owner-
ship, or in the influence bought with multi-million-dollar
advertising. Through headlines, slanted news stories and
editorials, the big-business newspapers turn facts into fan-
cy, and fancy into fact. A phrase repeated often enough
over radio or television wins wide acceptance even through
it is the opposite of the truth.

It is: media control that accounts for the fact that so
many people swallow the line of big business that the
wages of working people are the cause of increased com: —
modity prices. The picture of prices chasing wages is paint-
ed to cover up what has always been the case, namely, the
struggle of wage-earners to catch up with prices fixed by
business to achieve top profits.

However, the real picture can also be found in the news
media in the corporate-profit and the price-movement re-
ports. But this picture has to be pieced together since it
comes as straight news, not subject to the sensational head-
line or the slanted pen of the editorial writer. When pieced
together the real picture becomes clear, as these recent
news items disclose:

BELL CANADA—1972 profit $165,700,000 compared to
1971 profit of $147,300,000.

NORTHERN ELECTRIC—1972 profit $20,295,000, com:
pared to 1971 profit of $12,611,000.

CANADIAN PACIFIC—1972 profit $94,175,000, 1971 pro-
fit $70,656,000.

GULF OIL CANADA—1972 profit $64,400,000, 1971 profit
$53,800,000. :

8 CANADIAN CHARTERED BANKS—1972 profit $229,
956,000, up 23.2 percent from 1971.

FORD (CANADA)—1972 profit $101,600,000, 1971 profit
$75,800,000.

The profit wrap-up came in a news item on March 21,
1973, reported in the Globe and Mail as follows: “After-ta®
profits of Canadian corporations for 1972 rose more than
24 percent from a year earlier.”

THE CHOCOLATE STEAL

A recent news story from Ottawa had this to say: “viac’s
Milk Ltd., which operates 435 convenience food stores
across Canada, sent a confidential memo to its store marr
agers earlier this month telling them not to pass on to cus’
tomers savings from federal tax cuts on Easter chocolates.

In itself, this “stealing candy from the kids” example
will have small impact on prices in general. But multiply
the grasping greed of Mac’s Milk a thousand- and ten
thousandfold, and think of the 1972 24 percent increase i

‘corporation profits, and the real cause of runaway prices

becomes very clear.

A few other examples will be helpful to piece the picture
together: : :
Ford (Canada) raised car prices by an average of $61 in
December, 1972. Gulf Oil Canada, and the other fuel co™
panies, raised gasoline, fuel and diesel oil prices by UP d
two cents a gallon in January, 1973. The automobile an

fuel companies made record profits in 1972.

_ A survey taken a few months ago disclosed that Toronto
druggists were charging from $2.19 to $6.95 for an idem
tical drug. prescription. And in January last the Consume
Association of Canada, in analyzing canned beef stew 50
on the Canadian market, came to the following conclusio®
“The potato content was so high that we wonder if he
products should not be renamed potato stew.” But t
price was for beef stew.

THERE IS NO MYSTERY

With these and thousands other even more blatant %
amples of profiteering and price fixing readily available,
is hard to understand why the special House of Commo it
committee on food prices came to the conclusion that ee
could find “no villain” to account for rising prices. It serie
the only explanation is that like Nelson at Trafalgar sind
majority of the committee put the telescope to their P
eye. : e

While the terms of reference of the committee wer i.
properly limited to food prices, there was plenty of evide it-
to support a much more thorough probe than the conta
tee undertook. One submission alone, that of Alberta ee
ernment, which made the unchallenged assertion that 1%
prices, increase 300 percent between the farm and th
sumer table, should have caused the committee to
mine precisely the distribution of this spread betwee?
the farmer gets and what the consumer pays.

The only recommendation worth noting made by the — ig | |
mittee is that an independent review board to invest rol
sharp price increases in the food industry be estab od
This committee would have no power other than to re so.
its findings to the federal minister of consumer aftale i
limited, it will be as useless as many such committee the
the past, and will serve no purpose other than allowing’ ~~
government to escape responsibility. cause —

There is no mystery to the price spiral. Its root ney e |
is the complete and unrestricted ability of the profit-h¥ any
corporations to mark up prices at will, and without in jtag §
way having to account to anyone. To curb rising P ae
is necessary to curb the unrestricted ability of busin® E22
mark up prices. pNews fF]

—George Harris, Se

he com if

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