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| Judenhass (2008) Art by Dave Sim (Click image to enlarge) |
(from a letter to Dave Sim dated 9 February 9 2008)
Your book reminded me of how Jews were hated over the centuries. I
never could figure out why until I read history. My memories of the
Jewish people from the early part of the Twentieth Century are of the
contributions they have made. As your splendid illustration of the early
comic book creators pointed out, there would not have been the great
comic book industry as we know it today had the likes of them perished.
Having been born in 1921 I have memories of the wonderful Jewish
entertainers who were on the vaudeville stage and then into movies, the
first talking picture with Al Jolson. I think of Irving Berlin who wrote
over 1,000 songs including "White Christmas" and songwriters of
Broadway musical comedies and then into movies. Their songs will live
forever. I remember the great comedy writers, Neil Simon, Carl Reiner,
Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, and the actors who they wrote for, Sid Caesar,
Danny Kaye, Jerry Lewis of Martin and Lewis and countless others who
made us laugh including a friend of Joe and mine Milton Berle and
personal friend Morey Amsterdam. And how about my cousin Frank of Wayne
and Shuster? Without his daughter Rosie and her then husband Lorne
Micheals, there would not have been a SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE and all the
actors who had their first showcases in the bigtime on that program.
There would not have been of science like Albert Einstein or Carl Sagan.
We can imagine the losses of the Jews had not started the movie
industry. We cannot typecast all the Jews to be the same when among them
are the quiet, gentle, or funny artistic, musical creative Jews and the
sharp, aggressive, greedy ones who take advantage of others. As Martin
Luther King, Jr. said, "A man should not be judged by their skin color,
race or religion but by their character."
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| Judenhass (2008) Art by Dave Sim |
Reading your book JUDENHASS and looking at the illustrations it set
me to thinking about where did all this hatred come from. As a student
of history I recall reading that about 2,000 years ago the Jew Saul had
an illumination that the Rabbi Jesus was the Messiah the Jews had been
waiting for. Saul became St. Paul and set about enlarging his cult group
by converting everyone to become a Christian. Many Jews converted. Some
did not. The Jews that did not convert gave their reason that their
scrolls and books promised that their Messiah would free them from Roman
tyranny. They could not accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. That
made the new Christians angry. They called them names and said terrible
things about them. The hatred of the non-converters was passed down from
generation to generation with exaggerated stories and distortions. Your
book even pointed out that the Jews were accused of kidnapping
Christian children and drinking their blood at their Sedar. No wonder
the Jews became so hated. They were made to sound like evil devils. It
is easy to believe a lie when it is repeated over and over again over
the centuries. Anti-Semitism became the custom as generations of people
believed the lies that had been written about them. Molly Goldberg in
her early radio show said, "We don't want to rule the world. We just
want to be allowed to live in it."
A 1994 book gives a good history of global hate of the Jews. It is
called THE SECRET WAR AGAINST THE JEWS by John Loftus and Mark Aarons.
Very important to understanding what led to the Holocaust.
The Holocaust was a demonstration of what hate could do. I would hope
that Christians would take heed of the Messiah's messages as written in
The New Testament. His loving words are spread throughout the Bible. He
said, "Love thine enemies. Do good to them that hate you. Love one
another as I have loved you. Love thy neighbor. Turn the other cheek.
Judge not that ye be not judged. As ye do unto the least of these, my
brethren, ye have done it unto me." Jesus was a peacemaker, not as we
find today in public office in the U.S.A.
Let's hope our world going into the 21st century is moving into a
higher consciousness. Just as Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster were
searching for truth and justice through their hero SUPERMAN as do other
artists and writers expressing themselves through their heroes, so I
hope mankind will become more Christ-like and do good for the sake of
goodness as some of our comic book heroes are portrayed. Let's all be
good for God's sake.
Love from the Joe Shuster family,
Jean, Dawn, & Warren
Jean Shuster Peavy is the youngest sister of Joe Shuster, the co-creator of Superman.
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