Issue link: http://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/919601
50 December 28 • 2017 jn Sholem Aleichem was established as part of a national effort to educate young Jewish students to read and appreciate the Yiddish language. The Sholem Aleichem Institute was established in Detroit in 1925 as the Yiddishe Folkshule Farein, which several years later adopted the name of the Sholem Aleichem Folks Institute. • looking back This photo, circa 1945/46, is of the Yiddish Theater troupe performing at the Scottish Rite Cathedral, inside of the Masonic Temple, in Detroit. Seated on the left is Sarah Friedman, who together with her husband, Morris, helped found the Institute. Courtesy of JHSM, a donation from Cindy Daitch. T his will be the last time I write about interesting items in the JN from 75 years ago in 1942. Detroit Jews were looking forward to a better year in 1943. The war still had more than two years to go in Europe, and nearly three years left in the Pacific, but it seemed certain to all but Hitler that victory was certain. The editorial on page 4 was disturbing because it noted the Nazi effort to elimi- nate Jews was becoming clearer every day. It cited the "Bestial Policy" of the Nazis ("Bestial Policy would soon be known as the Holocaust), and that this was a planned, sys- tematic program of extermination. The good news was that many Western nations had joined together to condemn the Nazi atrocity. The JN editorial also stated that it was incum- bent upon these nations to do what they could to save the remaining victims. I know I've cited this same theme many times in my look back at the JN's first year of publishing, but it bears repeating — the world was waking up to the Holocaust. In this issue, there were also several reminders about contribu- tions to the war effort made on the Detroit homefront. The weekly column on page 9, "Activities in Society," focused on the theme of "Women Active in War Efforts," citing the role that numerous Jewish women's organizations played. All of page 10 was devoted to stories of "Service to Jewry at Home and Overseas" in connec- tion with the war. And, to top it all off, a photo on page 15 showed Army Air Corps Cadet Nathan Kristall of Detroit dancing with a movie star, Linda Darnell, in Hollywood. For the moment, he seems pretty darn happy with his war effort. • Want to learn more? Go to the DJN Foundation archives, available for free at www.djnfoundation.org. From the DJN Davidson Digital Archive Historic photos are curated by the Jewish Historical Society of Michigan. Mike Smith Detroit Jewish News Foundation Archivist