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From Milton Goldin (miltong525@aol.com)
Cynthia Ozick makes three major points in her October 6 _New Yorker_
article. First, Anne Frank had an extraordinary literary talent. Second,
her father did not behave admirably. And third, a large number of people
have tried to use Anne Frank's diary-and the Holocaust-for their own
purposes, which Ms. Ozick rightly finds reprehensible.
None of this, aside from Ms. Ozick's views, is exactly news. After all, we
could all read the diary (granted, in English translation) ourselves, Mr.
Frank's failings were whispered almost immediately that the diary was first
published, and Meyer Levin hardly kept his problems secret. So the
article's purpose is really to examine the uses and misuses of an
historical event that no one will ever fully comprehend.
In Westchester, where both Ms. Ozick and I live,
New York's junior senator recently spoke before an Orthodox congregation.
The senator, as you may recall, went ballistic after an opposing
Democratic candidate accused him of being a fascist. On the other hand, in
a _New York Times Magazine_ article, the current duce of Italy's leading
fascist party proudly pointed to a framed letter of praise from the
senator.
One other man and I were the only two people not to rise when the senator
received standing ovations. We didn't cheer, either. Both of us (we sat
next to each other) are World War II veterans.
My questions are these: Is it possible that the Orthodox are so wed to the
idea of _realpolitik_ that they refuse to acknowledge an obvious
opportunist? How is it that the mighty _New Yorker_, always stylish, has
never before noticed what Ms. Ozick claims now, that "[had] Anne Frank's
diary burned [the world might have been saved from] floating lightly over
the heavier truth of named and inhabited evil." And finally, Where are all
the renowned scholars, always ready at the drop of a hat to lament what
occurred more than a half-century ago, when an insult to the memories of
millions is perpetrated?
- Milton Goldin
MiltonG525@AOL.COM
National Coalition of Independent Scholars
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 Humanities & Social Sciences Online 
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