Washington Week . Student Voices

Prof: Harvard had ties to Nazis in 1930s
By Aruna Prabhala
The Daily Free Press (Boston U.)
11/15/2004

(U-WIRE) BOSTON — University of Oklahoma professor Stephen Norwood presented his controversial research on unsettling ties between Harvard University and Germany's Nazi regime in the 1930s at the School of Management Sunday.

During his hour-long speech based on an academic paper he recently wrote, Norwood said the Harvard community promoted the Nazi regime in Germany.

The conference, sponsored by the David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies, featured several speakers discussing America's response to the Holocaust.

Norwood's findings have recently received attention from news sources across the country including The Boston Globe and The Washington Post.

Saturday's criticism was focused on former Harvard President James Bryant Conant.

"He was not silent in the face of discrimination," Norwood said. "He actively collaborated in it."

Norwood criticized not only the Harvard administration but also its student-run newspaper, The Crimson, for its series of anti-Semitic editorials during the 1930s.

He said the paper's editorial board had suggested that Harvard award an honorary degree to Ernst Hanfstaengl, one of Adolf Hitler's earliest financial supporters and his foreign press secretary. The Harvard alum's 1934 visit sparked large protests in the city and at the university, Norwood said.

Norwood said The Crimson argued Hanfstaengl "deserved an honorary degree because of his high position in a friendly country."

Elizabeth Theodore, the current managing editor of The Crimson, spoke at a panel after Norwood's speech.

"The position that The Crimson editorial board took then weren't necessarily reflective of the whole student body," Theodore said.

Norwood used Harvard's own archives, letters written by administrators and newspaper articles, to argue that Conant and other university administrators collaborated with the Nazis.

Norwood accused Harvard of sending delegates in 1936 to Heidelberg University; a German university he said was responsible for "some of the vilest anti-Semitic propaganda."

Norwood said the university had welcomed Harvard delegates after a history of openly discriminating against Jewish students and firing all Jewish professors.

In 1934, Harvard entertained sailors on a German warship called the Karlsruhe, a vessel that later fought Allied forces near Normandy, Norwood said.

Conference Chair Lance Kawesch said Harvard's current president, Lawrence Summers, was invited to speak at the conference, but declined because of scheduling conflicts.

Kawesch said the intent of the conference was education, not criticism.

"The purpose of this event is not to bash the former Harvard president," he said. "The former Harvard president did inappropriate things for his time but hopefully we can learn from it and, in the future, if a comparable issue arises, we can act differently."

A 30-minute question and answer session with a four-person panel followed Norwood's speech.

David Wyman, author of the renowned 1985 book, The Abandonment of the Jews that is credited with having altered common understanding of America's response to the Holocaust, spoke on the panel.

Wyman, who opened the conference with a speech on immigration limits for German- Jewish refugees during the 1930s, later praised Norwood's research and speech.

"I think it very revealing and I wasn't surprised by it — except to the large extent of what had happened," Wyman said.

Jeff Jacoby, a Globe columnist and panel member, also praised the thoroughness of Norwood's research.

"This truly demonstrates the disconnect that sometimes exists between education and morality," Jacoby said.

Norwood is currently working on a book detailing the prevalence of anti-Semitism in American universities that have a particular responsibility to uphold moral standards.

"They are supposed to be an example for students and the general public, yet where is the leadership?" Norwood asked.

Norwood emphasized a growing importance today for studying and understanding the Holocaust and the circumstance surrounding it.

"We are in danger of having the knowledge lost as time goes on," Norwood said. "I think there is a general lack of awareness in today's students on the Holocaust."

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