77 Years Ago Today The U.S. Apologized To Hitler For NYC Mayor’s Insult

Opposing Views ^ | 03/06/2014 | By Sarah Fruchtnicht

[Responsibility2nd]

By Sarah Fruchtnicht, Thu, March 06, 2014

Seventy-seven years ago today the U.S. apologized to Germany after the mayor of New York City made disparaging remarks about Adolf Hitler.

NYC Mayor Fiorella La Guardia said he wanted to end the 1939 World’s Fair with a “chamber of horrors” that would have “as a climax … a figure of that brown-shirted fanatic who is now menacing the peace of the world.”

The son of Italian immigrants, La Guardia’s mother was Jewish and his father was Catholic.

The German press covered the story calling La Guardia a “dirty Talmud Jew” and “New York’s gangster-in-chief.”

On March 6, 1937, three days after La Guardia's remarks, U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull issued an apology to the German Embassy for the insult.

“In this country, the right of freedom of speech is guaranteed by the Constitution to every citizen and is cherished as part of the national heritage,” Hull said, adding, “I very earnestly deprecate the utterances which have given offense to the German Government.”

Mayor from 1934 to 1945, La Guardia warned in a 1931 speech that Hitler was taking control of the German government. In 1934 he supported a boycott of German good, calling Hitler a “perverted maniac” who wanted the “the complete annihilation of the Jews in Germany.”

According to Haaretz, President Franklin D. Roosevelt also commented on La Guardia’s remarks during a cabinet meeting before Hull’s apology.

“What would you say if I should say that I agreed completely with La Guardia?” Roosevelt asked Hull, according to the posthumously published diary of his secretary of interior, Harold Ickes.

Hull responded that La Guardia still had to be reprimanded.

According to Ickes, “The President, still with a grin on his face, touched his left wrist lightly with the first two fingers of his right hand and remarked to Hull: ‘We will chastise him like that.’”

Sources: Mediaite, Haaretz

 

[Responsibility2nd]

Interesting historical tidbit.

[SMARTY]

If that guy is on a list... “O” should qualify for it, too

[ifinnegan]

Yes.

I don’t know much about Laguardia, but this indicates he was quite perceptive and prophetic about the events that were to later take place.

[rktman]

So, are the Germans now apologizing for new mare de-flame-ee-0?

[Cicero]

From everything I heard as a boy, La Guardia was probably the best mayor NYC ever had.

[Huaynero]

...for a brief period during a labor strike, La Guardia read the news and comic strips to listeners during his weekly Sunday radio show. That alone endeared him to residents.

[Vigilanteman]

My father-in-law still idolizes him. His father was a NYC cop. The mayor cleaned up things so well during his time in office that they were actually able to downsize the police department for the first and maybe the only time in the city's history as a result of reduced need and not budget pressures. My FIL's dad made a career change to a PI and moved to California.

It was considered a step down from the NYPD at the time. They actually called the PI's "dicks". But it was a big step up in family income.

[null and void]

“In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” ~ George Orwell

[Williams]

Maybe accurate about FDR I hope so.

[ZULU]

Not surprising. FDR was president. Until Hitler stabbed his little buddy Stalin in the back, the left loved him.

Remember Bella Abzug - the Commie from New York with the Big Hat? She was one of those.

[lurk]

As late as 1939 and they still had not clearly identified Adolf as a bad guy. How slow we are.

[rollo tomasi]

"Hull responded that La Guardia still had to be reprimanded."

My response to Hull or any other State Department Utopians:

"Returning to the question of being feared or loved, I come to the conclusion that, men loving according to their own will and fearing according to that of the prince, a wise prince should establish himself on that which is in his own control and not in that of others; he must endeavour only to avoid hatred, as is noted."

...then Hitler "played" the Utopians for the absolute fools they are/were.

[proudpapa]

They should name an airport after him.

[GOPJ]

Cool story Vigilanteman - thanks for sharing.

[vetvetdoug]

LaGuardia was the Sarah Palin of the 1930’s except the President and the Executive branch had his back.

[TalBlack]

“... prophetic about the events that were to later take place.”

Indeed. Everyone likes to say it all came out of nowhere but here is the Mayor of NYC calling it in the early thirties.

[Nifster]

Cordell Hull ... what else would anyone have expected?

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

Not surprising. FDR was president. Until Hitler stabbed his little buddy Stalin in the back, the left loved him.

There was the little matter of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). The Soviets were selling arms - and promoting the recruitment of international commie volunteers - to the side that the nascent Luftwaffe was opposing. So it wasn’t as simple as NAZI = socialist = good guy even before the invasion of the USSR. Although, the Daily Worker did editorialize in favor of the NAZIs to such an extent that when Hitler invaded, the DW had screaming denunciations of Hitler in part of the next edition of the paper - and a holdover editorial in favor of Hitler elsewhere in the same paper.

[Vigilanteman]

Another lesser known story about Cordell Hull is that the Japanese ambassador in DC was instructed to give him a formal declaration of war before the attack on Pearl Harbor was launched.

There are all sorts of stories about how Hull's underlings ran away from advance warnings about the attack including a very credible warning from the Swedish ambassador.

Whatever the case, Hull kept the Japanese ambassador waiting outside the office until the attack actually took place. Had the warning been received and relayed in a timely manner, it is probably that at least some of the lives lost at Pearl Harbor would have been spared.

And FDR would still have had his war with the American public being only slightly less angry about an attack which took place within the hour or two after the declaration of war versus a pure sneak attack.

[cynwoody]

His name was Fiorello Henry LaGuaria.