Speech of Harry S. Truman before the United Rally to Demand Rescue of Doomed Jews at Chicago, Illinois

SPEECH TO BE DELIVERED BY SENATOR HARRY S. TRUMAN BEFORE THE UNITED RALLY TO DEMAND RESCUE OF DOOMED JEWS AT CHICAGO STADIUM, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ON APRIL 14, at 8:00 O'CLOCK IN THE EVENING - TO BE RELEASED ON DELIVERY Some twenty-three years ago when we men of America returned to this nation's shores, we dedicated ourselves to the principles for which our comrades had laid down their lives. In our hearts was a consuming hatred for the forces of oppression which had sought to crush the free people of the world. In our memory was an undying horror of war. We laid aside our weapons and turned to the pursuits of peace. But we knew we could never keep our trust with those who had given their lives on the battlefiedls of Europe, unless we undertook to bring into actual being the liberty and freedom for which we had fought. That war was waged not only that nations might be free but also that the people who make up those nations might be free. During this time we strove to achieve these ends through the arts of peace, relying on an honor that we hoped existed between nations. Today, again, we find the forces of oppression seeking to crush the free peoples of the world. Today the flag of freedom and liberty for which those comrades of mine gave up their lives has been trampled into the dust by the iron heel of the barbarian. In conquered Europe we find a once free people enslaved, crushed and brutalized by the most depraved tyrants of all time. Through the edict of a mad Hitler and a degenerate Mussolini, the people of that ancient race, the Jews, are being herded like animals into the Ghettos, the concentration camps, and the wastelands of Europe. The men, the women and the children of this honored people are being starved, yes! actually murdered by the fiendish Huns and Fascists. Today these oppressed people, still with spirit unbroken look for succor to us, we people of the United States, whose flag has always stood for liberty, freedom ARIMONN and justice for all. A RECORDS ADMIN U.S.