Military Action for Humanitarian Needs:
Why Wasn't Auschwitz Bombed?

Monday, April 18, 2005, 12:30 p.m.
Room 114, College of Law

Free and open to the public.

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Senator George McGovern, acclaimed humanitarian, is also a decorated WWII B-24 bomber pilot who flew 35 missions over Poland and Germany. He never received orders to target the gas chambers or railroad tracks to Auschwitz.

Werner Coppel and Anna Ornstein were teenage prisoners in Auschwitz while Allied forces held the skies in 1944. They dreamed for the pilots to notice them, to stop the trains, to stop the gas chambers, to show that they cared about the mass murder.

For the first time in public, in this ground-breaking meeting between a WWII war hero and Holocaust survivors, they will explore the many questions about the possibilities of the bombing of Auschwitz:

• Was it feasible?
• What impact would it make?
• What good would it do?
• What were the expectations of the victims?
• Who would be in a position to do it?
• Why wasn't it done?
• Who is responsible for non-action?
• What conclusions can we make?
• What legal, ethical, social and political questions do the answers now raise?
• Why put energy and thought into this question today?
• Who is there to encourage, help protect, and serve the innocent victims of genocide post-Holocaust?

Panel Participants

Senator George McGovern, a noted Humanitarian and peace activist, also has a proud history of military bravery. A decorated bomber pilot from WWII, Senator McGovern saw the war against the Nazi regime as a justified battle against a powerful force of evil. Now, 60 years later, he has the chance to discuss a unique humanitarian aspect of his experience: his bombing raids in Europe, notably those that took him over or near Auschwitz. As both a dedicated humanitarian and a military hero, the question of if Auschwitz should have been bombed or not is an important one to him. This April, Senator McGovern will have the once in a lifetime chance to meet and speak with two Auschwitz survivors. What will he tell them and how will they respond? Could he have destroyed Auschwitz? Did he want to? Did he ever even get the chance? Could he have rescued Werner Coppel? Could he have prevented Anna Ornstein from ever having had to arrive in Auschwitz? Full Biography

Werner Coppel was there when the bombs fell. He was working in Auschwitz-Buna at the synthetic rubber factory when it was demolished by American bomber planes in 1944. If only the Americans would have bombed the death camp. The American planes were an answer to Werner's prayers, but they hit the wrong target. Werner was only one of many Jews who were praying that Auschwitz would be obliterated. This April, Werner will meet Senator McGovern, a bomber pilot who helped lead the attack on Buna. This unique event will bring survivors and bomber pilot together for an open and enlightening discussion on what it meant to be a prisoner of the Nazis, praying for death from the Americans. Full Biography

Anna Ornstein was a Hungarian Jew. She was born January 27, 1927, in Szendro, a small town in northern Hungary. Hungary was a fascist government and a member of the Axis powers cooperating with Hitler. Starting in 1944, 440,000 Jews were deported from Hungary on 140 trains in less than three months. Anna should never have had to get on the train bound for Auschwitz. It was 1944, and the Americans had known about the Holocaust since 1942. They even bombed Auschwitz-Buna, a munitions factory, in 1944. They were so close to the most horrific place on earth; why didn't they do anything to stop the genocide? As the United States flew the bomber planes from Italy to Auschwitz, their path took them right over Hungary. Why didn't they bomb the railroads? Why didn't they at least drop leaflets to let the Hungarian people know that they should run? Why didn't they drop notices warning the Hungarian government of retribution?More than 60 years later, in April 2005, Anna will have the chance to talk with one of those bomber pilots who flew not only over her home country of Hungary, but over Auschwitz as well. That bomber pilot is Senator George McGovern. Would he have done something if he could? Did he know that she was praying for him to come? Full Biography

CLE: Ohio - One hour credit (general).

If you are unable to attend this event at the College of Law, it will be repeated at Adath Israel Congregation, 3201 E. Galbraith Road, Cincinnati, OH at 7:30 p.m on April 18th. Contact 513-487-3055 for more information.