April 24, 2013
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The Birthday Party
April 20th 1938
It is a warm lovely evening in the South Bronx
After the cops check us out in the lobby below
We are allowed to watch from the roof of the tenement across the street
The orchestra has been playing for some time
Melodious waltzes float across to us
Through the enormous open windows of Ebling's* Casino - An elaborate beer hall
Each of its huge windows framed in long burgundy drapes
Great chandeliers flood the immense hall with brilliant light
We see tuxedoed waiters putting final touches on long banquet tables
Two immense banners are hung behind the stage - Spotlights playing over them
One is the American flag - Next to it the intertwined broken crosses of Germany
White-circled in scarlet and black
Dozens of smaller versions of both hang from the ceiling
Miniatures of each are placed side-by-side in the center of each lavish table
In the street below - glamorous arrivals emerge from gleaming limousines
Distinguished men in immaculate dinner jackets - some in splendid uniforms
Stately women in gorgeous gowns and sparkling jewels
Tall young men wearing smart brown uniforms
Stand on either side of the bright red carpet leading from the curb
Blond and muscular - their arm-bands decorated with the broken crosses
They form an avenue for the dazzling couples disembarking from their limousines
Traffic has ceased on 156th Street
The cops are everywhere - on foot and mounted on skittish horses
Even the trolleys have stopped running on St Ann's
More limousines wait - lined up on the steep hill above the Hall
Hundreds of curious people stand behind the barricades on the sidewalks below
Many are Jews from the tenements and open markets a few blocks away
Everyone is strangely silent as each polished car pulls up
And their resplendent occupants step out
The smiling couples gather on the steps of the ornate flood-lit entrance
Photographers' flashes memorialize the growing assembly
At last the final limousine rolls up - longer than the others
Small german flags with the broken crosses are mounted on its fenders
The honor guard click their heels and raise their right arms in a stiff salute
A tall man in brown uniform and glistening boots emerges and returns the gesture
Scarlet bands with the broken crosses are wrapped around his upper arms
A beautiful woman in a long white gown follows
People around us whisper she is a famous opera star from Germany
The brown-clad leader takes her arm and guides her up the steps
A low muttering rises up from the barricades
The police stiffen - The mounted officers edge their horses closer
Rotten tomatoes and eggs fly from the crowd
They fall short into the street - A few splatter against the limousine
None reach the tall thin man and the blond woman in the beautiful gown
The brown uniforms start toward the barricades but are called back by the leader
The mounted police charge the crowd
A few are knocked down but are helped up - Everyone runs down the hill
The cops chase them across St Ann's as the first trolley rumbles past
The glittering guests promenade into the great hall
We watch from our roof-top as they search for their places
When they are seated the waiters draw Ebling's beer in decorated steins
From shiny taps set into the walls
They place them in front of each male guest
They pour champagne from bottles in ice-buckets for the women
Finally they roll in carts piled high with heaps of steaming food
Our mouths water
The orchestra strikes up brisk oompah tunes
Everyone sings along and clinks and drinks and laughs and eats
A long time passes
Finally the leader at the head table taps at the microphone
The orchestra stops playing
He stands and raises his glass and proposes a toast
Everyone stands - holding their steins and glasses of champagne
Benny Grossman and his uncle are on the roof with us
Mr Grossman owns the candy-store on Eagle Avenue and understands German
He says the tall thin man wishes the Great Fuhrer a happy 50th birthday
He thanks the Fuhrer for his victory over the Reds and the Jews in the homeland
Out shoots his arm and he bellows into the microphone "Sig Heil!"
The people stick out their arms and yell back "Sig Heil!"
We ask Mr Grossman what it all means but he just looks sad and doesn't answer
Benny asks him - What's a Fuhrer?
The great chandeliers are suddenly dimmed and this immense movie screen is lowered
From the ceiling behind the orchestra as it leaves the stage
We see an incredible image projected
We see what looks like millions of people sitting in a collosal stadium
High above them this gigantic symbol of the broken crosses
Sits atop a long circular row of tall columns lit by powerful lights
We see what looks like millions of soldiers lined up in perfect formation
They stand absolutely still as powerful searchlights play over them
Everyone is very quiet like they're getting ready for something to happen
The screen is suddenly filled with Hitler's image!
He wears the same uniform as the soldiers far below him
The people at the tables in the great hall stand up and cheer and clap
The leader growls into the microphone and they shut up
Hitler starts to speak -
Softly - Slowly - Hypnotically at first
As he goes on - his voice gets louder and louder
Until he is screaming and making strange weird crazy faces
He waves his arms wildly and lifts his hands to heaven like the priest in our church
The hordes in the stadium and the hundreds in the hall
Set up such a deafening roar
That it scares the hell out of Benny and me
Benny's uncle tells us Hitler says the German people won't take it any more!
Hitler screams that Germany is now the most powerful nation in the world!
He screams they have rid themselves of the Red cancer in their midst!
He screams German workers won't be starved again by Jewish bankers!
He screams Germany will take back what was taken from them in the last war!
He screams that Germany might take back a lot more!
He screams that the German people will again be masters of their fate!
He screams Germany's 'New Order' will live for a thousand years!
When he is finished - a fat man in uniform with lots of medals stands up
Out shoots his arm - "Sig Heil" he yells!
The people in the great stadium thunder back 'Sig Heil!"
The crowd in the dimly-lit hall burst out "Sig Heil!"
Twice more he yells "Sig Heil"
Twice more everyone explodes "Sig Heil!"
Mr Grossman says in Yiddish "My poor people"
Benny whispers to me in English what he says
We both don't understand
"What poor people?" Benny says to him "Everybody's poor in the South Bronx!"
Mr Grossman smiles and says "It’s pretty late...
Tomorrow is for school and we should go home now
To our mommas and our pappas and our nice warm beds”
*In April of 1945 in the hills of Northern Luzon, we received our monthly ration of beer. It was
a case of warm Ebling’s - The brewery was only three blocks from our apartment in the Bronx.
The rent was forty dollars a month because my mother cleaned and polished the halls and stairs
of four floor units three times a week for the balance…
Ebling’s was destroyed by the junkies in the early ‘60s for its copper brewing kettles and
everything else they could cart off… Only a few short blocks away a little girl, the newest
member of the Supreme Court of the United States was growing up…
Comments (4)
I am surprised that the US allowed such a lavish celebration of Hitler on American soil by the Germans. Justice Sotomayer (?sp)is indeed a perfect match for a unified nation in my opinion.
Fascinating anecdote. I often wonder what kinds of choices I would have made if I had grown up in German in the 1930s. My dad had cousins and uncles of military age in Germany.
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Another interesting story. Thanks for sharing. Strange to think this was going on so brazenly in the U.S. I wonder if any of those participants were later held on criminal charges.
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