In the fall of 2025, Professor Rebecca Kobrin led a class focusing on the history of Jews in New York – and specifically, at Columbia – in the 20th century. We hope to feature a series of posts that resulted from the research in the class.  This post is by Vera Kurczewski, CC ’29.         

During the Fall semester of 1933, a student of Seth Low Jr. College, the collegiate extension of Columbia University, championed for Jewish advocacy. Robert Jay Burton presented himself as a representative for Jewish activism. As a student from Seth Low Jr. College, holding the title of Varsity Debate Veteran and Captain, he persistently challenged the oppression of Jews in Germany. In addition to his debating, Burton also wrote for the Seth Low Jr College’s newspaper, the Seth Low Scop. He identified the presence of Jewish oppression in Germany and wrote many articles which addressed issues surrounding the Jewish Problem. The Jewish Problem (or Question) refers to the oppression and the negative ideological indoctrination of those who are Jewish, under the guise of “how to deal with them.” By the Fall semester of that year, Nazi Germany had been established as a dictatorship and Hitler’s Totalitarianism had been institutionalized through the Enabling Act, solidification of Nazi political parties, and the first detainment camp: Dachau.

At the beginning of the semester, Burton wrote an article in the Scop, where he urged, “A new era will demand new men. We of 1933 are the leaders of the future, but our chance to serve society will depend upon our ability to understand the direction in which society is travelling… Let us hope this college year will prove one in which we may do so.”(Burton, Scop, September 1933, p.2).

In 1933 the “Jewish Problem” became an increasingly pressing issue for Jews.  It became an undeniable concern especially due to the concentrated antisemitic rhetoric in Germany and at American universities during the early 20th Century. Jewish voices were not embraced during this time, meaning Burton’s blatant and unequivocal warnings to his peers to take action against complacency emphasized his resistance toward Jewish marginalization.

Toward the end of the Fall Semester of 1933, a Columbia professor, Dr. Auhagen, who was later reported to be a Nazi ally, returned after a sabbatical in Germany. When he was interviewed by the Scop, Dr. Auhagen antisemitically asserted that, “The solution of the Jewish question will be…the political disfranchisement of German Jews.”(Wolgel, Scop, October 9, 1933, p. 5). Robert Burton publicly responded to Dr. Auhagen’s antisemetic perception of Jews through the Scop, and expressed that economic instability in Germany should not have been blamed upon Jews. Burton argued, “As for the Jewish Problem that our German correspondent calls ‘temporary.’ It is truly one of the tragedies of our civilization. It is the cruellest, most unjustifiable movement of the age.”(Burton, Scop, October 23, 1933, p. 14). For a student to publicly refute a professor’s view so early in the Nazi movement and to refute his contentions with his own opinion was unprecedented, especially for a student of his time.

Throughout the year, Robert Burton debated the ideals of peace waged against the looming Holocaust in many places, including at Cambridge and Oxford. In the United States, he traveled as lead debater and insisted that the motions be made relating to the topic of war in Germany, at Ivy League universities and undergraduate New York colleges. He wrote from the student perspective for The Scop and fought publicly against prejudiced beliefs. Robert Jay Burton, an undergraduate student at Seth Low Jr. College, advocated for Jews during a time when people both disregarded Jewish oppression and upheld passivity.

Bibliography:

1933: Key Dates | Holocaust Encyclopedia. (n.d.-c). Holocaust Encyclopedia. https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/1933-key-dates

Burton, R. (1933, September 28). The Seth Low scop – V. 6 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive. Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/ldpd_18885856_006/page/n13/mode/1up

Burton, R. (1933b, October 23). The Seth Low scop – V. 6 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive. Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/ldpd_18885856_006/page/n4/mode/1up

Wolgel, M. (1933, October 9). The Seth Low scop – V. 6 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive. Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/ldpd_18885856_006/page/n4/mode/1up