Frank case puts the South on trial

When "The People v. [Leo Frank]" aired on PBS last fall, Newton filmmaker Ben Loeterman told the Advocate that he had no agenda except the facts, and felt this was a story of an American injustice. There's no reason to doubt his intentions, but as his film makes clear, Frank was targe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Jewish advocate (Boston, Mass.) Vol. 201; no. 19
Main Author Kimmel, Daniel M
Format Newspaper Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Boston The Jewish Advocate 07.05.2010
Subjects
Antisemitism
Documentary films
Frank, Leo
Jewish Americans
Lynchings
Motion pictures
Trials
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Summary:When "The People v. [Leo Frank]" aired on PBS last fall, Newton filmmaker Ben Loeterman told the Advocate that he had no agenda except the facts, and felt this was a story of an American injustice. There's no reason to doubt his intentions, but as his film makes clear, Frank was targeted as both a Jew and a 'Yankee." In the pecking order of the South, that made him even more subject to hate than the black handyman who was the prime witness against him. He, after all, was a Southerner. One can argue that the Frank case is almost 100 years ago, but in watching the film we hear that the locals - back then - proclaimed themselves part of the "New South," a marketing tactic we've heard again and again over the years. Yes the pre-World War I "New Soudi" accepted the local German Jews who were successful in business, but they would praise "Dr. David Marx" (never "rabbi"), a prominent Jewish leader, by calling him a "good Christian." They knew he wasn't Christian, of course. They simply couldn't think of any other way to pay him a compliment.
ISSN:1077-2995