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Book Review  by Ida Nasatir

Behind the Curtain by John Gunther

May 12 1950—Ida Nasatir book reviews—Behind the Curtain  by John Gunther—Southwestern Jewish Press, page 9: Behind the Curtain fulfills one's expectations of Gunther's keen mind.  This book is indispensable to a better knowledge of the complex, aggravating and seething world of the countries on the fringe of the iron curtain, namely: Italy, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Rumania, Hungary, Germany and Poland.  Jewish readers will be surprised to learn how many of the leaders of these new governments are Jews. On page 40, Gunther states emphatically: "If there should ever be a new white terror in this part of the world, there might well be a recrudescence of organized anti-Semitism of the most dangerous and vicious type. A tendency is already manifest to lump Jews and Communists together and to assume that, because an occasional important Communist is a Jew, all Jews are Communists.  Let us spike this lie once and for all."  Make time to read this book; it is decidedly worthwhile.