When the Nazis Came to Skokie
Freedom for Speech We Hate
Philippa Strum
184 pages, 5-1/2 x 8-1/2
Landmark Law Cases and American Society
Cloth ISBN 978-0-7006-0940-6, $25.00
Paper ISBN 978-0-7006-0941-3, $12.95
HONORABLE MENTION: AMERICAN BAR
ASSOCIATION'S 2000 SILVER GAVEL AWARD
Recognizing outstanding efforts to foster public understanding of the law
In the Chicago suburb of Skokie, one out of every six Jewish citizens in the late 1970s was a
survivor--or was directly related to a survivor--of the Holocaust. These victims of terror had
resettled in America expecting to lead peaceful lives free from persecution. But their safe haven
was shattered when a neo-Nazi group announced its intention to parade there in 1977. Philippa
Strum's dramatic retelling of the events in Skokie (and in the courts) shows why the case ignited
such enormous controversy and challenged our understanding of and commitment to First
Amendment values.
The debate was clear-cut: American Nazis claimed the right of free speech while their Jewish
"targets" claimed the right to live without intimidation. The town, arguing that the march would
assault the sensibilities of its citizens and spark violence, managed to win a court injunction
against the marchers. In response, the American Civil Liberties Union took the case and
successfully defended the Nazis' right to free speech.
Skokie had all the elements of a difficult case: a clash of absolutes, prior restraint of speech, and
heated public sentiment. In recreating it, Strum presents a detailed account and analysis of the
legal proceedings as well as finely delineated portraits of the protagonists: Frank Collin, National
Socialist Party of America leader and the son of a Jewish Holocaust survivor; Skokie community
leader Sol Goldstein, a Holocaust survivor who planned a counterdemonstration against the
Nazis; Skokie mayor Albert Smith, who wanted only to protect his townspeople; and ACLU
attorney David Goldberger, caught in the ironic position of being a Jew defending the rights of
Nazis against fellow Jews. While the ACLU did win the case, it was a costly victory--30,000 of
its members left the organization. And in the end, ironically, the Nazis never did march in Skokie.
Forcefully argued, Strum's book shows that freedom of speech must be defended even when the
beneficiaries of that defense are far from admirable individuals. It raises both constitutional and
moral issues critical to our understanding of free speech and carries important lessons for current
controversies over hate speech on college campuses, inviting readers to think more carefully
about what the First Amendment really means.
Name:
Date:
The First Amendment
Read the following:
Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise
thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to
assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Redress
redress v. 1. To set right, remedy or rectify. 2. To make amends for. n. 1. Satisfaction for wrong
done; reparation. 2. Correction. [<OFr. redresser.] Source: AHD
After reading about the Skokie case and watching the video excerpt please
construct a 3 paragraph, one page, hand written response to the following question:
Do you agree with the Supreme Court
decision to allow the Nazis to march in Skokie
based on the First Amendment? Why or Why
Not? When, if ever, do you think the First
Amendment should be stifled?