On December 22, 1942 an unusual full page appeal with a striking image appeared in the New York Times and nine other major newspapers, signed by 50 prominent Americans, the most prominent by far being George Herman "Babe" Ruth, now seven years retired as a ballplayer.
The ad stated:
“[W]e Americans of German descent raise our voices in denunciation of the Hitler policy of cold-blooded extermination of the Jews of Europe and against the barbarities committed by the Nazis against all other innocent peoples under their sway"
and called upon the German people to revolt against the Nazi leadership.
The impetus for the ad were the increasing reports in the spring and summer of 1942 regarding the scale of Nazi murder of Jews in Europe. Dorothy Thompson, an American journalist who had been expelled from Nazi Germany before the war, approached the American Jewish Congress with the idea for an appeal by German-Americans and gained its support for the ad. She then set about contacting potential signatories. THC has not found any details regarding how Babe Ruth ended up as a signatory but his presence was hugely significant in terms of the public impact. Coincidentally, the timing of the ad was only five days after the Allied declaration, prompted by reports from the Polish Government-In-Exile, taking note that German authorities:
"are now carrying into effect Hitler's oft-repeated intention to exterminate the Jewish people in Europe"
and pledging that:
"They reaffirm their solemn resolution to insure that those responsible for these crimes shall not escape retribution, and to press on with the necessary practical measures to this end"
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