Max Finkelstein
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Max Finkelstein | |
|---|---|
 Finkelstein c. 1940 | |
| Born | March 5, 1884 |
| Died | May 3, 1940 (aged 56) East Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Resting place | Montefiore Cemetery |
| Police career | |
| Department | New York City Police Department (NYPD) |
| Service years | May 29, 1911 – May 3, 1940 |
| Rank | Captain |
Max Finkelstein (March 5, 1884 – May 3, 1940) was a captain in the New York City Police Department.
As president of Shomrim, a fraternal order of Jewish New York City police officers, he became famous in 1938 when Fiorello H. La Guardia picked him to lead a special squad whose job was to safeguard visiting officials from Nazi Germany and guard the German consulate.[1] A popular belief was that La Guardia's decision to appoint Finkelstein and the other Jewish officers was inspired by actions taken by Theodore Roosevelt, when he was New York City Police Commissioner, who assigned 40 Jewish police officers to protect, and make look "ridiculous", Hermann Ahlwardt, when he gave an anti-semitic speech in New York.[2] While a popular story published by the Times during a later period of anti-Nazism, this story is not supported by news articles of the time and in fact the names of officers printed during Ahlwardt's 1895 visit are Anglo or Irish names, such as Cartright and O'Brien, not generally used by Jews.[3]
The Nazis reacted to Finkelstein's appointment with anger. A photo of Finkelstein appeared on the front page of the Nazi newspaper Der Angriff, which decried the choice of Finkelstein and the other Jewish officers as a "provocation" and wondered how Americans would react if their diplomats in Germany were placed under the protection of black policemen.[4]
