You shall heed such a prophet

The first warning of the impending Holocaust came from a Swiss professor, a recent convert to Christianity:

On July 29, 1942, Pazner received a coded message in a telephone call from his former economics professor in Basel, Edgar Salin, telling him that he had received information of "supreme importance." The economics professor, who had converted to Christianity years earlier, was friends with Dr. Arthur Zommer, a German officer and fellow economist who was opposed to the Nazi regime and who had been leaking confidential information about Hitler's plans to his Swiss friend.

Pazner immediately took the night train from Geneva to Basel, arriving in the Swiss city on the morning of July 30, the book relates.

Salin then shared with him the information he had received from the German officer.

"In the East, there are camps being prepared which will be used to destroy all the Jews of Europe and many of the Soviet war prisoners by gas," the message read. "Please pass this message on immediately to Churchill and Roosevelt personally."

JYB Tailwag for the JPost story to Isaac Schrodinger.

MORE: I can understand how this initial warning might have been ignored by wartime intelligence agencies. Despite the Nazis' manifest hatred of Jews, the organization of such a far-fetched plot in the middle of a two-front war must have seemed absurd. It may even have been evaluated as a deliberate leak of false information to identify elements of the Allied intelligence network. Still, what amazing bravery and foresight from Prof. Salin.

MORE STILL: Reminds me of something a smart feller said the other day:

Whether we act in time to prevent the worst from happening will be the final measure of America's leadership in the world for years to come. With 9/11 still fresh in memory, it is for America to shape events, and not be left at their mercy. Wherever dangers appear, we must be prepared to meet them with clarity and resolve.

When terrorists in their video performances pledge more and bigger attacks to come, these are not to be shrugged off as idle boasts. They must be taken at their word. When the president of Iran shares his nightmare vision of nuclear annihilation before cheering crowds, those are not just the fanatic's version of an empty applause line. The only safe assumption is that he means it.

If we know anything from modern history, it is that when fanatical tyrants pledge to "wipe out" an entire nation, we should listen.