Buffalo, 2005
“We then advised the people and were very successful. Almost all of them were then recognized, not by the draft boards but by the courts. We had two federal judges who were very reasonable. It was different than in Germany. In Germany, you were automatically drafted, and then you could apply for conscientious objection. And if you refused the draft, it was a criminal case. Then you had to prove that you were honest and that you should be recognized. Here, it was the other way around. We told people that if they weren’t recognized, they should go to the draft, but then refuse. That was a step you had to take to be in the army; they shouldn’t refuse. Then they could be arrested. Then the prosecutor had to prove that they weren’t conscientious objectors. That was, of course, difficult. Overall, we were very successful, and only in emergencies did we advise people to go to Canada. Those were a few cases. And we continued working with the people in Canada and sometimes even brought them back. I had some scruples. I was very active. I counseled people almost every evening. At the …center, but also here at home or at the university. But I knew that most of the people who came were young men, students, mostly from wealthy families. What we lacked were people from the poorer classes, especially from the Black population.”