The words of the late Rabbi Joachim Prinz, spoken from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the historic civil rights march on Washington, D.C., in 1963, will ring anew in Cincinnati Jan. 21 during the Martin Luther King Jr. Day commemoration.

        Rabbi Prinz was a lifelong civil rights activist who was expelled from Nazi occupied Germany in 1937 for outspoken opposition to the Hitler regime.

        Recently, Cincinnati's Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives at Hebrew Union College obtained a collection of his papers, photos and that recorded speech, made just before Dr. King's “I Have a Dream,” speech.

        The Martin Luther King Jr. commemorative program begins with a rally on Fountain Square at 11:15 a.m., then a procession to Music Hall for a program that includes the Martin Luther King Jr. Chorale and speeches by community and political leaders.

        Rabbi Prinz spoke for two minutes at the Aug. 28, 1963, march. That speech will be played during the commemoration.

        “As Americans we share the profound concern of millions of people about the shame and disgrace of inequality and injustice which make a mockery of the great American idea,” he said.

        “As Jews we bring to this great demonstration, in which thousands of us proudly participate, a two-fold experience — one in the spirit and one of our history.”

        He told the crowd of 250,000 that when God created man, he created him as everybody's neighbor.

        “Neighbor is not a geographic term. It is a moral concept. It means our collective responsibility for the preservation of man's dignity and integrity,” Rabbi Prinz said.

        In 1937, before he was expelled from Nazi Germany, he preached a farewell sermon from the pulpit of his Peace Synagogue in Berlin.

        He had been arrested several times for speaking out against Hitler by then. Rabbi Prinz knew he would soon be forced to leave.

        His last message there was about the evil oppressors and their Fuehrer.

        He saw the tide of hate rising and threatening to destroy Europe's Jews.

        Dorothy Smith, archivist at Hebrew Union, said Rabbi Prinz's papers and photos, in addition to the speech, are significant.

        “The collection contains photos of Rabbi Prinz alongside many important political leaders of the day,” she said, including John and Robert Kennedy, Adlai Stevenson, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Sens. Wayne Morse, A. Rubikoff and Jacob Javitz, Supreme Court Justices Arthur Goldberg and Hugo Black, and Israeli Prime Ministers Ben Gurion and Golda Meir.

        “The documents and materials in the Joachim Prinz collection weave a fascinating tapestry of a life devoted to the pursuit of justice and freedom,” said Dr. Gary P. Zola, director of the center and recently appointed vice president of the Martin Luther King Jr. Coalition.

        The coalition plans the commemorative celebration, which usually attracts a diverse crowd of 3,000 or so, organizers said.

        Maxwilliam J. Saekilewis, president of the coalition, said Rabbi Prinz was a man who never accepted the world as it was.

        “Rather, he considered himself a change agent for equality and sought to create a world that was mightily consumed with the principles of justice for all,” Mr. Saekilewis said.

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