"Our Sorrow"

Since 1933 life has become progressively more intolerable for Jews in German provinces. In many small towns no separate schools are provided for Jewish children, who are forced to sit on back benches, to be beaten up by little "Aryans," to be addressed as "Du Jude" by the teachers. Since the beginning of the Hitler regime, thousands of Jews have moved to Berlin, hoping to escape notice there, believing that the presence of diplomats and foreign correspondents in the capital would prevent too drastic persecution by the Nazi Government. For the last two years anti-Jewish activity has, in fact, taken place largely outside of Berlin. Last week, however, this condition changed suddenly and Berlin was treated to as severe a series of anti-Semitic persecutions as has yet taken place in the Third Reich.

To clever, waspish, Jew-baiting Propaganda Minister Paul Joseph Goebbels, who is also Nazi district leader for Greater Berlin, was attributed the latest outburst. Cafes, cinema houses were searched for Jews. Down the Grenadierstrasse and Dragonerstrasse--both prominent Jewish streets--ran several hundred "Aryans" bent on pulling Jews out of their stores, painting their shopwindows with insulting signs. Schoolteachers lectured children not to associate with little Jews. On countless shopwindows appeared such inscriptions as "Jewish swine," "Out with the Jews," "Avoid this Jew," "The Jew-- Our Sorrow!" "Jew, get out!" Whole streets were roped off while Jewish blocks were searched. More than 1,000 Jews were arrested, often for trivial reasons. Many Jews were sent to concentration camps. Long lines formed at the U. S. and British consulates for visas. By week's end the scourge of anti-Semitism was applied to all Germany by secret-police order.

Nor was Berlin's anti-Semitism confined to police and mob activity. To all the other repressive anti-Semitic decrees issued since Adolf Hitler rose up to save the German people five years ago, was added a new decree whose simple purpose was to suffocate what is left of Jewish economic life. Main provisions: 1) Jewish concerns will be identified, probably with special signs on the place of business; 2) if one member of the board of a limited company is a Jew, the concern will be Jewish; 3) if one-fourth of the capital is owned by Jews, the company will be Jewish. Furthermore, "Aryan" trading with Jews will be considered a "deliberate demonstration against the Government's attitude on the Jewish question."

No doubt was left last week that the Nazi aim is complete elimination of Jews from the Third Reich. In 1933 there were about 500,000 Jews in Germany (pop. 66,000,000). Today there are about 350,000--excluding Austrian Jews. About 126,000 have emigrated. Difference of 24,000 is explained by the fact that since 1933 the German Jewish death rate has consistently exceeded the birth rate by an average of about 5,000 a year. According to unofficial estimates, when Jews are allowed to leave they can take no more than 10% of their wealth with them. Since Anschluss, many wealthy Viennese Jews have been forced to buy their way out by selling their foreign holdings. London's Daily Herald reported last week that the Austrian Nazi administration was demanding a $10,000,000 "ransom" fee for the release of Baron Louis Rothschild, Austrian head of the famed Rothschild bankers.

One consequence of the anti-Jewish program has been the drop in the Jewish birth rate, the rise in the death rate. In 1934, Nazi statistics showed the proportion of violent deaths among Jews--including suicide--to be ten times greater than among the general population. Emigrants are usually young Jews, and by 1940, it is predicted, 65% of Germany's Jews will consist of persons more than 45 years old. About 40% of Germany's Jewish family heads are unemployed, 35% of all German Jews are on soup-kitchen relief.

Most powerful protector of German Jews was former Minister of Economics Dr. Hjalmar Schacht, whose practical, far from altruistic slogan, "Leave the Jew undisturbed in his economic life," was more or less followed by the Nazi regime. But Dr. Schacht has not been Minister since last November. As a national policy, last week's resurgence of German Jew-baiting had several explanations: 1) activity in Berlin was simply a backwash of what happened in Vienna three months ago; 2) Berlin was becoming too much of a Jewish haven for Dr. Goebbels' liking; 3) the demonstrations were simply a method of activating next month's international conference on political refugees, called by President Roosevelt, primary concern of which will be to help the Jews out of Greater Germany.

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