Assurances regarding the safety of the Jews of Germany were given today by Dr. Joseph Wirth, minister of the interior in the Bruening cabinet, in an interview with Jacob Landau, managing director of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. In an authorized statement, Dr. Wirth emphasized that there was no ground for the anxiety of the Jews the world over in view of the unexpected increase in the National Social representation in the Reichstag and that there was no danger of an anti-Semitic wave sweeping over Germany.
Dr. Wirth said that the Reich government has not departed from the attitude it has maintained up to the present and it will not permit itself to “be driven along with the anti-Semitic flow.” Replying to a question of how he explained the astonishing increase in the National Socialist vote at the recent election, Dr. Wirth said it was due to the difficult economic situation of Germany, the great vote of the National Socialists signifying a tremendous protest against the present situation, he added.
The German minister of the interior was emphatic in expressing his disbelief that all those who voted for the National Socialists had thus certified themselves as enemies of the Jews. “Aggressive anti-Semitism which would lead to injustice or even outrages does not exist,” he pointed out. “The government can guarantee the peace of the country. It was always its resolute aim to protect German citizens irrespective of religion. This the German Republic considers a matter of its honor. We not only desire the protection of all our citizens but we are able to ensure it,” Dr. Wirth concluded.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
