the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, which had been closed down by the German authorities, was adopted by the meeting.
IN THE LONG RUN, NO HOPE
“My firm opinion is that in the long run, there is no hope for the Jewish people in Germany. That is my conviction. Just as I believe that Adolf Hitler will last, so I believe his anti-Semitic policies will survive,” Mr. High declared.
Explaining the rise of Hitlerism as due to the failure of the world powers to recognize the German Republic, he asserted that “If Germany is as it is today, all of us must bear some part of the blame.”
Hitler will now remain in power, he declared, because he has awakened Germany, because the German people are inherently a patient people, because he is attracting the youth of Germany and because, by linking his program with the religious aspirations of the German people he has “won the German people to the belief that his movement is Messianic in purpose and that he is the Messiah. One reason for the failure of the German Republic was because the German people did not see in it the resumption of the march to a place in the sun.”
Hitlerism represents a threat to world peace, Mr. High asserted, pointing out that the entire international policy of the Nazis, leading to the enclosure within the bounds of the Reich of all the German-speaking people, cannot be accomplished except by war.
REPORTS NOT EXAGGERATED
“He is promising that which, in our world, can never be filled without international conflict,” he declared.
Referring to the persecutions of Jews and liberals in Germany, Mr. High said that the reports had not been exaggerated and declared there were many in the Nazi ranks who take delight in inflicting suffering.” Discussing the professional discriminations and how they operate against Jewish doctors and lawyers, he said, “If Albert Einstein had a record of one month at the front in the War, he would have a place in the Nazi world no amount of scientific achievement will ever obtain for him.”
Despite the exemption of War veterans from discriminations, he said, in practice, this class is made to suffer as much as other Jews.
TEST CASE OF CIVILIZATION
In concluding his speech, he described Hitlerism as a menace to civilization and warned against over-rationalizing the causes of his coming into power.
“The Jews of Germany are a test case of Western civilization,” Mr. High declared. “As a non-Jew, I call them the test case of Christian civilization.”
The view that Germany is headed for an economic breakdown was expressed by Jacob Landan, managing director of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, who also spoke at the reception. Mr. Landau returned earlier this month from an extensive trip through Europe during which he also visited Germany.
Pointing out the small gold coverage of German currency, Mr. Landan declared that inflation, with many disastrous consequences, seems to be a likely development in the Reich. This and the fact that foreign credits are no longer flowing into the Reich and that German exports are dwindling because of the boycott and capture of a considerable part of the German markets by the United States and Great Britain which are off the gold standard, were given by him as reasons why Germany will soon be unable to meet its foreign obligations.
35 PERCENT OPPOSITION
Elimination of Jews has also caused considerable harm to the German economic system, he declared.
If merely economic factors were decisive, the breakdown of Germany would be unavoidable, he declared, but certain factors, such as Hitler’s absolute control of the Reich and his strong hold on the imagination of German youth, must be considered. He said that approximately thirty-five percent of the German people were opposed to the Nazis.
He described recent measures against anti-Jewish discriminations as temporary and said that when economic conditions improve, the anti-Jewish discriminations will be resumed. Jews in commerce and industry at this time can expect little improvement in their position as long as social ostracism continues to be as bitterly practiced as it is at present.
He warned that pogroms against the Jews this winter are not impossible and declared that many Jews in Germany today fear that a fictitious attack against Hitler might give the signal for a countrywide massacre of the Jews.
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.
