American Jewish Committee Issues ‘white Book’ Refuting Allegations of Hitlerites

Publication of a “White Book” on the situation of the Jews in Germany in which “the facts regarding the acts of oppression and violence from which the Jews of Germany have suffered and the degradation to which they are now being sujected under the present regime” are “submitted to the judgment of the public of the United States in the light of traditional American principles of fair play” was announced yesterday by the American Jewish Committee of which Dr. Cyrus Adler is president.

Under the title of “The Jews in Nazi Germany: The Factual Record of Their Persecution by the National Socialists,” the book presents decrees, documents and other authenticated data not only on the physical attacks upon the Jews in Germany, but also on the anti-Semitic activities of the National Socialist (Nazi) Party since its inception and on the discriminatory legislation effected in the Reich since the Hitler regime came into power. A section of the “White Book” contains refutations of the more common libels used by the Nazis in their campaign against the Jews.

RECORD SPEAKS FOR ITSELF

In announcing publication of the volume, Dr. Adler declared: “In the preparation and publication of this book, the American Jewish Committee has endeavored to assemble material bearing upon the situation of the Jews in Germany only from official and authoritative sources. The record speaks for itself and requires no interpretation.

“In the light of our traditional American policy of religious liberty, and confident of the fair judgment of the people of the United States, when they have the facts before them, I feel sure that the citizens of this country will aid in creating a public opinion which will ultimately right the hideous wrongs that are even up to this very day being perpetrated in Germany.”

Following a resume of “the established American policy on human rights” as expressed in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and by prominent American statesmen from Washington to Wilson, the book presents the series of official measures and decrees against the Jews, taken from the official law gazette and covering all phases of life in the Reich, data on the execution of these decrees and their effect on the Jewish population.

Statements of Nazi apologists that the various anti-Jewish measures would be modified are sharply challenged by the book.

ACTS OF VIOLENCE

Another section of the volume, dealing with the acts of violence against the Jews since Hitler became chancellor, quotes admissions by Nazi leaders, including Hitler himself, as proof that these had occurred. The telegram of Secretary of State Cordell Hull, to Dr. Adler on March 26 stating that there had been “considerable physical mistreatment of Jews” is also reprinted.

Newspaper reports of acts of violence, reported by reliable correspondents, are also quoted as are letters from refugees from Germany, the originals of which are on file with the Committee. Incitements to violence, in speeches by Nazi leaders and in inflammatory newspaper articles are also cited in the “White Book”.

“In their efforts to secure a following”, the book charges, “the National Socialists carried on an increasingly widespread and intensive campaign throughout the land, by means of a far-flung net of periodicals which at the height of their development had an aggregate average circulation of over 10,000,000 copies daily, besides millions of pamphlets and broadsides, often containing vile and obscene attacks against Jews. Supplementing this press agitation were innumerable mass meetings in every city, town and hamlet in the land, coupled with street demonstrations, parades and rallies.”

Elimination of the Jews from German life is an integral part of the Nazi party’s program, the book declares, quoting the relevant parts of the authorized version of the Nazi program.

Presenting figures commonly misrepresented in Nazi propaganda, the book reveals a drop in the number of Jews in Germany of 3 percent from 1910 to 1925, the last official census. Foreign born Jews in Germany reached their peak number in that year with less than 60,000, although before the War, about 40,000 Eastern European Jews lived in Germany, the book states

JEWISH WAR RECORD

Jewish soldiers in the War totalled 17.3 percent of the Jewish population. Of the 96,000 Jews in the War, the book states, about 80,000 were in the trenches, 12,000 were killed in action and 35,000 decorated for bravery. Nazi allegations that the Jews caused the War and brought about Germany’s defeat are also refuted, as is the claim that Jews held 50 percent of the public offices. Other Nazi charges are also analyzed and the correct facts given. Nazi assertions that the Jews are Communists are taken up in the book and facts are presented showing that “the participation of Jews in the communist movement was insignificant.”

A section of the volume deals with the American reaction to the persecution of the Jews in Germany and includes the speech of Senator Joe T. Robinson in the Senate, and other ranking members on June 10; resolutions adopted by prominent American organizations and the resolution recently signed by 1,200 Protestant clergymen throughout the country.