Rabbi Maurice N. Eisendrath of Toronto returned from Germany on the White Star liner Majestic, with the declaration that the situation of the Jews in Germany was utterly hopeless and that worst of all was the plight of the German Jewish children.
“Whenever I asked any of the German Jews about their situation,” said Rabbi Eisendrath, “the answer was, invariably, ‘hopeless.’
“Conditions in Germany are superficially quiet and that deceives many observers, but what I saw and heard and shared with the German Jews during a months’ stay is indescribable.
“I know of one small town which I visited, a town with 3,000 inhabitants, among whom are 20 Jewish families. When the Nazi regime came into power, every Jew in the town was arrested and every house searched. Now they shudder every time a wagon rumbles past the houses. They are waiting for a pogrom. They sit and wait to be butchered.
“For the will to pogrom is there. The Nazis make no bones of their intention to rid themselves of the Jews. Both Jews and non-Jews told me that if pogroms have been averted it is only because of outside protests. There is no hope that there will be any change in the anti-Jewish program from Germany itself. Only outside pressure can have any effect.”
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.
