The official attitude of the German Jewish leaders toward the Reichstag elections to be held on November 12, and which are to be an expression of complete support for the foreign policy of the Nazi government, was expressed yesterday in a proclamation, carefully worded, which was issued by the Reichsvertretung der Deutschen Juden, the All-German Jewish Representative Body. This recently-formed organization is considered the most representative Jewish body in Germany today.
The proclamation, as dignified a reply as the German Jews were able to make under the present circumstances in which the German
Jews find themselves, declares, “in spite of what the Jews are undergoing in Germany,” those Jews who go to the polls should vote in the affirmative on the question of approving the foreign policy of the German government.
However, the proclamation says nothing of how the Jews should vote on the list of candidates headed by Adolf Hitler or whether they are to answer other questions.
Among the questions to be answered by the German voters is one asking the voters whether they approve the policy of the Hitler government. It is obviously impossible for the Jewish citizens to answer this in the affirmative because by so doing they would voice approval of the government policies toward the Jews which has reduced the Jews to second-class citizenship or worse.
On the other hand, for the Jews to abstain from voting and signify-fying approval of the Nazi regime’s policies—since, in this election, the voters have no other course—spells danger for them since refraining from voting would label them as enemies of the present government. This would be especially dangerous in the provinces where failure to vote could be easily traced.
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.
