Emigration of Jewish Aliens from Reich Brings Problems

Passport and citizenship requirements of their native countries has hindered the re-emigration movement of Jewish aliens living in Germany to their lands of birth, it was revealed here in a report appearing in the new issue of the Bulletin of the Central Committee of German Jews for Aid and Construction.

In many cases these passport and citizenship questions have placed in a dilemma the agencies cooperating in the re-emigration movement. Many of these foreign Jews have been living in Germany for decades, the report says, and have become economically and culturally incorporated in German life. The passport status of these people is most uncertain because their citizenship and nationality claims must first be cleared up in their native countries.

STAATENLOSE SUFFER

Thus there are two groups who confront the organization with almost insoluble problems. The first of these groups are the Staatenlose, who went to leave Germany of their own will, or are compelled to leave because of an expulsion order, but have no way of going to another country because they do not meet passport requirements. Then there are those people who were by the law of July 14, 1933, revoking naturalizations, deprived of the German citizenship which they had acquired.

As for the Staatenlose group there are only a few countries which have accepted a limited number of them during the last few months. At present the openings are rapidly diminishing. This, therefore, makes the position of this class very desperate.

18,694 ARE AIDED

In 1933, the report states, the Central Office for Jewish Migration Welfare dealt with the re-emigration of 18,694 people. It is pointed out that this does not include all who returned to their native countries in 1933, but only those who had to apply to the Central Office for help. The number of Jews not of German citizenship who left Germany in 1933 is placed at the conservative estimate of 30,000.

Of these 18,694 dealt with by the Central Office, 14,334 were men, 2,989 women and 1,371 children. These figures demonstrate that families did not re-emigrate, but mostly young unmarried men, physically fit for work. It needs much longer preparation and careful consideration of the openings that exist elsewhere before families can contemplate emigration, and much more assistance is called for from the Welfare Office.

REPRESENT MANY LANDS

According to nationality, the 18,694 comprised 8,804 Polish citizens, 1,951 Hungarians, 1,917 Czechoslovakians, 968 Austrians, 890 Rumanians, 207 Russians, 187 Lithuanians, 118 Latvians, 103 Palestinians, eighty-three Dutch, and thirty-five Americans. The nationality of 1,494 re-emigrants is not known. 1,461 were Staatenlose. The remainder, 476, belonged in smaller numbers to various countries.

In most cases these re-emigrants went back to their native countries. Exceptions were made only where there were special considerations, economic or otherwise, which made it preferable for them to go to other countries in Europe or overseas.

RYAN CHARGED WITH SUPPRESSION

Charges that Joseph P. Ryan, head of the New York Central Trades and Labor Council and head of the International Longshoreman’s Association, suppressed attempts to place the Council on record in support of the recent San Francisco general strike were made in a resolution made public by the Executive Board of Dressmakers Union Local 22.