Reichsminister of the Interior Dr. Wilhelm Frick today issued an order permitting shechita, the killing of animals for food according to the orthodox Jewish ritual, in Upper Silesia, which is a plebiscite area under the control of the League of Nations.
Shechita was prohibited in Germany soon after the Nazis came into power on the ground that it was cruel to the animals. Displaying the utmost solicitude for animals, the Nazis not only forbade shechita, but imposed unusually heavy prison terms for Jewish shochtim and butchers accused of practicing shechita.
While nothing is mentioned in the order as to the reasons actuating Dr. Frick, the successive defeats suffered by the Nazi government when it attempted to extend anti-Jewish measures to Upper Silesia are no doubt at the bottom of this unwonted display of Nazi generosity.
German anti-Semitic measures in Upper Silesia were rebuked by the League of Nations in connection with the Bernheim petition and the Nazi government was compelled to withdraw the anti-Semitic laws and to promise full protection for the Jewish minority there.
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.
