Fifteen hundred Danzig Jews entitled to participated in today’s parliamentary elections were removed from the voting lists, a special correspondent of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency established.
The only Jewish newspaper in Danzig, the Danziger Echo, was today confiscated by the authorities, who refused to give any reason for the confiscation.
Several Jewish journalists who arrived here from Warsaw to witness the elections were arrested and held until Dr. Goebbels left Danzig.
WARNED NOT TO VOTE
The entire city was flooded with Nazi banners and with signs announcing that “The Jews Are Our Misfortune.” The Jewish population of Danzig was warned in a house-to-house canvass by the Nazis that they had better abstain from participating in the voting.
A number of Jews were attacked yesterday in the streets here by Nazis when they refused to raise their arms in the Hitler salute during the Nazi parades in connection with the elections. Anti-Semitic leaflets were distributed in hundreds of thousands of copies throughout the city. The leaflets appealed to the population “to free Danzig of Jews and return the city back to the Fatherland.
CITE TERROR METHODS
A delegation of Danzig Jews who are Polish citizens appeared before the Polish Commissioner in Danzig and drew his attention to the terroristic methods used by the Nazis in Danzig even against Jews who are citizens of Poland. The Polish Commissioner assured the delegation that every incident in which Polish Jews in Danzig have been maltreated will be taken up by him with the Danzig Senate. He emphasized that the Polish government intends to go the limit in protecting its Jewish citizens in Danzig.
The Jewish population here is especially worried about the aftermaths of the election. It is quite clear that the election will yield an overwhelming majority of votes to the Nazis and that the worst chapter for Danzig Jewry will start when the elections are over.
LESTER HELPLESS
The High Commissioner of the League of Nations for Danzig, Sean Lester, is absolutely helpless in protecting the Jewish population. He maintains close contact with the Secretariat of the League but is not in a position to do anything at present to ensure Jewish safety in the city.
Fifteen thousand Germans who formerly resided in Danzig and are therefore entitled to participate in the elections were brought from Germany on Nazi trains in order to increase the number of votes for the Nazis.
The Polish population in Danzig is seriously concerned over the situation. The Nazi spirit prevalent in the city in connection with the elections gives ground for the belief that Polish influence in Danzig will soon be substantially diminished if the League of Nations does not undertake energetic steps to hamper the Danzig Nazis in their ambitions.
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.
