The possibilities of settling Jews from Germany in South American countries depend to a great extent on the funds available, and with several hundred thousand dollars several thousand could be settled this year, Dr. Bruno Weil, acting president of the Central Verein der Juden in Deutschland, said today.
Dr. Weil, who toured South America for four and a half months to ascertain immigration prospects, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in an interview that there was room, primarily, for three classes of settlers — agriculturists, artisans and people with capital.
In the latter connection he revealed that several republics — especially on the Pacific Coast — were willing to negotiate with the German Government a barter agreement whereby a limited number of emigrant would be permitted to remove their capital in the form of goods.
One of the great needs in South America, from the point of view of Jewish settlement, is creation of Jewish communities for Ashkenazi ritual, which do not exist in most South American cities, Dr. Weil said. He stressed the necessity of funds, rabbis, Torahs and other requirements for establishment of communities for western and central European people.
To obtain financial aid, Dr. Weil, before leaving for Europe March 17 on the Normandie, will confer with Jewish leaders here and with competent organizations.
While recognizing, too, the tropical climate of many parts of South America and other hardships, the Reich Jewish leader was on the whole favorably disposed to emigration there. He was particularly impressed with the size of the countries and the expanses of uncultivated soil, and with the lack of racial prejudices among the natives.
“There are many races but no racial question,” Dr. Weil said in reply to a query. “There is a democratic feeling, even in the countries where there are dictators.”
The immigrant German Jews in South America, for the most part, are content and intend to remain, even those in straitened economic circumstances, he declared.
How many Jewish refugees South America can absorb is indicated by the number it has absorbed — 21,000 since 1933, or about 20 per cent of the total Jewish emigration from Germany, Dr. Weil said. This emigration was largely to countries on the Eastern coast because of lack of Jewish communities in Western countries and greater difficulty in transportation to those lands.
The immigration by countries was: Argentina, 10,000; Brazil, 8,000; Uruguay, 600; and for all the countries on the Western coast — Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia — about 2,400 together, according to Dr. Weil.
All countries, he asserted, want agriculturalists; all will accept artisans, with the single exception of Ecuador, where special conditions exist, and all need immigrants with money. In addition there is room for a very small number of physicians, professors, teachers and for skilled industrial workers. On the other hand, he pointed out, possibilities for commercial job seekers were definitely bad. Opportunities for professionals, particularly lawyers, he described as meager. And in certain states a definite prejudice existed against peddlers.
One of the tendencies Dr. Weil deplored was that of Jews to remain in large capitals. In Argentina, for example, 135,000 of the total 260,000 Jews live in Buenos Aires. As a result refugee-aid groups have decided not to give assistance to immigrants not willing to enter the interior.
In discussing anti-Semitism, Dr. Weil said that the governments of most of the countries had given him declarations against anti-Jewish bias. In Chile, Finance Minister Ross pointed out that there was no anti-Semitism and the Government wished to exercise selection in immigration to preclude any anti-Semitism.
In Colombia, Dr. Weil stated, Foreign Minister Coral de Soto, after conferring with the President, said German immigrants were always welcome. Asked whether this included Jews, the Minister replied it did, regardless of what internal difficulties there might be in Germany. In Colombia, a Jewish refugee named Prof. Halberstadter was called by the President to reform the administration.
Bolivia, on the other hand, had issued immigration restrictions against “undesirables,” including Jews in that category, Dr. Weil said, but the Foreign Minister promised him to propose to the President a change in these regulations. Dr. Weil added that he had not been informed that the change was made.
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.
