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Berlin Parley Maps Plans to Combat Hostility to Anti-semitism in Occupied Lands

June 8, 1941
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The prediction that all Jews in Nazi-held Poland will be annihilated through starvation and disease was made by Herr Fischer, Nazi commissar for Warsaw, reporting at a special conference in Berlin of Nazi district leaders of occupied territories convoked by Propaganda Minister Josef Goebbels to ascertain the feelings of the non-Jewish populations in conquered territories toward the Jews there, it was reported here today.

The conference, held under Goebbels’ chairmanship, also considered the fate of the European Jews after the war. Commissar Fischer said the introduction of ghettos in Poland had broken the Jews morally, physically and economically. Today, he said, the majority of the Jews in the Government-General exist on charity and when the charity comes to an end, they will die of hunger and disease.

Baldur von Schirach, reporting on Austria, proudly emphasized that Upper Austria, Styria and Burgenland were “judenrein.” All the Jews of Austria, he said, are now congregated in Vienna, which will also soon become “judenrein.” Similarly, the Nazi Commisser Simon of Luxemburg, reported that the former Duchy was now completely “judenrein.”

Dr. Otto Abetz, Nazi representative in Paris, reported on the effect of the latest anti-Jewish laws introduced in occupied France. He spoke of his conferences with Vichy’s Commissar for Jewish Affairs, Xavier Vallat, and stated that “coordination” of the anti-Jewish laws in both occupied and unoccupied France could be expected soon.

Commissioner Arthur Seyss-Inquart, reporting on the Jews in Holland, said it was much more difficult to handle the Jews in Holland than in Poland because the Dutch population sympathized with the Jews. Much tact is needed to develop anti-Jewish feelings among the Hollanders, he said. He expressed hope that the Jewish problem in Holland would gradually be solved in the same manner as in other occupied territories.

Dr. Frank, Nazi State secretary for the Protectorate, also emphasized that the Czech population was displaying solidarity with the Jews, making it harder for the authorities to pursue their anti-Jewish program. Nevertheless, he stated, Jews in the Protectorate have lost all their influence, since their business firms have passed into “Aryen” hands and their property has been confiscated through various laws and ordinances.

In concluding the conference, Dr. Goebbels outlined a program to develop more effective anti-Jewish propaganda in the countries where the local population was still in sympathy with the Jews. He found the reports “much better than expected.” Nazi officials from the occupied Balkan countries and from Hungary also participated in the conference.

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