House-to-house raids on Jews, conducted by police and uniformed Nazi officials, are now taking place throughout Germany under the pretext of checking on whether the Jews are complying with the wartime regulations, according to reports reaching here today.
The raids, which have been going on for the last fortnight, are usually carried out at night, after 9 p.m., when Jews must remain at home until the next morning, under penalty of imprisonment. All members of the family are required to answer a long list of questions contained in a printed form. When the questionnaire is filled out, the Nazis search the apartment for forbidden radios and food. Severe punishment is imposed upon Jews in whose homes the police discover vegetables, fruits, milk, sweets and tobacco – articles which Jews are not permitted to buy.
The search for forbidden food is conducted with such thoroughness that even the kitchenware is examined for evidence of barred food articles. In one case a Jew was imprisoned because the raiders found three pieces of candy given to his children by an “Aryan” neighbor. A dairy man was jailed for selling a liter of milk to a Jewish mother.
The raids are apparently connected with the labor service question. Jews are being grilled with regard to their status under the forced labor regulations and must produce evidence that they are either in the labor service or have been exempted from it.
While Jews between 18 and 46 are no longer permitted to emigrate from the Reich because of the need for forced labor, it is reported here from Berlin that now Jewish woman, even when they receive visas to overseas lands, are not permitted to leave Germany unless they provide substitutes for labor service. It is understood that Jews in the labor service are treated most severely, and suffer from insufficient food and from lack of medical attention. They are assigned to dangerous tasks and are segregated from the “Aryan” laborers who receive extra rations which are not given to Jews performing the same work.
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.
