A warning to Germany that Sweden will cease supplying it with vitally needed iron ore if Berlin continues to ignore the Swedish note offering to receive the Jews of Denmark was seen today in an article written for the newspaper Social Demokraten by Prof. Undens, chairman of the foreign affairs committee of the Swedish Parliament.
An indication that the Swedish offer might have had some effect despite the fact that the German Foreign Office has ostentatiously refrained from replying to it is given in a Berlin report appearing in the same paper, which stated that it is believed that the Swedish demarcate caused the postponement of the mass deportation of Danish Jews. This same report expressed the opinion that the Germans would not reply directly.
Meanwhile, the mass arrests of Jews in Denmark seem to be continuing. The Aftonbladet reports today that the majority of Danish Jews are new in concentration camps and confirms an earlier report that a vessel carrying 400 deportees has left for a German Baltic port. The paper disclosed that a camp at Horsered is the center in which most of the Jews are concentrated.
The Nya Dagligt Allehanda discloses today that some “suspicious characters” have slipped into Sweden together with the refugees to keep an eye on the Jews. The paper says that two Danes, believed to be members of the fascist “Frikorps,” were arrested at the coastal town of Helsingborg.
The Swedish clergy continue to manifest their opposition to the persecution of the Danish Jews. A number of prominent Stockholm ministers, including Bishop Manfred Pjoerkquist, first Bishop of Stockholm, attended services at Storkyrkan, one of the city’s oldest churches, where Pastor Primarious Ollenystedt denounced the treatment of the Jews, stating at “the men responsible for the bestial action in Denmark have placed themselves outside the pale of human society for all time.”
The Svenska Morgenbladet today publishes the text of the recent pastoral letter issued by all Danish bishops opposing the arrest and deportation of the Jews. The letter points out anti-Semitism violates humanitarian concepts and is in conflict with the sense of justice of the Danish people. It adds that the Danish constitution guarantees equal rights to all citizens, and concludes by stating that “we will fight for our Jewish brothers and sisters as for ourself.”
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.
