Germans and collaborationist Hungarians in at least one Prague district are being compelled to observe the same regulations that the Nazis imposed upon the Jews, even to wearing identifying badgeas, a correspondent of the Manchester Guardian reports today.
An official poster issued by the local national committee – which is the authoritative administrative body – in Prague’s 12th district lists the following regulations:
1. Persons falling into the category of German or Hungarian traitors, and who are over the age of 14, must wear a four-inch-square swastika on a white background.
2. Persons marked with such swastikas are not to receive normal ration cards, are barred from using street cars except when going to work, and then may only enter the rear car and not occupy any seats. They must not walk on sidewalks, but must use the roadways and will be refused admittance to all public parks, woods, barber shops, restaurants, places of entertainment and loctures.
3. Such persons are forbidden to use laundries and cleaning shops and are restricted to shopping between the hours of 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 3. p.m. to 4 p.m. Violation of these regulations will result in punishment for both buyers and sellers. After 8 p.m. they are forbidden to appear on the streets.
4. Persons over 14 who have the letter “D” for “Deutsch” stamped on their identity papers must apply for the swastika badges and, at the same time, submit a list of the property held by them and surrender all radios in their possession. They are forbidden to engage in any financial transactions.
5. Germans are not entitled to tobacco rations and are not allowed to smoke in public or at work.
As a final blow, the regulations provide that the words German and Hungarian are henceforth to be written with a small “g” and”h,” respectively.
The Guardian correspondent, commenting on these restrictions, calls them “unjust and ruthless” and says that they are merely following totalitarian methods, and applying them to Sudeten Germans and Hungarians, who were formerly Czech subjets.
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.
