The Board of Deputies of British Jews today released a statement denouncing the newly-appointed West German vice-consul to Britain, H. Wurmann, for stating to a newspaperman in Germany that “the Nazi treatment of the Jews will have fallon into its proper perspective in 50 years time.”
Meanwhile, the Board has already received the assurance of the German consul, Dr. Hans Schlange-Schoeningen, himself recently attacked because of anti-Semitic sentiments expressed during the Hitler regime, that the remarks attributed to Wurmann do not reflect his opinion or that of any member of the consulate. Dr. Schlange said he had contacted the Bonn Government to check the remark with Wurmann who has not yet left Germany for England. The consul said he thought the correspondent must have misunderstood Wurmann.
(In Bonn, it was stated this afternoon that Wurmann is not on the consulate staff and will not go to London under any circumstances. It was explained that Wurmann was only one man on a list of applicants for the post.)
The Board, in its statement, declared that it felt that it was “expressing the views not only of British Jewry but of its Christian follow citizens against the official appointment to this country of one who shows he is still an advocate and supporter of an ideology which Britain and the United Nations fought for six years to destroy.” The Board added that the presence of an official holding these views can do nothing to promote goodwill, but is calculated to prolong ermity and resentment.
The Board’s statement was featured prominently in the entire London press this morning. In Parliament, three M.P.’s have already submitted questions to the government asking whether it was aware of Wurmann’s views and whether any action to prevent him from assuming his post was being considered.
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.
