Political sources here indicated today a belief that the question of establishment of diplomatic relations with Israel was discussed at a closed session of the policy commission of the West German Parliament last week.
Social Democratic deputies supported the idea after a report was made by Dr. Carlo Schmid, acting president of the Lower House, on his recent visit. A Social Democratic motion for such recognition was not put to a vote.
A total of 414 anti-Semitic incidents have been recorded in the West German Republic and West Berlin since the Christmas Eve desecration of the Cologne Synagogue, the State Police Department reported today.
Most of the incidents occurred in North Rhine Westphalia, where 99 were recorded. Seventy-three were listed in West Berlin, 53 in Lower Saxony, 41 in Bavaria, 40 in Hesse with the remainder in scattered other places. The Bavarian Ministry of the Interior offered a 3, 000 mark reward for the apprehension of the persons who tried to set fire to a synagogue on January 13.
A Democratic Action Committee to combat neo-Nazi and anti-Semitic excesses was formed today i Frankfurt. The committee was organized by representatives of local political parties, churches the judiciary, university officials and industry and trade union leaders.
Initiative in organizing the committee was taken by the German Trade Union district. Paul Pieper, the district chairman, said it was not enough to rely on the actions of state authorities and that “democratic groups must take the initiative into their own hands because the attack on Jews is an attack on all of us.” The Frankfurt Police Chief’s office reported that a total of 28 incidents had been listed in Frankfurt since January 9.
The West Berlin newspaper “BZ” today reported that East German Communist authorities have arrested 41 members of a pro-Nazi, anti-Semitic movement that infiltrated the Red’s youth group. The report said the youths and their 22-year-old “fuehrer, ” a student, are being held by Communist secret police.
East German police raided a cellar meeting place, confiscating a bust of Adolf Hitler, swastika flags, and Nazi literature. According to the West Berlin report, the youths, residents of East Berlin and its suburbs, had smeared anti-Jewish slogans on walls in their communities.
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.
