A crackdown by the East German authorities last week on members of the Zion Church in East Berlin, a Protestant congregation known for its sympathy toward Jews, has aroused concern in East Berlin’s small Jewish community.
But members of the community told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in telephone interviews Sunday that no action has been taken against Jews and there seems to be no immediate threat.
They said the arrest by Strassi, the East German secret police, of several church activists in East Berlin and elsewhere and the confiscation of books were probably irrelevant to the Christian-Jewish contacts maintained by the Zion Church. Nevertheless the move was seen as a warning to opposition groups that enjoy some degree of support by the church.
The Protestant church in East Germany actively promotes dialogue with the Jews and has frequently warned against anti-Semitic tendencies. Neo-Nazis recently stormed the Zion Church premises and injured several congregants.
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.
