It was officially announced tonight that most of the nearly 400 persons in police custody after last night’s raids on Jewish-frequented cafes along the Kurfuerstendamm were being held “on political grounds,” for smuggling and for violation of foreign currency regulations.
A total of 397 persons were arrested, it was announced, of whom 317 are Jews. Among the arrested, police said, were several foreigners unable to show proper identification.
Meanwhile, confiscatory fines totalling 15,400,000 marks ($6,160,000) and heavy prison sentences were imposed in Hamburg on three German Jewish ex-directors of the Sociedad Vinicola, a German firm engaged in import of Spanish wines, the Havas News Agency reported. They were accused of falsification of stock reports.
The accused George Durlacher was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment and a fine of 4,200,000 marks ($1,680,000). His brother, David, was sentenced to three years and 5,000,000 marks fines ($2,000,000), while a third brother, Casper, received a four-year sentence and was fined 6,200,000 marks ($2,480,000). Four others received sentences ranging from two months to two years and considerable fines.
Jews of Italian nationality living in Germany, including Austria, will not be affected by Marshall Herman Goering’s recent decree ordering Jews to report their property, it was learned. This agreement was reached in connection with the Italo-German commercial accords signed last Saturday, regarding the details of which secrecy still prevailed here.
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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.