The Jewish press of Germany, which has just reached the United States shows a division in the ranks of German Jewry as to the problem of the Saar Jews. While the non – Zionist papers welcome the return of the Saar to the Reich, the Zionist organ there states very definitely that “the manner in which the Saar Jews are to be incorporated in Germany Jewry is a question which will confront the central Jewish institutions in Germany with an important task.”
That part of the Jewish press which welcomes the Saar reunion with Germany represents the Central Union of German Citizens of the Jewish Faith and the Liberal Jews. It emphasizes that the return of the Saar Jews into the general body of German Jewry is a most normal event. It promises a complete incorporation of the 6,000 Saar Jews into the 500,000 Jews of Germany. It stresses the point that the Jews of the Saar are not immigrants but that they are people born on Saar soil and their fate is linked up with and sealed by the blood they shed in defense of the fatherland.
The hearty welcome which German Jewry is giving the Jews of the Saar seems hardly to be shared by the German authorities, if yesterday’s report from Paris is correct. This report, which emanates from an organization in which leading French statesmen and scientists are represented, warns that the entire Jewish population of the Saar will be isolated in a concentration camp by the Nazi government in the very near future. It bases its warning upon information received in official French quarters.
It is hard to believe that the German government will go as far as keeping the entire Jewish population of the Saar under arrest. This would, first of all, be against the Franco-German agreement reached in Rome and sanctioned by the League of Nations. Secondly, it would hardly be of any benefit to the Nazis. It stands to reason, however, that the life of the Jews in the Saar will not be normal after March 1, when the territory is officially transferred to the Nazis. It is between now and March 1 that as many Jews as possible must be removed from the Saar.
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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.
