A “little revolution” flared in Yorkville this week and just about wrecked the Friends of New Germany in New York. The national leaders of the movement were barricaded in their office and in the Deutscher Beobachter, shivering in anticipation of a raid by followers of the extreme radical leaders seeking control of the organization. Every official of the New York division of the organization was discharged by Hubert Schnuch, national leader, in an effort to crush the revolt against the ruling clique.
The uprising resulted from dissatisfaction with the policies pursued by the national officers which, it was felt, had resulted in considerable waning of Nazi prestige in German-American circles and loss of much power asserted by the Hitlerites. The “revolutionists,” led by Anton Haegele, favor a more violent anti-Jewish program and a return to strong-arm methods of coordinating German-American society instead of the “diplomatic” methods preferred by Schnuch and company.
The Schnuch regime had been making desperate efforts to regain authority for the Friends. The Dawa, the boycott organization, had issued a special Christmas trade guide and had organized a Christmas bazaar to resuscitate the anti-Jewish boycott. Their efforts, however, apparently met with little success.
The revolt followed closely on the heels of a victory for Hitlerism in America, although not for the Nazi organization here. The Steuben Society, after personal missionary work by Hitler himself, endorsed the Hitler regime in Germany—but its leaders continued their hostility to the local Nazis in order to keep control of the organization in their own hands. This, also, was a contributing factor in the putsch plot.
A DISAPPOINTMENT
The failure of the Amateur Athletic Union to reaffirm its forthright stand against participation in the Olympic Games in Berlin proved a considerable disappointment to all opponents of Hitlerism. Much criticism was expressed at the attitude of the Jewish delegates to the A.A.U. annual convention in not only failing to raise the issue but in agreeing in advance on a measure to sidetrack it, thus depriving non-Jewish opponents of participation of an opportunity to raise a protest.
The issue can, however, be raised at the next annual convention of the A.A.U., which, by refusing to certify American athletes for competition in the games, can prevent American participation.
CONGRESS AND LABOR
The Jewish Labor Committee threw a bombshell into plans for national elections next April to an enlarged American Jewish Congress when it announced that it would not join in the elections on the grounds that the American Jewish Congress had not established “the necessity for its existence,” had stressed a “purely Jewish” issue in its fight against Hitlerism and because there were no possibility of a real democratic election.
The administrative committee of the A.J.C. will study the letter sent by B. C. Vladeck, head of the labor group, for reply.
A statement by Dr. Joshua L. Goldberg, secretary of the Congress, denied Mr. Vladeck’s contentions.
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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.
