A special correspondent, sent to Memel by the leading Vienna newspaper, “Neue Freic Presse,” describes the state of mind of the Memel population as resembling that of inmates in an insane asylum, as a result of the ritual murder agitation. During the entire Passover week the Jewish population lived in fear and panic. The Jewish residents were afraid to leave their homes. Many Jewish families who employ Christian servant girls sent them away on free vacations, paying their hotel expenses, to prevent any further possibility of unfounded charges being made against them in case something happened to the girls.
The agitation over the ritual murder charge has even extended to the socalled enlightened Christian families in Memel. In these circles, German speaking, the opinion was current that
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(Continued from Page 3) the “ritual murder” was “committed” by the Lithuanian Jews who recently settled in Memel and not by native German Jews “who are incapable of ritual murder,” the correspondent reports.
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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.
