Devaluation of the volume of business being done here by many Berlin department stores, which is directly traceable to governmental anti-Jewish discrimination, has aroused Americans who own capital investment in the stores.
Indignant protests against the policies being pursued by the government are being climaxed by the threat that a suit for damages may be brought by capitalists who are affected.
The situation was aggravated when an internationally known Berlin clothing house, Hemdenmatz, which has numerous branch shops, was prohibited from functioning merely because it is owned by Jews. Announcement was made yesterday that the firm has passed into Aryan ownership. It is the first instance where a large Berlin concern was closed because it is Jewish.
The American investors who have watched with apprehension the diminution in value of their capital, especially in concerns like Tietz and other large department stores, point out that since the devaluation of their property is directly due to governmental policy, they have sufficient grounds for suit. They deny the allegations that the devaluation is due to poor business conditions.
It is argued that investments in English department stores have steadily increased 36 percent in value, while German investments have dropped 90 percent during the same period.
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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.
