Two German political leaders, speaking today on a broadcast marking the seventh anniversary of the nation-wide pogroms which swept Germany on Nov. 10. 1938, said that the Germans must accept their guilt and attempt to enter for the misery that was visited upon the Jews.
Dr. Wilhelm Kuelz, vice-chairman of the Liberal-Democratic Party in Berlin, point out that although at the time of the pograms some Germans helped Jews, the majority were indifferent “to the displays of sub-humanity.” He recalled that hundreds of thousands of Jews had been expelled from their homes, and now millions of persons were homeless, and commented; “The retaliation that fate has made us suffer and just. Let us fully accept the punishment and attempt to atone for our guilt.”
A spokesman for the Christian Democratic Union, M. Fuchs, described the pogoms as “the most shameful and ignominious chapter in German history,” but asserted first the churches had disapproved of racial hatred. Many non-Jews, he-said, paid with their lives for helping Jews. He urged “uncompromising reparation of the wrongs done the Jews and loyal cooperation with them.”
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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.