Embassy Official in U. S. Denies Desecrations Customary; Authorities Bent on Suppressing Crime (Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
The sixty-eighth case of Jewish cemetery desecration within the past two years occurred Friday night at Eppingen, Baden.
The German authorities are doing everything that is possible in order “to suppress crimes of that sort,” was the reply of Lei Stuer, First Secretary of the German Embassy at Washington, to an inquiry of Congressman Samuel Dickstein, New York.
Congressman Dickstein made public yesterday a correspondence between him and the Embassy on the subject of Jewish cemetery desecrations in Germany.
Acknowledging an inquiry addressed to Baron Ago Maltzan, Ambassador, O. C. Kiep, Charge d’Affaires wrote under date of September 28. that “though in close touch with all news items from home, I have not heard of any desecrations of Jewish cemeteries which you assume to have happened in Germany, and particularly in Flammerscheim and Kirschheim, Rheinland.” The Charge d’Affaires promised, however, to forward the inquiry to his government.
Under date of November 23., the First Secretary of the Embassy, wrote that the inquiry forwarded to Berlin brought forth a reply confirming the occurence of Jewish cemetery desecrations. The Secretary, however, asserts that only some of the desecrations were due to anti-Semitic activities, but the majority of these acts were committed by minors or by persons of unsound mind. “There have in fact been recorded a few cases during the last five years, where Jewish cemeteries were desecrated in Germany,” the Secretary stated. “It appears, however, that these desecrations were only in part due to anti-Semitic activities, whereas the majority were committed either by minors or by persons of unsound mind.
“It is, therefore, untrue to say that such desecrations are customary in Germany. I may add that the German Federal and State authorities are making every effort to suppress these crimes altogether. The Prussian Minister of Justice, for example, has issued very definite instructions to all the Prussian State attorneys, urging them to prosecute persons committing similar crimes and the Federal Minister of Justice has very strongly condemned these crimes.
“You will see, therefore, that everything possible is done in order to suppress crimes of the sort,” the Secretary concluded.
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