This is the first of a series of articles by Dr. Georg Bernhard, famous German-Jewish publicist, who has been in exile since the advent of the Hitler regime. Dr. Bernhard will contribute regularly to the Sunday issue of the Jewish Daily Bulletin.
What is happening now to the Jews in Germany still does not seem to be known to the world at large, and least of all to the German Jews themselves, many of whom even appear anxious not to find out. They find it hard to break with a country in which their ancestors lived for centuries and which they dearly love. But they must break with Germany, if only for the sake of their children. They must stop deceiving themselves and admit that there is no longer any room for them in Germany, for in a few years they will be unable to earn there even a dry crust of bread to appease their hunger.
Even those Jews who would sell their honor and cling to the people that treat them with contempt as parasites will find it impossible to do so because they will not be allowed to live there. The few Jews in Hitler’s Germany who are accepted by the government will be accepted only at the back door in a few years; even the “Hofjude” will become only “Hinterhofjude.”
NEGLECTED OBVIOUS DUTY
Hitler has a great advantage over all his anti-Semitic predecessors because he never concealed his intentions toward the Jews. The German Jews unfortunately neglected their obvious duty to sacrifice a part of their possessions to assist the parties on the Left opposed to Hitler. They though it was wiser to seek alliance with the Right and affiliation with the Nationalists. They thought they could save themselves by selling themselves.
The German Jews are doing today exactly what their forefathers did thousands of years ago when they murmured their opposition to Moses, saying it was better to serve
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.