Two Protestant clergymen in this hotbed of pro-Nazism who recently had the temerity to decry from their pulpits religious persecution and race hatred were last night subjected to a vicious verbal assault at a meeting of the Friends of New Germany. The Nazi orator who, without naming them attacked the ministers, was William Meyer, self-proclaimed successor to the vanished Hanz Spanknoebel.
“These clergymen,” Meyer proclaimed, “were either dumb or blind because they were reading pro-Jewish literature, or are intellectually dishonest.”
Mr. Meyer, painting a picture of the Germans as not so emotional as are the Italians or the French, promised that once aroused they would let loose that “‘furor Teutonicus,’ which crushes everything that stands in its path.” He then stated that Jewish persecution in Germany is a lie.
“A decent Jew,” he declared, “has nothing to fear in Germany. The only ones who are in danger there are the international Jews and the Jewish swindlers.” This was followed by the bald statement that the Jews are a mongrel race who are very fond of money. All his statements were enthusiastically cheered by a large crowd.
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.