Continued distribution in Australia of Nazi leaflets and new anti-Semitic incidents prompted Laborite Senator S. Cohen to urge in Parliament today that the federal government take firm action to curb the flow of such material into Australia.
The Nazi leaflets appeared in Sydney and Melbourne on the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Revolt. The walls of a building housing a Melbourne Jewish newspaper, which were daubed on the anniversary, were found smeared again today and a window in the building was broken.
In a related development, a group of men in brown shirts and trousers, believed to be members of a National Socialist party in Australia, met in a Sydney suburb to celebrate Hitler’s birthday. In a television interview, Sen. Cohen displayed an invitation from the Nazi group to a birthday party for “our beloved fuehrer.”
The Nazi-type mailings, made up principally of “vicious attacks” on Jews and Negroes, is entering Australia from the United States, Sweden and South Africa, Sen. Cohen told Parliament. He said it was learned that the material was sent to known distributors in Australia and then posted to a wide variety of recipients, including Jews.
Senator Cohen urged the Customs and Excise Ministry to examine the possibility of starting proceedings against anyone knowingly receiving bulk supplies of such material. He added that the distribution had been going on for some time.
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