Continually increasing pressure by Austrian Nazis, aggravated by the secession of a strong faction of the Heimwehr from the ranks of supporters of the Dollfuss regime has thrown the Jews of Austria into a state of fear which has not been eased by the attitude of the government.
The state of mind of the Jews in this country has not been eased by the measures taken by Prince von Starheimberg, leader of the pro-Nazi Heimwchr, the Fascist home guard, to remove unreliable leaders. Rumors spread by the pro-Nazi faction of the Heimwchr of a pending Nazi revolt here, which will begin with a ferocious onslaught on the Jews, have intensified the situation.
M.E. Tenenblatt. chief Austrian correspondent of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, was summoned to the headquarters of the police section in charge of supervising of the press last night after he had filed a telegram reporting on the Jewish situation. He was told that he would be deported from the country if he sent another press message unfavorable in tenor to the Dollfuss government. His telegram last night was held up by the censor for several hours.
“I was told that this constituted a final warning that I would be ejected from Austria if I continued to send out disquieting telegrams,” Tenenblatt declared. “I pointed out that the telegram had been carefully phrased and it was pro-government in tendency. But the chief police censor reiterated the warning even more sharply, that I would be expelled.”
In the story which the censor held up, the correspondent had reported on government action to meet a possible Nazi coup. Military patrols have been reinforced and police have been posted at strategic points. his message stated.
Leafiets attacking the Dollfuss-Fey regime as existing solely on “Jewish and French support”. are being widely distributed throughout the country bearing the signatures of Nazi leaders and pro-Nazi Heimwehr men.
Maior Emil Fey, Heimwehr leader and Minister of Security in the Dollfuss cabinet, is known as a foe of the Nazi movement and is a frequent target of Nazi denunciations.
The Austrian Jewish press, which has given some measure of support to the Dollfuss regime and which is considered Austria’s only hope of preventing seizure of the country by Austrian followers of Hitler, is protesting strongly against the government decision to allocate twelve million schillings for Christian religious institutions and nothing for similar Jewish institutpus.
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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.
