Between the Lines

The unexpected rebuff which the Nazis received in the Sunday elections in Danzig is one of the pleasant surprises that come so seldom nowadays to world Jewry.

This rebuff astounded not only the press but most of the European political observers. It certainly astonished Berlin.

Failing to obtain the desired two-thirds of the general vote, the Nazis in Danzig succeeded, however, in obtaining sixty per cent of the vote, which is much larger than the number of pro-Nazi votes received during the preceding election. This fact is something which deserves the attention of our leading Jewish organizations interested in protecting the rights of the Jews in Danzig.

JEWS STILL IN DANGER

I have on several occasions pointed out in this column that something must be done for the 8,000 Jews of Danzig, to defend them from the Nazi attacks on their rights, before it is too late. Now is the time to do it.

With sixty per cent representation in the Danzig Parliament, the Nazis still form a majority there. It is true that they do not possess the two-thirds necessary to make constitutional changes. They do, however, possess a sufficient majority to pass all kinds of ordinances which may affect Jewish rights.

To hamper the Nazis in their efforts to introduce the “Aryan paragraph” in Danzig is now the duty of our central Jewish organizations. Now more than ever, a careful survey of the anti-Jewish activities of the Nazis in Danzig must be made and submitted to the League of Nations, either through its Danzig High Commissioner or through other possible channels.

There is no doubt that if the League of Nations has thus far refrained from paying attention to the anti-Jewish discriminations in Danzig, it will now be only too interested in obtaining full data on all the Jewish employes ousted from state-controlled institutions in Danzig; on all the Jewish doctors ousted from the municipal hospitals; on the discrimination practiced by the Danzig administration against Jewish artisans and on all the anti-Jewish legislation passed.

POLISH SUPPORT

A memorandum on the anti-Jewish policy of the Danzig Senate has already been submitted to the League of Nations by Sean Lester, its Danzig High Commissioner. This memorandum should now be followed up by complete data compiled by such Jewish organizations as the American Jewish Committee, the American Jewish Congress, the Joint Foreign Committee, or the Committee of Jewish Delegations.

The Polish government, interested in preventing the Nazis from eventually controlling Danzig, would be only too glad to cooperate with the Jews if such a memorandum were submitted to the League of Nations. The fact that Dr. Casimir Papee, Polish High Commissioner for Danzig, has made representations to the Danzig Senate on behalf of Jews abused during the election campaign and against the violent anti-Jewish boycott propaganda being conducted in the Free City only substantiates the belief that Poland would be ready to support Jewish claims against the Nazi administration in Danzig, if such claims were submitted to the League of Nations.