Between the Lines

It was no surprise to learn from the Nazi Conscription Law promulgated yesterday that Jews will be barred from the army. This was expected months before the law was proclaimed.

What is of surprise, however is the provision that in time of war Jews may be drafted for whatever service the German military authorities may consider necessary.

This provision makes it clear that despite the peace assurances given by Hitler in his address before the Reichstag on Tuesday, Germany is nevertheless mobilizing all its forces for war. No matter how hateful the Jews are and how little they can be trusted by the Nazis, in case of war even a Jew can be helpful.

JEWS AND ASIATIC TRIBES

It is needless to say that during the next war in which Germany will be involved, Jews will not be sent to the front. They will not be trusted to bear arms. They will, however, be taken for service behind the lines.

Such was the position of certain Asiatic tribes in Russia during the world war. Not being trusted by the Czarist government, the members of these tribes were driven all the way from Asia to work behind the military lines of the Russian army. They were never given rifles, as they were considered both an inferior and an untrustworthy element in the country.

This racial principle followed by the Czarist regime during the world war will be observed now by the Nazi regime with regard to the Jews in the next war. In effect, it means that the Jews will be the “lower element” in the army reserves. They will be considered the slaves of the German nation.

SOLDIERS AND CITIZENS

The Jews in Germany were disappointed yesterday when Hitler, while establishing their status in the army, failed to establish their status as citizens. They expected that in the course of his address to the Reichstag Hitler would touch upon the Jewish question.

This did not happen. And although some may think that it is better for the Jews that Hitler avoided announcing the revocation of citizenship from Jews, the leaders of German Jewry are not of this opinion.

The Jewish leaders in Germany are growing tired of their indefinite status which gives every individual Nazi the opportunity to act towards the Jewish population in the most lawless manner. They are tired of Streicher and his like who are utilizing the present indefinite legal position of the German Jews for anti-Jewish incitement and violence. They are looking for a definition of their status. Citizens or no citizens, they want to know what kind of protection they can expect under the Nazi regime.

SEEKING ASSURANCES

This is why the Jews of Germany looked forward to Hitler’s address in the Reichstag. They expected that in his speech at the Reichstag, which was actually meant for the world, Hitler would commit himself to assurances that Jewish life and property would be secure in Germany even though the Jews would no longer be considered full fledged citizens of the Reich.

These assurances did not come. In his prepared speech Hitler was silent on the future of the Jews in Germany. He thus indicated that the Jewish question is no longer acute as far as he us concerned and that he does not care what happens to the Jews.

Deprived of their citizenship, barred from the army and insecure as far as their life and property are concerned, the Jews of Germany will now have to seek a way out of Germany more than ever before. Jewish emigration from the Reich will therefore be the greatest problem with which world Jewry will have to deal.