The situation of the Jews in Danzig came up before the League of Nations for the first time yesterday when Sean Lester the League’s High Commissioner for Danzig, made his report to the Council of the League.
Mr. Lester’s report officially informed the League Council for the first time of the fact that the several thousand Jews of Danzig are practically in the hands of the Nazis there. It was the first time that Lester found it sufficiently important to speak on the situation of the Danzig Jews.
HITLER’S APPETITE
This new development deserves special attention in view of the news that the {SPAN}Germar#{/SPAN} government having been victorious in the Saar, is now also lodging a campaign for the recovery of Danzig.
Viewed from this standpoint, the League of Nations may soon face in Danzig the same problem that it did in the Saar. There is no doubt that if a plebiscite were taken in Danzig, the majority would vote for re-joining Germany.
The fight for Danzig has been a part of the Nazi program ever since the Nazi party was formed. This fight subsided only recently, when a ten year non-aggression pact was signed between Hitler and the Polish government. It was assumed by many that as a result of this pact the question of Danzig would not come up for a long time.
DANZIG AND MEMEL
It seems, however, that the sweeping victory which the Nazis enjoyed in the Saar has stimulated their appetites. Not only are their eyes now turned towards Danzig but they, have apparently decided also to recapture Memel, now a part of Lithuania.
In the case of Danzig, it will not be surprising if the Nazis are eventually successful in regaining the so-called Danzig Corridor. The population in this territory, as the results of the recent election here have shown, are very favorably inclined towards Nazism. As a matter of fact, the Senate of Danzig is already in control of the Nazis.
JEWS MUST BE SAFE
The situation of the Jews in Danzig must therefore be taken up by interested Jewish organizations now, before it is too late. Unlike the Saar case, much can be done for the Jews in Danzig in view of the fact that in Danzig the interests of Poland are involved.
Experience has shown that when Jewish organizations are better prepared for diplomatic action, they have more chances of winning. Such was the case with the Bernheim petition in which the late Dr. Leo Motzkin understood how to utilize the Polish-German differences to obtain a favorable decision from the League for the Upper Silesian Jews. Such can also be the case with regard to saving the Danzig Jews from Nazi danger.
UNDERCURRENTS TO STUDY
There are many political and diplomatic undercurrents around the Danzig problem. Not only the Jews, but other nations much stronger than the Jews are interested in preventing Germany from obtaining Danzig at the present. All these undercurrents ought to be studied and taken into account—the earlier the better
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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.
