A plea that “some of my best friends were Jews,” today failed to save George Stribrny, pre-war newspaper tycoon and pioneer anti-Semite: from a sentence of life imprisonment.
Stribray, whose papers published the first anti-Semitic propaganda to appear in Czechoslovakia after formation of the republic, was found guilty by a national tribunal of supporting fascism. Denying charges that he was anti-Semitic, the publisher told the court that he had many Jewish friends. In 1938, a few weeks after signing of the Munich agreement, Stribrny proposed that 37 percent of the Jews in Bohemia and Moravia be deported to Palestine.
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
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.
