Fears mounted in Jewish circles here today concerning the fate of the thousands of Jews in Nazi-occupied Europe and the hundreds stranded in this city, as the German radio and press, taking their lead from Hitler’s Reichstag address yesterday, launched a violent campaign against the Jews as being responsible for the United States’ entry into the war against the Axis.
The panic that has assailed the 1,500 Jewish refugees here manifested itself today as hundreds of people jammed the office of the American Export Lines, seeking passage to the United States on what will probably be the last American boat to leave this port for many months to come. The situation grew even more tense when the Export line officials announced that no German nationals would be carried even if they possessed American visas. Bookings will be made only for American and British citizens. The anxiety felt here was heightened by the fact that the status of the Portuguese lines remained in doubt. Whether they would continue to operate between here and the Americas was not known.
Tuesday’s Berlin papers, which reached here today, blame the Jews for America’s war with Japan. The Voelkischer Beobachter, Hitler’s personal organ, scores President Roosevelt as the “Agent General” of the Jews. The German radio today quoted the sections of Hitler’s speech in which he said: “We know of course that the eternal Jew is behind all this. Roosevelt himself may not realize it, but then that only shows his limitations. Indeed we all know the intention of the Jews to rule all civilized states in Europe and America.” The broadcaster in commenting on the speech vilified the Jews and threatened them with dire consequences for “their activity in fomenting the war.”
Reports which reached here today disclose that in recent weeks the Nazi officials in Warsaw have been terrorizing the Jewish inhabitants of the ghetto by warning them that they would die the same day the United States entered the war against the Reich.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
