A futile attempt by German manufacturers of surgical instruments to recapture the American market they are losing as a result of the anti-Nazi boycott by conducting a campaign against Japanese instruments was revealed yesterday by the Non-Sectarian Anti-Nazi League.
For many years, the league reported, Germany had been able, through low labor costs, practically to monopolize the American market for the finer surgical instruments. As the German boycott became effective, importers turned to Japanese manufacturers, who improved the quality of their instruments and began not only to meet the demand, but to undersell the German manufacturers.
In a strategic move to regain the market, the German manufacturers set up a dummy trade association which called for a boycott of Japanese goods as a menace to American industry.
The scheme was discovered by supporters of the anti-Nazi boycott, the report stated, and the campaign fizzled out. Hospitals and members of the medical profession were informed of the forces behind the drive and disregarded attempts to enforce an anti-Japanese boycott.
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.