The German police today placed an absolute 60-day ban on Jewish meetings of any sort with the exception of synagogue worship, the Associated Press reported from Berlin. Police declined to divulge the reason for the action.
The move followed the closing of several Jewish sports clubs and a Berlin Jewish school in what the New York Times called a new campaign of the secret police against Jewish institutions in Germany. In this case, too, no reason was given.
Jewish circles, said the A.P., knew of nothing in recent months that might have caused the restrictions. The effect of the police order was such that if as few as four Jews got together they might fall under the ban.
The Times dispatch suggested that the reason for the earlier restrictions might have been the sentencing of Helmut Hirsch, a stateless Jew, for treason; the circulation of secret anti-Nazi propaganda or Mayor LaGuardia’s recent attacks on Hitler. “On the other hand there may be no reason,” the Times added.
Some Jews said they feared the new order meant new repressive measures would be taken against them by the Nazi authorities, who, they said, were faced by the necessity of keeping their followers in a “fighting mood,” according to the A.P. dispatch.
Meanwhile the London Daily Express reported that the secret police, holding that stamp collecting has became a means for “Jews and other traitors” to evade currency regulations, has seized several wealthy Germans on charges of smuggling their fortunes abroad in stamps.
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.
