Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold, in a statement given to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency today, “sharply condemned” the recent outbreaks of anti-Semitic manifestations around the world. He declared that “the United Nations and its specialised agencies must apply the means at their disposal as effectively as possible to counter resurgence of such tendencies.”
The Secretary General was at Knartoum, Sudan, during the height of the swastika-daubing and hate sloganeering outbursts last month, when he was asked about the anti-Semitic manifestations. For the first time, in his statement today, he made public the fact that, at Khartoum, he had been asked about the anti-Semitic manifestations, and had replied that, on the basis of the information he had been able to obtain, he “saw no reason to regard these manifestations as the result of any masterminded operation.
“in these circumstances, Mr. Hammarskjold added. “the interpretation that had to be given to these manifestations was that they reflected a renewed outburst of primitive and revolting currents of the human mind which hundreds of years of civilization have not managed to muster. Like every expression of racialism and of contempt for the human person, they were to be sharply condemned. That such manifestations were possible was, in fact, humiliating to us all, and in sharp contrast to the basic tenets of the United Nations. If permitted to continue, they would represent elements of also in a political sense, and all means must be used to correct the situation.”
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.
