New purchases made by Jews preparing to emigrate are being taxed from 30 to 100 per cent by foreign exchange officials in some provincial districts, it was learned here today.
Cases where such taxes have been applied on automobiles and furniture have been reported. No law authorizing the taxes has ever been made public. The practice is not general, the cases reported in Berlin leading to the belief that the provincial authorities are following their own discretion.
In view of the severe foreign exchange regulations, investments in personal property constitute one of the chief means by which prospective emigrants attempt to salvage some of their capital.
Warning that official action may follow where German firms fail to substitute “Aryan” for Jewish agents in foreign countries is published by the Essener National Zeitung, organ of Field marshal Hermann Goering.
“To our regret,” the newspaper declares, “many firms have not yet made this substitution. We can very well imagine that in such cases where the consciousness of responsibility is not sufficient, there will one day be intervention from authorized places.”
The article adds that those previously doubting the effect of the Nuremberg laws in the realm of economics must have learned differently from the recent tax law changes affecting Jews. It points out that the true meaning of the Nuremberg laws is that “Aryans” must separate themselves from the Jews not only socially but in business.
The private Jewish banking firm of Smerzbach, founded in Offenbach in 1832, will soon be completely “Aryanized,” three “non-Aryan” members of the firm withdrawing in favor of a former “Aryan” employee recently elevated to partnership.
A new organization, “The Golden Fleece,” has been established to “Aryanize” the leather industry. “Aryan” wares sold by “Aryans” henceforth will bear the label, “Golden Fleece.”
Formation of the new organization is the second serious blow to Jews still remaining in the leather industry, the first being “Aryanization” of the Merzbach bank, which caters particularly to the leather trade.
Following an attack against them in Der Stuermer, three leading chocolate manufacturers began to dismiss Jewish representatives and to stop selling their products to Jewish retailers.
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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.
