Hitler’s assumption of power appears to be inevitable but there need be no fear that Jewish heads will roll in the sand in Germany, Herr Willy Sundheimer, a well-known German Jewish banker, who is now on a visit to the United States, said to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency here to-day.
Of course, there will be much unpleasantness for the Jews in Germany under a Hitler regime, Mr. Sundheimer said. The first victims will probably be those Jews employed in official capacity with the Government and the municipalities. They will, no doubt, be dismissed. Here and there here may be several Jewish heads smashed, but I don’t believe that a pogrom or mass massacre of the Jews in Germany as there used to be in Russia will ever occur in Germany.
No one in Germany doubts now that Hitler is bound to come into power and it seems this will happen very soon, Mr. Sundheimer continued. Every Jew in Germany realises that now. Since this appears to be inevitable, I think that German Jewry as well as the rest of the population would like it to come soon and have it over. The period of expectation and tension creates an anxiety and nervousness which is worse than the actual situation can probably be.
There is no doubt, he went on, that we are facing hard times in Germany, but we must courageously look the facts in the face and try to make the best of them. I, personally, am hopeful that we will survive this dangerous period. As soon as the German young men find work and see a future for themselves, Mr. Sundheimer concluded, they will turn their backs on the Hitlerite movement which is after all nothing else than an expression of despair created by the immeasurable sufferings to which so many millions of Germans are being subjected during the present bitter economic crisis.
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
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.