All Jewish emigration from Reich territory has been halted by a new Gestapo measure forbidding the granting of exit visas to Jews regardless of their age, it was learned here today.
The order is believed here to be temporary, and it is expected to be lifted in the near future, permitting the resumption of refugee emigration from Berlin to Portugal or Spain prior to sailing for overseas lands.
The new ban came as a severe shock to hundreds of Jews in the Reich who had completed their emigration arrangements and were ready to leave Germany. The measure follows on the heels of a previous order which entered into effect on November 1, restricting Jewish emigration from the Reich to people over 60 years of age.
(Despite these developments, cables from Jewish emigration agencies in Germany continue to be received in the United States by the Joint Distribution Committee and by American relatives of prospective emigrants concerning visa arrangements and steamship bookings. The JDC is currently receiving requests from Greater Germany for December and January bookings.)
Meanwhile, new regulations announced in Germany bar Jews from using public telephones, even for emergency calls in the case of illness or accident.
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