Sholom Asch, Jewish novelist and playwright, urges Jews to chase the Hitlerite “dybbuk” out of Germany, in an article in the “Jewish Daily Forward.” He glorifies the mediaeval “Yellow Spot” which the Hitlerites had intended to reintroduce in Germany, urging that it become a source of inspiration in the battle of Jewish freedom, and in arousing the world against Nazi attempts to endanger world peace. He also pleads with the Jews not to confuse the issues but to differentiate between Hitlerism and the German people, emphasizing that “we are with Germany against Hitler.”
It is a pity, Asch says, that the Hitlerites had on the eleventh hour of April 7, the day of the anti-Jewish boycott in Germany, withdraw# their “devilish” order to place the mediaeval yellow spot on the Jewish frock-coats and high hats of the twentieth century. That day must not, however, be forgotten by us, he warns.
“There is no road back. There can be no peace between us and Hitlerism, not only in Germany but wherever it may appear. The yellow spot must become our standard from which to draw power in the battle forced upon us. We must not forget that we are not alone in the battlefield. The German people is now fettered and thousands of its best sons are bleeding at the hands of a beast, a Dybbuk in the form of Hitlerism.
“The day of the yellow spot has already shown the German people that their ‘redeemer,’ Hitler, leads Germany to the abyss. That day was a great lesson for the German people. They now realize that what happened to the German Jew may happen tomorrow to the Germans.
“In fact, all now realize that the war against the Jew is the beginning of a great war against the entire world, with the first move against the weakest point. We must make it clear to the world that the was against us is the preliminary drive against world peace. When the accumulation of the dynamite called ‘Jew hate’ will have been consumed (and in a great measure it has already been consumed on the day of the yellow spot), Hitlerism will be compelled by its very cursed nature to direct a volley at its neighbors, to fire the world with a new flame of war.
“I wish to make my voice heard as loudly as possible among the Jews of the whole world. Do not confuse the righteous with the evil doers. Even in this day of our bitter fight you must understand and differentiate between Hitlerism and the German people. We are not at war with the German people. Together with the righteous part of the Germans, we hope for and believe in the final victory of German common sense and that it will free itself from the new make-believe Napoleon, who dreams about the Kaiser’s Castle, while the people hunger. We are with Germany against Hitler and must make this differentiation even in this sad moment.”
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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.
