The Municipal Tramway and Autobus Company has given notice to all Jewish laborers, conductors, motormen and drivers in its employ that their services will no longer be required after June 1.
This is the first time since passage of Hungary’s second anti-Jewish law that members of the working class have been singled out for dismissal on racial grounds. Heretofore the law has been applied only to Jewish business men, shopkeepers, traders and professionals.
The Hungarian Government has always insisted that the purpose of the Jewish law was not to molest poor Jews but merely to reduce the number of wealthy Jews in industry, commerce and professions to a number equivalent to the proportion of the Jews to the total population of Hungary.
From now on, however, it appears that the law will be enforced against all Jews, whatever their economic status, and that ultimately it will be made impossible for all but a small fraction of Hungary’s Jewish population to earn a living, even as manual laborers or in the most humble of employment.
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.
