Bitter resentment against the policies of the Reich government, especially those aimed at the rights of labor and of the Jews, was unleased yesterday in two pivotal cities in the United States by two powerful organizations which are meeting in convention.
The American Legion, meeting in Chicago, and the American Federation of Labor, meeting in Washington, which together represent a membership of at least seven or eight million persons, considered or passed resolutions assailing Germany’s chancellor and his repressive measures. Pressure is being brought to have both bodies join the boycott of German goods and there is every indication that they will do so.
The Legion’s criticism of the Hitler regime, although confined to its activities in the United States which have the obvious intention of winning support for the Nazi movement and possibly organize an American Nazi party, has been established as veiling unspoken condemnation of the Jewish persecutions.
The resolution is prefixed with a statement declaring that one of the basic principles that prompted entrance into the World War was to protect minority groups from tyranny and oppression.
“The American Legion,” continues the resolution, “repeats and reiterates its condemnation hitherto expressed of the formation in this country of groups holding their primary allegiance to foreign governments and whose idea is to introduce into this nation intolerance and bigotry, and we hereby request all proper governmental authorities to take prompt and efficient steps to prevent such attempt to undermine the principles of our free and democratic form of government.”
The committee on resolutions of the American Federation of Labor was presented with resolutions demanding immediate action in the form of a boycott and otherwise, against the Hitler government, widely labeled as the enemy of world peace.
These resolutions included one introduced by Florence C. Hanson and Selma M. Borchardt, delegates from the Federation of Teachers, pledging backing for an economic fight on Hitlerism.
A second resolution, introduced by R. Suny, a delegate of Cleaners, Dyers, Spotters and Pressers Union No. 18223, charged that the “bloody barbaric dictatorship of Hitler is doing its utmost to develop race hatred, anti-Semitism and nationalism which is causing to gather faster the war clouds in Europe and brings closer the danger of a world war.”
A third resolution was introduced by John N. Spearing, delegate from the Central Labor Union, Jacksonville, Florida. This would have all central labor unions display in their meeting halls portraits of Samuel Gompers, a Jew, who was the first president of the American Federation of Labor and who served for more than 40 years in this capacity until his death in 1924. The Federa-
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.
