Masons Warned by Untermyer Against Reich

The German Jews might have averted the catastrophe that has overtaken them if they had realized their peril before it overwhelmed them, Samuel Untermyer, president of the Non-Sectarian Anti-Nazi League, declared last night addressing a meeting of Masonic lodges at the Masonic Temple, Yonkers.

Mr. Untermyer urged the members of the Masonic lodges “to take warning from the fate of German Jews and not to repeat the tragic blunder they made.” He spoke of the persecution of the Masonic bodies under the Hitler regime and emphasized that the aversion to Masonry is based on the fact that Masonry teaches equality of all men.

“I urge you and your Christian brethren, before it is too late, to take warning from the situation of the German Jews,” Mr. Untermyer said. “Don’t repeat the blunder which the Jews of Germany made. They had ample notice but it was understandable, though not flattering to their vision, that they should refuse to believe that the men who had been their fellow countrymen could be converted almost overnight into a sadistic horde of savage human beasts of prey.”

WARNS OF PENDING FATE

Mr. Untermyer warned the gathering that all signs point to the inevitable conclusion that what has happened to the Jews in Germany {SPAN}###{/SPAN} in store also for the Masons there.

“Your only effective weapon in destroying these enemies of religion and civilization is the boycott,” Mr. Untermyer said, emphasizing that if the League of Nations were to carry out its threat of “economic sanctions” against Germany, the world would be saved from Nazi defiance.

Picturing at length the present tragic situation of the Jews in Germany, Mr. Untermyer emphasized that persecutions in Germany have now assumed far greater proportions than that of a “Jewish question.” What is going on in Germany today is an affront to all humanity regardless of race or creed, he said. The action taken by the Nazis against the Masons is on a par with that against the Protestant and Catholic churches and is dictated by the pro-pagan philosophy of a large group of important Nazi leaders, he declared.

“The Jews have never played a prominent part in Masonry,” Mr. Untermyer continued, “but Streich### has nevertheless used it as a basis for his tirades against non-Jewish Masonry and has been supported by the Hitler government. In dissolving thirteen Masonic lodges in Germany, Nazi leaders gave no reason for their action but explained that they considered Freemasonry inimical because it is allegedly controlled by “international Jews,” Mr. Untermyer concluded, calling upon the Masonic lodges to support the boycott against German goods.