The position of the Jew in Germany is steadily growing worse, for the Hitlerite regime is bent on destroying every Jew, stated I. A. Hirschmann, director of sales and publicity for Lord & Taylor, who has just returned from a tour of Europe. There has been let loose a great deal of propaganda to the effect that the Jew is now being left alone, but it is not so, said Mr. Hirschmann. “The Nazis are bent on a mass sadistic orgy; their bloodthirsty crimes are committed in the dead of night and Germany is paralyzed with fright,” he continued.
“It is impossible for us, who go about our daily work, to comprehend what is going on in a country to which the word civilized cannot be applied,” he said. Describing the present scene in Berlin, he stated that an unhealthy calm pervades the city, the people are in a state of jitters and creative work is completely frustrated. He characterized Germany as “a madhouse” and the leadership of the country as “emotional, negative, destructive and combustible to an incredible degree.”
Discussing business conditions in Germany, Mr. Hirschmann said that although the Germans would not admit it, business has slumped greatly. Tourist trade has fallen off considerably and the state of affairs in Germany is not conducive to the betterment of industry. “Germany is riding for a fall,” he added.
Mr. Hirschmann said that if American Jews wish to eradicate the Hitler menace, an efficacious method would be a boycott of German goods. “There are a great many business concerns who are now buying in Germany, because the German manufacturers are underselling their merchandise,” he continued. “Jews should take pains to discover who these concerns are and refuse to buy their merchandise,” he concluded.
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.