Over 200 Jewish children and Hans Sterenberg, leader of the Palestine pioneers’ group, Hechaluz, were arrested last night at a meeting in Philharmonic Hall in memory of Dr. Chaim Arlosoroff, noted Zionist labor leader, who was murdered recently in Palestine. Over three thousand Jewish men, women and children were present at the meeting for which permission had been granted by the authorities, and hundreds were unable to gain entrance.
The death of Dr. Arlosoroff was a deep blow to German Jewry because Dr. Arlosoroff had just outlined two comprehensive plans for their relief, and the memorial meeting held the interest of thousands.
TRY TO PROVOKE CLASHES
The meeting, which was addressed by Georg Landauer and Kurt Blumfeld, German Zionist leaders, passed off without any untoward incidents. At the beginning of the meeting, a gang of young Nazis had surrounded the hall and attempted to provoke clashes. A strong police detachment, however, succeeded in maintaining order by preventing any provocations, although it became apparent that the meeting would not pass without trouble premeditated by the storm troopers.
As the audience began to file out of the hall at the conclusion of the meeting, scores of uniformed brown shirts occupied the exits and, with the police, checked every member to see whether any one wore Zionist lapel buttons or other insignia which could be construed as being a uniform and hence, a reason for arrest, since no uniforms are allowed except those of the Nazis.
Unable to find anything incriminating the adult members of the audience, the troopers turned their attention to the children, including girls, many of whom were under ten years of age. The children were arrested under the pretext that their white blouses and black ties constituted a uniform. Some of the older boys, who wore blue trousers, were accused of being a bodyguard for the speakers.
The children were crowded into a number of police wagons awaiting in front of the hall, and immediately taken to the station. Despite the lateness of the hour and the age of the children, their parents were not permitted to see them or communicate with them.
The children were released this morning after a night in police custody, after their names had been registered with the police.
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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.
