A new attempt to arouse anti-Jewish feeling in England was made by the Nazis over the weekend through distribution from Oslo of leaflets accusing the Jews of profiteering in the war.
The leaflets, reportedly received in various parts of the country, listed a number of Jews by name and declared they were not “true Englishmen,” suggesting that there was no cause for quarrel between “real English” and Germans.
Editorially denouncing his type of propaganda, the Yorkshire Post, foremost Conservative daily, declared it was “a small, sordid weapon in that attack from within which Germany has assiduously developed as an eventual part of her aggressive strategy.”
The editorial declared that Hitler’s “fifth column” was active in England for many years before the war, asserting that it included many well-meaning English who had been persuaded by Nazi propaganda to believe in Hitler’s intentions.
The paper advises recipients of the leaflets to “remember that this country owes a great deal to the talents, patriotism and generosity of its Jewish citizens,” and advised them to remember that whenever a Nazi attack from within would succeed, “not only Jewish rights will be endangered, but all civilized liberties, which every true Englishman must be ready to defend with his last drop of blood.”
The British Union of Fascists, meanwhile, has admitted encouraging defacement of public walls with anti-Jewish, anti-war inscriptions, it was revealed here by the weekly newspaper The Leader. Energetic action against the Fascist group, which is headed by Sir Oswald Mosley, is demanded by the periodical in an editorial captioned, “Stop This Wailing Wall Nonsense.”
Admission of responsibility was made, The Leader said, in response to a query by the newspaper’s editor. The editorial points out that it is unnecessary in a land of free speech to resort to subterfuges which are excusable in Germany, where free speech and writing are suppressed. “Slinkers taking advantage of darkness in the blackout to scribble offensive messages on public walls and buildings,” the editorial asserts, “deserve all they get when caught.”
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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.
