A “new approach to the Jewish question,” disclaiming anti-Semitism, is now being propagated within the Nazi party by a small group which appears to be gradually gaining adherents. While this new doctrine has influential advocates its sponsors have to proceed with great caution, because their views not only seem heretical and “treasonable” to orthodox Nazis but also are explicitly opposed to the views of Dr. Rosenberg and Julius Streicher.
The new group starts from the assumption that there is a real Jewish problem in Germany which can only be solved by the two races keeping apart. “We respect and admire the Jews” was how one party member put it, “but we want them to be Jews. It is bad for both races if Jews and Germans mingle.”
The new group feels that the famous “Aryan paragraph” has done its work, “although clumsily,” and there is no reason to fear that German culture will “again be dominated by Jewish influences.” It is not desired to drive the Jews out but to work with them “peacefully and amicably” in Germany, only severely limiting their access to official posts, to the professions (especially teaching), and to positions of social and cultural power.
Whether this course be practical is another question, but the most interesting feature of the new movement is that it apparently has the sympathy of Zionist leaders among the Jews themselves. A formal exchange of views has not taken place in view of existing conditions in Germany, but it is understood that the basis has been laid for a mutual approach. Its sponsors are working by means of cautiously worded articles occasionally in the party press and outside it and by word-of-mouth propaganda.
It is admitted this view is far from penetrating to the large masses of the German people. Dr. Rosenberg’s doctrine of world Jewish power continually intriguing for Jewish domination, to which all the evils which have visited the world, and particularly Germany, in the last thirty years are to be attributed, is continually propagated by the party as a whole, and undoubtedly has a great attraction for millions. Julius Streicher’s appeal is also successful, especially in the villages and remote country districts—Reuter.
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.
