All Norwegian churches today offered special prayers for the persecuted Jews of Norway, the majority of whom have been placed in concentration camps or deported, it was reliably reported here today.
At the same time it was learned that organized Norwegian church leaders have submitted a vigorous protest to Premier Vidkun Quisling against the current anti-Semitic measures. Representatives of the Norwegian established church, of major religious societies and thoological faculties signed a letter to Quisling denouncing the arrest of all Norwegian Jewish men and boys over 15 as “legalized injustice, contrary not only to the Christian spirit of charity but to the simplest command of law.”
The letter added: “The government has broken the Christian faith and profession. We make our appeal out of the profound demand of conscience. Silence would be tantamount to acceeding to this legalized injustice. The church cannot be silent when the Lord’s demand is trampled under foot.”
Student demonstrations in Oslo protesting the mass-arrests of Jews are also reported to have taken place. The report says that many students are also helping Jewish women and children whose husbands and fathers are now held in internment camps for deportation. The non-Jewish population in Norway is completely in sympathy with the persecuted Jews, the report emphasizes.
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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.
