Ousting of Jews from Firms, Jobs Speeded in Former Czechoslovakia

“Aryanization” of Jewish enterprises and ousting of Jews from professions, commerce and industry are proceeding at an accelerated pace which in a few days is achieving results comparable to those achieved over a period of years in Germany and months in Austria. New blanket decrees are being issued to make the “Aryanization” 100 per cent complete.

All Jews still holding any posts in newspapers have been ordered discharged under a new decree. Lists of all insurance panel physicians in Bohemia-Moravia are now under revision and will be replaced with new lists containing no Jewish names. A new decree authorized the appointment of commissars for industrial and commercial enterprises when “in the public interest.” Commissars have full control of businesses, but the former owners are compelled to provide capital to cover deficits.

The press daily publishes long lists of “Aryanized” firms. Nearly all Jewish businesses have already changed hands. Czechoslovakia’s biggest chain store, Teta, is among those “Aryanized.” Many Jewish-owned newspapers are among the scores of dailies and periodicals prohibited from publishing, while all local Jewish papers have been suppressed and not a single foreign Jewish newspaper can be obtained here. The purge of the film industry, which was created by Jews, progressed further with the dismissal of all Jews from the large Barandov studio.

The Verein fuer Chemische und Mettalurgische Production dismissed its Jewish director, Dr. Oscar Federer, and other Jewish employees. Other companies which have taken similar action include the Schoeller Zuckerwerke, large sugar refinery; the Prager Eisenwerke, iron plant; and the Allgemeine Genossenschaftsbank, a large bank.

The Slovak Government is likewise rushing “Aryanization.” A measure under preparation will make it compulsory for Jewish enterprises to display distinguishing marks. This practice is already in effect in several towns. The Government has also decreed authorization for protective arrest of “enemies of the Slovak State” and of persons who might prove an obstacle in the upbuilding of the State. A concentration camp for the arrested is under construction and those interned will be subjected to forced labor.

The sufferings of arrested Jews has been increased by the refusal of the Gestapo to accept parcels of food and line brought by relatives. The Union of Cafe and Restaurant Owners, it was announced, has ordered members to put up “Jews Not Wanted” signs on all cafes, restaurants, taverns and lunch bars. The Brno District Court has granted the first divorce on racial grounds, advanced by a German woman in ending her marriage with a Jew.