Registration of Jewish refugees from Germany and Austria for national service in Great Britain was started today at Woburn House after a crowded meeting under the chairmanship of Otto Schiff. Many hundreds registered the first day.
More than 1,000 refugees cheered Mr. Schiff when he announced, on the basis of reliable information, that not a single refugee would be deported in the event of war. While no official decision apart from this has been taken yet, Mr. Schiff declared he felt sure that the vast majority of the 10,000 to 12,000 refugees would not hesitate to put themselves at the disposal of the country which had offered them refuge in the time of their direst need. He concluded with an appeal to refugees to prove worthy of the hospitality as well as of the name “Jew.”
Similar registration was expected to be launched for non-Jewish “non-Aryan” and political refugees.
Sir Neill Malcolm, retiring League of Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from Germany, has made tentative inquiries among the principal governments concerned on the question of the position of refugees from Germany and Austria in the event of war. So far, it was revealed today, there has been nothing definite in the replies to his representations. It is understood that Sir Neill, who has been seriously considering the question for the past three weeks, strongly believes that there is no need for anxiety as to the fate of the refugees.
Native Jews are also joining their fellow-Britons in offering their services to the Government. For example, a rabbi in Newcastle, E.S. Rabinowitz, 25, left his wife and two young children to join an anti-aircraft unit of the territorial army.
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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.
