In the ancient city of Frankfort, historic seat of Jewish learning and home of one of the oldest and most important Jewish communities in Germany, the Jews now live in dread of tomorrow, enclosed by themselves in a sort of spiritual ghetto created by their fear of the Nazis, according to Miss Cecelia Razovsky, Field Councillor of the Council of Jewish Women.
Miss Razovsky has just returned from Frankfort-am-Main, where she attended the International Social Workers conference as a member of the American delegation. In an interview with a representative of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Miss Razovsky described the tension and fear among the Jews that are evident even to a casual observer, a tension and fear which penetrated to the Social Workers conference and which were confirmed to her in conversations with leading Jews.
Miss Razovsky said the Jewish delegates to the Social Workers conference abstained from summoning a conference to discuss specific Jewish problems at the request of German Jewish social workers, who feared unpleasant repercussions. An informal discussion was held with the participation of only those delegates who happened to be available, with the result that Jewish delegations from several countries were absent.
She relates that during a round table conference with the participation of German Jewish delegates on Jewish immigration problems, held in a synagogue, the tramp of marching feet was suddenly heard outside. The speaker halted; all conversation stopped; a pall of fear and strain enveloped the meeting. Nothing happened. The Iron Guard passed on. But not until the sound of marching feet died away, did the audience relax.
A similar incident took place, Miss Razovsky related, at a round table discission led by Samuel Cohen, director of the Association for the Protection of Women and Girls, of England. Miss Razovsky said she was glad to leave Frankfort, as were other Jewish delegates, to get away from the distressing spectacle of fear.
One cannot accost a Jew even for directions, if one appears not to be Semitic, without witnessing fear and anxiety and desire to hide the whereabouts of Jewish institutions, she said.
Jewish institutions bar their windows, close their lights and remain in the dark when a Nazi parade—a daily occurrence—is in progress, she asserted.
Miss Razovsky stated that she asked Dr. Friedrich Ollendorf, director of the Federation of German Philanthropies in Germany, and other leaders, whether a world Jewish congress would help the present Jewish situation in Germany and received an emphatic negative reply.
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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.
