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To Make No Changes in Austrian Charter, Schuschnigg Pledges

February 24, 1938
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While tension over unchecked Nazi demonstrations mounted today, Chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg received the president of the Union of Austrian Jews and told him there would be no change in the Dollfuss Constitution of May, 1934, which guarantees equality of rights to citizens of every denomination.

Emphasizing that his declaration was “for the present and for the future,” Chancellor Schuschnigg also told Dr. Herman Oppenheim, a Government Councillor, that revision of citizenships granted during and after the world war was not under consideration. Dr. Oppenheim assured the Chancellor of the unshakable faithfulness of Austria’s Jews to the Fatherland.

A plebiscite among workers, conducted under an agreement between Catholic and Socialist workers by the General Association of Trades Unions, showed that the labor masses, regardless of their ideological orientations, were backing the Chancellor and were resolved to maintain the freedom and independence of labor within a free and independent Austrian State. Copies of the proclamation are being circulated in factories for signatures of workers.

The four-week ban on public meetings is seriously affecting Jewish communal life. A number of scientific and literary lectures scheduled for the coming weeks have been cancelled. Nervousness of Austrian Jewry is reflected in the increased number of inquiries received by the Palamt (Palestine Office) and applications for visas at the American and British consulates.

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