Jewish journalists and leading Jewish personalities were threatened with physical violence today in Austrian Nazi papers as reprisal for informing the world of the Jewish situation in Austria and causing the American Jewish Congress to submit a memorandum of protest to Edgar Prochnik, Austrian Minister to the United States.
The Nazi press, which also threatened all Austrian Jewry with violence, published the memorandum sent to Minister Prochnik and termed the document “a Jewish offensive against Austria.”
Neueste Nachrichten, Viennese daily, indicated that the “government is interested in those people who live in Austria and furnish material which is used abroad for such impertinent memorandums.”
A new and fatal blow to the hard-hit Jewish trade in Austria is expected to follow the decision asking the government to revise all 200,000 trade licenses here.
The action was taken at a meeting of the semi-official government economic agencies, including the Chamber of Commerce. The government was asked to determine whether the number of trade licenses was not too big and whether the commercial firms kept their books properly.
Jewish circles are anticipating in fear a wholesale ousting of Jews from legitimate trade.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
