News Brief

While the appointment of a new police chief at Es### and his promise to ensure the opening of the Jewish shops, even under police protection, gives some promise of relief — the contagion continues to spread. Thus, at Bottrop and Muelheim, all Jewish stores have been blockaded by Nazi pickets and have been compelled to close down. There, too, the entrances were obstructed and Nazi crowds stood outside shouting “Don’t buy from Jews! Support the German middle-class.”

Although, in most cases the Nazis officially disclaim responsibility for the organized action against Jewish stores, it remains a fact that they have perfected special machinery for that purpose. In numerous cities, they publish lists of firms from which Nazis may buy. These lists also carry slogans such as “See to it that Christian Festivals are not desecrated by Jewish knick-knacks”; “Middle-class people, your house burns”; “Join the fight for the salvation of the German middle-class.”

In addition, the Nazis are responsible for the distribution of vast numbers of hand-bills and posters with texts calling for boycott of Jewish businesses. In this campaign, the National Socialists have stigmatized department stores as a diabolical Jewish plan to destroy the German middle-class. The effect of this agitation and of the supervision exercised over Nazi purchases is shown by the fact that they even issue a special form in which those accused of having bought from Jews may make a signed declaration denying this fact. There are also forms in which persons who may have charged other Nazis with having bought from Jews, may make an official retraction if their charges are shown to be baseless.

According to the Hamburger “Familienblatt” the boycott of Jewish shops took a serious turn at Bornplatz, where the synagogue as well as numerous Jewish shops were attacked.

The attackers of the synagogue, who were unidentified, demolished all ### front windows and destroyed framed notice-board. In the sa### neighborhood, numerous Jewish shop were broken into, and the goods displayed in the windows destroyed and scattered. Uniformed Nazis also penetrated a Jewish house and forced the denizens into the street, when regular police arrived and the Nazis departed.

At Oberhausen the windows of five Jewish shops were smashed. The Committee of the local community who visited the police, was assured that protection would be provided for Jewish citizens.