Four Jewish cemeteries were desecrated last week in Germany, the “Israelitische Familienblatt” reports. In Rhens, in the Coblenz district, it says, six gravestones were smashed in the local Jewish cemetery. There is no trace of the vandals.
In the village of Gemuenden, near Westerburg, an ancient Jewish cemetery has been desecrated. Out of the 19 tombstones in the cemetery, 12 have been smashed, and the others seven have been painted over with swastikas. Practically all the inhabitants of Gemuenden are members of the Nazi Party, the paper says. The only Jews left in the village are an old couple, who used to live in the best relations with the rest of the population, but now they are constantly subjected to anti-Jewish vilification. Jews in the vicinity never dare to set their foot in the village, because of the violent anti-Jewish feeling existing there.
In the Jewish cemetery of Vacha, in Thuringia, several graves have been desecrated, and the carcase of a swine was thrown on the graves. The Jewish community of Vacha has offered a reward of 50 Marks for information leading to the arrest of the vandals.
In the Jewish cemetery of Heilsberg, in East Prussia, a number of tombstones have been painted over with swastikas and the letters N.S.D.A.P., the initials of the Nazi Party. Here, too, the Jewish community is offering a reward of 50 Marks for the apprehension of the vandals.
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.
