Anxiety is expressed here over the failure of the German government to carry out its promise to allow middle-class German Jews leaving for settlement in Palestine to withdraw one thousand pounds each from their private resources in Germany. It is learned on reliable authority that in the middle of April, following representations by the British government, German authorities agreed to permit such withdrawals, which the currency restrictions would otherwise have prevented. It was actually in connection with this permission that the British government granted special certificates for the German-Jewish refugees, allowing them entry as middle-class citizens in Palestine. In order to expedite their flight from Germany, the British government in this instance cancelled the usually required confirmation of the certificates in Palestine.
Suddenly, however, the German government has disregarded the specifications in the agreement, and reduced the permitted withdrawal from fourteen thousand to ten thousand marks, making it difficult for the emigrants to qualify for their middle-class Palestinian entry. In addition, the emigrants experience the same difficulty as all other Jewish refugees at the German borders. In spite of their permits to export money, they are frequently arbitrarily halted by frontier officials, who confiscate their funds, compelling them to return to Berlin to seek redress.
It is understood that German banks have been instructed to maintain a strict record of large currency notes withdrawn, so that in case these notes are illegally exported it will be easy to trace them to the person who made the withdrawal, or to his relatives in Germany.
The number of refugees who have availed themselves of the special middle class category established for German-Jewish immigrants to Palestine is not yet known, but the foreign office is making inquiries on the subject, Sir Philip Cunliffe-Lister, Minister of Colonial Affairs, revealed when he answered a question addressed to him by Representative B. Janner in Parliament today. Mr. Janner wanted to know whether the special two hundred certificates allocated to these immigrants had already been exhausted, and, if that was the case, whether more would be granted.
The Italian liner Vulcania, which arrived in New York yesterday after a Holy Year cruise, reported that it had carried 900 German Jews, mostly merchants and their families, to Palestine.
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.
