A review of his investigations carried on during a two-and-a-half month’s trip abroad which led to the renewed determination that Hitlerism must be crushed by world opinion and political action, was given by Rabbi Stephen S. Wise, honorary president of the American Jewish Congress, at a press conference on his return from Europe.
Dr. Wise aired his views regarding the boycott of German products and Jewish relief, saying in substance that the problem in Germany is “far graver than has yet been told”, that “there is no understanding of the plans which look to the political uprooting and economic extermination of German Jewry” and that “Germany is in truth become a menace to world security and peace”.
How long can Hitlerism last? What action will be taken on the Jewish problem at the forthcoming session of the League of Nations Assembly? How can economic pressure be applied so that Germany will be forced to yield to world opinion? In what way can the world cooperate in damning Hitlerism?
Dr. Wise asserted with emphasis that Hitlerism will last “until the German people are undeceived”. The great majority of Germans scarcely know what is going on under their noses, he said, adding that the depression in the Reich must force ultimate surrender by Hitler’s forces.
The League at its session to be held in March will review the whole German situation, said Dr. Wise. Consideration is to be give to the “threat to the security of nations” which is coming from Germany.
The rabbi’s remarks were punctuated with outbursts of emotion he found it difficult to control.
“Hitlerism is the incarnation of intolerance at its basest,” he declared. Quoting Wickham Steed at a Chamber of Commerce meeting in London, he added, “Hitlerism is a Nordic myth based on the negation of Christ and the affirmation of Odin.”
The boycott against Germany must be moral as well as economic, Dr. Wise insisted. This will lead to political action.
“I cannot believe that liberty-loving countries such as England and France and America will endure the liberty-destroying, the justice-violating conduct of the Hitlerite Reich toward its own people.”
The decision agreed upon by the World Jewish Congress that a tribunal should be appointed “before which Jewish causes shall be brought with a view to informing the mind and awakening the conscience, and evoking the help of the Christian world upon which we do not fail to place our reliance”, was also discussed by Dr. Wise.
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.
