Close upon the heels of the resignation of all the officers and directors of the United German Societies on Friday, came charges by Dr. Fritz Schlesinger, former treasurer, directed to Dr. Peter I. Kesseler, ex-vice-president, in which the writer makes the assertion that the new pro-Nazi element now controlling the organization intends to “propagandize the movement.”
The communication which was sent to Dr. Kesseler, presumably when the former vice-president was incumbent, is Dr. Schlesinger’s resignation and amounts to a review of the situation which forced the break in the organization.
Dr. Schlesinger’s citation of causes which culminated in his and subsequent other resignations from the United German Societies follows:
“The composition of the last meeting of delegates (held Monday evening, Sept. 19) obviated the possibility of members taking a neutral stand on the question of anti-Semitism.
“The problems of the German-Americans differ greatly from those in Germany. This inevitably destroyed the harmony of the United German Societies. The deportment of members who attended the Monday night meeting indicated to what degree the harmony was destroyed. What is to be feared is that our disunion may be the direct cause of dissension in other nationalist societies in America.
MOST DISCOURAGING FACT
“The most discouraging fact in all of the proceedings was the refusal of the constituency to recognize the need for approving the second paragraph (condemning anti-Semitism) in spite of the exhortation of the Board of Directors. The arguments in reference to the Hakenkreuzflagge as a sign of ‘Aryans’ and anti-Semitism are too well known to need special mention.
“If the representative of the German-Jewish organizations agreed to hoisting the Swastika on the German Day celebration (to be held October 29), which is only a matter of decency and a matter of international custom, it would be fair and just for the entire body to unite in abjuring the anti-Semitic connotation which is associated with the Swastika.
“But it was clearly indicated above all doubt that this move would have been alien to the pro-Nazi sympathies in the organization, which are obviously intended to propagandize the Nazi movement in America.”
Support to the charges that the meeting Monday evening was ‘packed’ by Nazi sympathizers was added yesterday when the text of a letter sent to the board of directors of the United German Societies by the Commercial Association of 1858 was made public. The letter disclosed that the association had only five accredited representatives at the meeting and had not authorized the demand for an increase in representation to 25. A demand to this effect was made at the meeting and was allowed after it was said the association had paid the dues required. The association disclaimed payment of these dues also. The extra votes given the association were all cast against the resolution condemning anti-Semitism.
MEANING OF THE BREAK
The walkout of the directorate on Friday night at a meeting held at the New Yorker Turnhalle on Lexington Avenue and 85th Street, is acknowledged to be the death-knell of the United German Societies as a liberal, non-partisan body with interests and purposes “loyal to American ideals as well as to the ideals of German liberty and fraternity.” It was learned on good authority that the united societies which have hitherto represented a membership of 10,000 and seventy affiliated units, will in the future promulgate the Nazi principia and make an attempt to win converts to the cause.
Subsidies from the central Nazi party in Germany, it was stated, will facilitate the work of coordinating the spread of Nazi propaganda in the United States. The assertion was made by one who is considered well-informed in these matters that the Steel Helmets, the Deutscher Nationaler Handlungsgehilfen Verein, the Freunde Des Neuen Deutschlands, and other pro-Nazi bodies in America, are under direct regency of the authorities in Berlin. And this means simply that Nazi money is smoothing the way for a widespread and concentrated campaign in America.
LOOK FOR 250,000 NAZIS HERE
One informant told a representative of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that within a year the party will have a following of more than 250,000 in New York City alone, provided the predictions of even neutral persons come to fruition.
Fear that the American commonality may possibly take cognizance of this “American Nazidom” and indulge in anti-Jewish discriminations has provoked certain individuals to look for a counter movement among German Jewish societies. The purposes of the Jewish-German bloc which divorced itself from the United German Societies will doubtless henceforth take on a new form. Self-protection and survival and violent anti-Nazi sentiment as well as, of course, religious tolerance, will be the mainstays of the German Jewry in America.
Robert Rosenbaum, president of the Federated German-Jewish Societies, sounded a warning against the spread of Nazi-ism in the United States. “German Americans have heretofore contributed wholeheartedly to the realization of high American principles,” said Mr. Rosenbaum, “and through this attitude have gained the fullest confidence of the American people. A new element has made its appearance, sent here for the express purpose of spreading Nazi propaganda under the direct auspices of the present German government, whose aim is to inject into the American system the deplorable theories of Hitlerism. It is this group that is jeopardizing the reputation of the German-Americans who have faithfully performed their duties as good American citizens so many years.”
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.
