There is no friction between the German government and the Jews who wish to emigrate to Palestine, Dr. M. Weidner, head of the German state emigration bureau declared in an interview with the Deutsche Zeitung.
The German official stressed the fact that the official regulations for foreign exchange do not handicap the country, since the emigrants export that part of their possessions which they are allowed to take with them in the form of merchandise to be sold in Palestine.
“Our official dealings with the emigrating Jews now work without friction,” Dr. Weidner said. “The majority of those who leave Germany for Palestine are Zionists. They are to be distinguished from the Jews who adapted themselves to the West European manner of living and who refuse to return to the land of their ancestors to till the soil. The emigration of those Jews who go to Amsterdam, Paris, Prague or London, in order to trade, just as they did in Berlin has been stopped in the meantime.
“It is quite interesting to listen to the reports given by Jews who settled in Palestine and who returned to Germany for a short visit,” Dr. Weidner declared. “These Zionists are full of praise for Palestine. The deepest impression they experienced was to see for the first time in their lives their co-religionists as farmers.
“There are numerous farming settlements in Palestine. This has brought about a most remarkable state of affairs. Whereas the Jews in Germany were the middle-men between producers and consumers, this role in Palestine is played by the Arabs.”
The statement of the German official is in glaring contrast to the stand taken by Der Deutsche, official organ of the Nazi Labor Front. Under a headline “Jewish Usury in Palestine” the paper declares that the Arab farmers have suffered for generations under the unbearable interest on loans which the Jews have exacted without fear of punishment.
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.
