The Jesuit Pater Bichlmair publishes here figures concerning Catholic conversionist activity in Vienna, showing that from January, 1928, till June, 1934, there were about 1,000 conversions in Vienna, 447 of which were from Judaism.
“In 1930, twenty-seven Jews were converted; in 1931, forty-three; in 1932, forty-two; in 1933, 102, and in the first half of 1934, 154. In the entire period of 1934 we anticipate six times as many conversions as in 1930,” Pater Bichlmair said. “We expect that 250 Jews will be baptized during this year.”
It is pointed out in this connection that a large number of Jews were entered as Konfessionslos before they were baptized, and that the number of baptized Jews is therefore larger than it first appears.
Pater Bichlmair stated that on the basis of his experience the reasons for conversions are:
1. —Complete uprooting from the Jewish people, and the desire to become for idealist reasons rooted into the Christian people.
2. —Approximation to the Catholic environment.
3. —Intended marriage with a Catholic.
4. —Adaptation to the dominant political regime.
5. —Yearning for religion among people who have been for years without any religion.
6. —Adjustment to the religion of the children.
“The idea that the baptism of Jews is a failure because it is not genuine and only external, is an untenable allegation on the part of fanatical anti – Semites,” Pater Bichlmair asserted.
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.
