Divorces in 1936 will reach an all-time peak in Germany as a result of the divorce law recently drafted by the German Academy of Jurisprudence, it is predicted in the German press.
Newspapers and Government officials are seeking to determine just how the proposed law, which would make race sufficient grounds for divorce, will affect certain classes of intermarriage. Interest is particularly voiced in the effect on intermarriages between “Aryans” and converted Jews and “Aryans” and the children of such unions.
Commenting on this aspect of the situation, the Voelkischer Beobachter, reflecting the Government viewpoint, makes it clear that “the blood principle and not the religious principle will be the determining factor.”
A similar view is held by Hanns Kerrl, Reich Minister for Church Affairs, according to the Frankfurter Zeitung.
Discussing the law in the official organ of the Academy, Dr. Risson, law counsellor, states that divorces will be granted wherever continuation of married life is rendered impossible on account of race-Divorces will be granted, Dr. Risson explains, if the applicant “made the mistake of not realizing the importance of racial affiliations.”
Writing in Deutsche Justitz, State Secretary Dr. Freisler, declares that divorces will be granted where “continuation of married life hinders the fulfillment of obligations to the German nation.”
The German Government, it is revealed in the Voelkischer Beobachter, is now engaged in compiling date on mixed marriages. According to the Beobachter, 1915 marked the peak of intermarriages when the proportion of marriages between Germans and Jews was 4.1 per thousand.
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.
