Secretary of State Dean Acheson and United States High Commissioner for Germany John J. McCloy wore urged today “to devise and implement a program to destroy the revival of the Nazi scourge by all means necessary” in a resolution adopted by the national executive board of the Jewish Labor Committee.
Expressing a “deep sense of shock” at current developments in Germany, the 150-member board at a special meeting decried the re-emergence of anti-Semitic and nationalistic forces and the failiure of the Western denazification program in Germany. “For the past two years,” the J.L.C. resolution stated, “we have seen a revival of ideologies and forces in Germany similar to those that once established the political dictatorship and the bestial social and economic system of Nazism. The denazification program we all hopod would eliminate Nazis from positions of power in government has failed, while those who have tried to prosecute the Hitler henchmen and to help usher in democracy, find themselves jobless and persecuted.
“The seats of economic power in industry which supported Hitler’s regime and its militarism are now again occupied by those former owners, directors, managers and financial manipulators. Ex-Nazis are again in leading positions in the government,” the resolution declared. It cited statistics on the number of government officials in the service of the German states or the Federal Government and Parliament of West Germany who are former Nazis. “Everywhere Nazi forces are becoming more aggressive,” the statement said. “Political anti-Semitism once again rears its head and is characteristic of a number of political parties and groups in German life.”
The resolution further criticized American policy in Germany for its reliance on the conservative and nationalistic elements instead of giving support to the democratic trade union and labor forces which are the only organized groups making an effort to oppose the growth of Nazism and anti-Semitism. The Committee’s recommendations, based on months of study by its representatives in Germany, advocated the following program:
1. All those guilty of spreading the poison of anti-Semitism and engaging in violence and destruction against Jews and all other minorities shall be promptly prosecuted and punished.
2. All those who attempt to undermine the democratic form of government shall be called to justice and the growth of groups advocating Nazi doctrines and totalitarian ideologies shall be sternly dealt with.
3. Our government and its Western allies must show greater understanding and give more assistance to the labor and democratic forces in Germany, as the strengthening of these elements constitutes in no small measure a bulwark for democracy and freedom.
4. It is urged that the resolution now in Congress for the establishment of a Presidential Commission to inquire into the German situation be enacted and that such a Commission be appointed at the earliest possible time.
“We feel that the time has come when we must warn and urge that concrets measures be taken to change the developments in Germany. To be silent is to betray the millions who perished, as well as to betray world democracy and peace,” the resolution said.
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.
