Dr. John Slawson, executive vice-president of the American Jewish Committee, said today that Jewish communal leaders in West Germany had told him that anti-Semitic banner headlines in neo-Nazi newspapers were “definitely” one of the reasons for the rise of violent anti-Semitic incidents in the Federal Republic. He cited the National und Soldatenzeitung by name as one such paper.
He said he had urged West German officials during his current visit to develop and present a positive program to the public, to combat the growth of neo-Nazi and anti-Semitic incidents. Such a step, he stated, would not only be the best way to allay “growing concern” inside West Germany and abroad, but would also be the best possible demonstration that the West German Government will not tolerate a resurgence of the Nazi ideology that brought “untold tragedy” to the world and to Germany. He expressed particular concern over the growing support in recent elections to the new neo-Nazi group, the National Democratic Party.
Dr. Karl Overbeck, of the West German Foreign Office cultural department, told Dr. Slawson yesterday that the Government would try to broaden a program aimed at strengthening West German democratic institutions through adaptation of methods used in the United States.
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.
