In an attempt to divert the growing anger of the Czech population from the Nazi reign of terror that has been raging in the Czech Protectorate, the German officials and the Nazi-dominated Czech press today launched a violent anti-Semitic drive seeking to prove that the Jews were the instigators of all the anti-Nazi activities of recent months.
Highspot of the Nazi campaign was a decree issued today by Reinhard Heydrich, new “Protector” of Bohemia and Moravia, ordering the closing down of all synagogues throughout the Protectorate, because “long ago they ceased to serve as a place of religious freedom and became a center of subversive Jews and a hotbed of mouth-to-mouth propaganda.”
New measures announced by the police decreed that Czechs showing kindness toward Jews will be severely punished, since such action “shows enmity toward Germany.” All persons who behave in an “ostentatiously friendly manner to Jews in the streets or at public places” will be liable to be taken into protective custody, the police announced.
Commenting on these drastic measures the Prague radio stated that: “Jews have played the greatest part in inciting Czechs against the Germans, and are particularly involved in organizing resistance in the economic sphere. These measures once and for all put an end to the evil doings of the Jews.”
The German-controlled Protectorate press hints today that these measures are the last warning that will be given to the Czechs. The Zet Podelnik writes: “Czechs found associating with Jews must bear the consequences of excluding themselves from their own nation and will therefore be treated like Jews.”
Other papers call for the elimination of Jews from Czech towns and their confinement in concentration camps. The Prodelni Listi declares: “Considering the sufferings that Jews have inflicted upon our nation these measures are far too mild. Czech blood has been shed for Jewish crimes.”
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.
