An economic boycott of Germany on the part of Jews throughout the world in the event Hitler should come to power and seek to carry out his plans of depriving Jews of their citizenship, possessions and even of their domicile rights in Germany, is proposed by the Chicago Jewish Courier as the most effective means of meeting this eventuality.
The paper points out that Jews consume more German products than all the Balkan countries together. Should the Jews unite in a boycott of German products, the German industrialists will feel the loss, and having the choice between giving millions to Hitler as at present, and receiving millions from the Jews, they will sober up, according to the Courier.
The paper, presenting this project editorially, reviews the history of Jews in Germany and states that up until the present, Germany not only offered a haven to Jews, but may be regarded as the parent of Jewish culture.
The editorial says in part:
“In the past several centuries, the Jewish people, wherever resident, has been friendly in its attitude toward Germany. In Russia, the Jews were victims of pogroms. In Germany, they had peace and freedom. And if their emancipation was not complete, still Jews were able to attain great and influential positions in Germany. Then, too, Germany granted the Jews academic freedom. If the world today marvels at Jewish ability and Jewish creativeness, thanks are due to the cultural strides of German Jewry. Jewish culture has been bound up with German culture and the German Jewish philosopher, Herman Cohen, was not wrong when he declared that Germany is the motherland of modern Jewish culture, while Palestine is the fatherland of Jewry at large.
“Their friendship for Germany was evinced by the Jews during the period of the war. Soon after the outbreak of the world war, Jewries in all the lands not affiliated with the Allies, took a stand with Germany. And this pro-German stand was maintained until America entered the war on the side of the Allies. When the world war ended and the peace terms were announced, Jewry was opposed to their effect on Germany. Until the rise of Hitlerism, the Jews sympathized with Germany with the result that Germany profited.
“Germany is today the worst enemy the Jews have. Should Hitler come into power tomorrow, he would not hesitate not only to divest the Jews of their possessions, but to send them from the land where have resided their ancestors for
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.
