Measures to protect minorities in Upper Silesia after expiration of the Polish-German Minorities Convention on July 15 were asked today by the Executive of the World Jewish Congress in a memorandum to the nations guaranteeing the pact.
The congress asked Great Britain, France, Italy and Japan to invite Poland and Germany to continue the clauses of the convention dealing with minority rights. The convention was signed in 1922 under the auspices of the League of Nations.
Germany, fearing that Germans in the Polish section of the territory will be subjected to a “Polonization” campaign, has been reported ready to prolong the agreement, but Poland is regarded as unwilling.
The memorandum asked that minorities in Upper Silesia be given the right to carry on their present trades and professions, and that their property be protected against confiscation. The congress requested that the Hague Tribunal be asked to decide in cases of divergence of opinion.
The memorandum also asked that necessary steps be taken to avoid repressive measures against members of minorities who desire to exercise the right to petition the League where they feel their rights violated.
Finally, the memorandum asked that if insurmountable obstacles exist to a solution of the minority problem, the minorities be given a transition period to liquidate their business and emigrate, similar to that in the Saar when that territory was restored to Germany.
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.
