Persecution of Jews Not a Domestic Affair, Ambassador Winant Says

The view that the persecution of Jews in any country is a matter of international concern and cannot be considered a purely domestic matter, was expressed today by Mr. John G. Winant, United States Ambassador to Great Britain, in the course of a speech delivered at Leeds University.

“The Jewish persecution in Germany,” Mr. Winant said, “is no longer a domestic issue. The trouble was that our world had been losing the sense of solidarity, the sense of certain decencies without which no civilization could keep up its immunity against the disease of barbarism. What was true of our attitude towards minorities was also reflected in our indifference to the fate of other nations. A slow decay of conscience was taking place in a world of declining economic stability.”