A vichtory for the section of the Reich cabinet headed by Minister of Economics Kurt Schmitt, which has stead fastly insisted on liberal treatment of the Jews in commerce, was seen here tonight in an official order to be published tomorrow in the press by Minister of the Interior Wilhelm Frick making government officials reponsible for ensuring undisturbed Jewish trading.
The order is addressed to all federal high officials and to the governors and the local government of every province in the Aryan clause was necessitated by “racial and state political reasons” but must not be extended byond the limits set.
“The Aryan clause is necessary for racial and state political reasons,”the order points out. “On the other hand, the Reich government has put itself within certain limits in its observance. which must be strictly observed.
“The German-Aryan legislation may be better judged within our country, as well as abroad, when these limits one respected throughout the entire country. It is especially inadmissible to inject the Aryan clause, which was chiefly intended for state and municipal officials, into other fields for which the clause was not intended.
“This applies especially to free trading as already emphasized by our Nazi government several times,” Frick’s decree stated. “Durge the state authorities to combat strictly and invasion of free trading and instruct elearly to all local executive officers to act and decide only on the basis of existing laws.
OBEDIENCE TO LAWS STRESSED
“Similarly, these officers must be instructed that it is their official duty to see that any invasion into commercial enterprises which is not permitted by our laws should be strictly checked.
“Only the Reich government can modify existing laws, not the executive organs of the government,” Frick warned. “These agencies must watch that the laws are carried out so long as they are in effect and should not be contradicted even if they are not perhaps fully in accordance with Nazi principles.”
Frick’s decree is considered a major victory for Dr. Schmitt who, actuated by fear that Nazi displacedment of Jews in industry and commerce and efforts leading to suspension of Jewish commercial activities would seriously affect the German economic structure, has strenuously fought to prevent Jews in business and commerce from being molested.
His frequent decreese protecting the Jewish position aroused the criticsm of the Nazi press which severely denounced him and were practicslly aullified by actions of Nazi party headquarters in issuing Contrary instructions to members of the party.
Since the decree issued tonight is in the name of Frick, one of the chiefs of the Nazi movement, and carries the weight of the Reich cabinet behind it, it is expected that it will carry far more weight than Schmitt’s unsupported commands and may, therefore, prove a measure affording some relief to Jews still remaining in German commerce and trade.
Significance is attached to the decree in that its issuance may mean that Schmitt has brought the rest of the cabinet around to his belief that continued discrimination against the Jews in commece was harmful not only to the victims, but to Germany’s economic situation as well, since the weakening of the position of so called Jewish firms reacted on the unemployment situation and economic conditions in general.
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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.
