An astute move by the German Government to profit from the Italo-Ethiopian war was disclosed tonight with publication in the Official Gazette of drastic new exchange regulations prohibiting Jews and others seeking to emigrate from taking with them capital in the form of German goods.
The regulations permit German Jews willing to emigrate to Italy to take with them as much as 30,000 marks in cash provided they agree to accept the sum in a Reichsbank check to be exchanged for Italian lira.
Explanation of this exception to the stringent laws prohibiting withdrawal from the country of capital lies in the present situation in Italy as a result of which Germany is unable to realize on its large frozen lira credits in the Italian banks, the
value of which are decreasing as the lira weakens. An added reason for the exception is the fact that Germany is unable to convert its lira credits into imports from Italy since Germany, in the ordinary course of events, is unable to use sufficient Italian goods.
For the above-stated reasons Germany is willing to utilize Italian credits by exchanging them for Jewish capital. Under the regulations, the German Government will obtain from the Jews the full value of the lira under the gold standard. The Jews, however, stand to lose approximately forty percent of their money by the transaction since the lira’s value is much below par.
Taken from the Italian angle, the Jews will be unable to transfer their capital from Italy because of the drastic currency regulations in operation there since the Ethiopian conflict began and the League of Nations sanctions were put into effect.
Despite this seeming additional handicap, however, it is not doubted in Jewish circles here that many Jews will seek to utilize this method of escaping from Germany with their capital or some portion of it.
The regulations announced tonight prevent emigrants from taking goods from Germany in excess of 1,000 marks value. They apparently do not affect those Jews who plan emigration with their capital to Palestine under terms of the Palestine-Germany transfer agreement. The regulations definitely state that "exceptions can be made by the Government in certain cases," which is interpreted in Jewish circles as meaning those who intend to emigrate to Palestine under the transfer pact, through which Jews may withdraw a portion of their capital in the form of German goods.
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.
