862.4016/1744

The Ambassador in Germany (Wilson) to the Secretary of State

No. 196

Sir: With reference to the Embassy’s telegram No. 307 of June 16, 11 a.m., reporting large scale arrests of Jews, I have the honor to inform the Department that this action was followed on the week-end of June 18 by organized demonstrations in Berlin against Jewish shopkeepers.

Starting late Saturday afternoon, civilian groups, consisting usually of two or three men, were to be observed painting on the windows of Jewish shops the word “Jude” in large red letters, the Star of David and caricatures of Jews. On the Kurfürstendamm and the Tauentzienstrasse, the fashionable shopping districts in the West, the task of the painters was made easy by the fact that Jewish shop-owners had been ordered the day before to display their names in white letters. (This step—which was evidently decreed in anticipation of a forthcoming ruling which will require Jews to display a uniform distinctive sign, disclosed that a surprisingly large number of shops in this district are still Jewish.) The painters in each case were followed by large groups of spectators who seemed to enjoy the proceedings thoroughly. The opinion in informed sections of the public was that the task was being undertaken by representatives of the Labor Front rather than as formerly has been the case by the S. A. or the S. S. It is understood that in the district around the Alexanderplatz boys of the Hitler Youth participated in the painting, making up for their lack of skill by a certain imagination and thoroughness of mutilation. Reports are received that several incidents took place in this region leading to the looting of shops and the beating up of their owners; a dozen or so broken and empty show cases and windows have been seen which lend credence to these reports.

A tour of the city on Sunday betrayed a sorry spectacle particularly in those districts inhabited by Jews where practically the only persons to be seen were policemen patrolling the vacant and besmirched streets. On Monday most of the owners of the painted shops in the West End had cleaned off the signs except in the case of the large stores of Rosenhain and Grünfeld which have long been the envy of their competitors, where a picket by small boys and evil-looking vagrants is still being maintained. On the whole, five years of Jew-baiting in Berlin seems to have exhausted the originality of the methods of public demonstration although the latest measures are significant as being the first attempt since 1933 to revive organized marking and picketing of Jewish shops.

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Incidentally it is learned that at least four foreign correspondents, including three Americans and an Englishman, were arrested for taking pictures of the painted Jewish shops. After making known their identity and insisting that they were unaware of any law making it illegal to take pictures of this nature, they were released although it is understood that the automobile and camera of the English journalist were provisionally held by the police.

The Deutsches Nachrichten Büro on Saturday, June 18, published a communiqué with respect to the arrests of last week. It is stated that in continuation of the series of raids at the end of May which had gathered in 317 suspect Jews, a number of new arrests had been carried out on June 16 resulting in the apprehension of 143 additional Jews. The Deutsches Nachrichten Büro claimed that the raids were directed exclusively against criminal elements and were not in the least motivated by political considerations. It was admitted, however, that a number of Jews had been taken into custody for their own safety to protect them against growing popular indignation caused by a new influx of Jews to the capital where the latter had evidently hoped to escape observation. With respect to those arrested it appears that while some of the aged and infirm have been released, the number of Jews still held remains about the same, reaching possibly a total of several hundred; it is understood that those who do not reside permanently in Berlin will be shipped back to the communities from whence they came and that others may be sent to a new work camp near Weimar.

On June 21, after the peak of the demonstrations had momentarily passed, the Völkischer Beobachter sought to make short work at one and the same time of the Jews and the foreign press which was portrayed as rushing to their aid. Mentioning that over 3,000 Jews had come to Berlin during the last month, the Völkischer Beobachter editorially declared that the population had been forced to adopt measures of self-help particularly as the Jews had taken to insulting women on the street. In the same issue of the paper, Karl Megerle, known chiefly for his writings on foreign politics in the Boersenzeitung, compares the moderation of the present measures against the Jews with the outrages perpetrated against the German People by the allied troops of occupation in the Rhineland and the Ruhr which had escaped all mention in the foreign press of that time.

To the already long list of anti-Jewish repressive measures is to be added the order of the Minister of Economics made public June 21 forbidding Jewish traders further access to German stock exchanges commodity markets; in the interests of general economy the Jewish traders will be permitted, however, to operate for the time [Page 382] being through properly empowered “Aryan” associates. On the same date it was announced that the postoffices would cease to deliver advertising matter posted by Jewish firms at the usual cheap mail rates, unless this material was addressed to Jewish clients or firms.

In conclusion it may be said that the present anti-Jewish campaign outstrips in thoroughness anything of the kind since early 1933, extending beyond a mere summer exuberance of the Party such as made itself manifest in 1935. Doubtless set off in the first instance by the taking over of the Austrian Jewish population, the current drive is evidently being fanned by the suspicion that many Austrian Jews may have come to Berlin to seek refuge, and by the feeling that emigration has been altogether too slow. Just as the outbursts of 1935 led to the Nuremberg legislation of September of that year, it is expected that the present campaign will also bring forth further legislative measures, and in this connection reference is made to the very clear prediction made by Dr. Goebbels41 in his speech delivered at the “Summer Solstice Ceremonies” in the Olympic Stadium on June 21.

As reported by the 12 Uhr Blatt, Dr. Goebbels inquired: “Is it not altogether outrageous, and does it not bring a blush of rage to one’s face, that in the last month no less than three thousand Jews have emigrated to Berlin? What do they want here?” Dr. Goebbels then said the task of dealing with the “international Jewry” in Berlin would be carried out according to Party and State laws and not on the street. Legal measures would be provided which in the foreseeable future would break Jewish influence in German economy. Dr. Goebbels “begged” the Jewish population not to act so provocatively in public and “demanded” the general public to maintain its discipline. (In this connection local foreign correspondents state that they have been informed that the “active measures,” such as the window-painting of last week, have been called off by the Party.)

It is regarded as possible that the predicted legislation may come after the registration of Jewish property has been completed on June 30 in accordance with the recent decree and may be announced at the forthcoming Party Congress in September, if not before. One measure which is proving effective in anticipation of more general and legal steps is the practice which is known to have been followed in several instances whereby a Party member will approach the Jewish owner of a prosperous business and will “advise” him to sell out at a price named arbitrarily by the prospective “Aryan” purchaser (often the Party member himself).

Respectfully yours,

Hugh R. Wilson
  1. Joseph Goebbels, German Minister for National Enlightenment Propaganda.