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The Southern Israelite
VOL. XXVII
BETWEEN US by B
GENERAL lifiRARYi \ Weekly N
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NO. 40
Report on Europe
Mr. Smolar, who is Editor-in-Chief of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
has just returned from a month in Europe.
The American Government has played no small role in quietly
forcing the Austrian Government to enter into reparations talks
with Jewish organizations. On my flying visit to Austria and Ger
many I learned a good deal about the close watch American represen
tatives in these countries keep on the Jewish situation. Their behind-
the-scenes action deserves the highest praise of American Jewry.
Here and there one finds an American official in these countries
who is not so friendly to Jew's, but they are the rare exceptions. One
of these exceptions is the American Consul in Vienna who has ac
quired a reputation for going out of his way to make unnecessary
difficulties for Jewish applicants for American immigration visas.
No such complaints are heard about the American Consul in Salz
burg, who is very well liked and highly respected.
American military authorities in Austria openly disapprove of
the policy adopted by the U. S. Consul in Vienna on the granting of
visas to Jews. However, under State Department regulations, the
Consul is actually a czar on such matters. Xt is, therefore, very un
likely that many Jews in Vienna will receive immigration visas to
the United States, although quite a substantial number of them are
entitled to such visas. Especially among those who for many years
were interned as refugees in Shanghai and are now back in Austria.
Mission to Austria
Jewish leaders in Austria were greatly surprised to see how
easily—staying only two days in Vienna—I obtained interviews with
Austrian Chancellor Dr. Leopold Figl, Vice-Chancellor Dr. Adolf
Schaerf, and Foreign Minister Dr. Karl Gruber. The truth of the
matter is that these top members of the Austrian Cabinet were as
much interested in seeing me as 1 was in seeing them. The subject
which I discussed with them was whether they sincerely intend to
pay reparations to Jews for Jewish property in Austria looted by
the Nazis.
From the talks I had with them, it became clear that although
there is no unanimity among the Cabinet members on this subject,
there can be no doubt that a settlement will be reached with the
Jewish groups. And this is what Chancellor Figl was especially
eager to convey through me to Jewish leaders in the United States.
It will not involve as huge a sum as the German reparations to Israel
and the Jewish groups, but it will nevertheless run to millions of
dollars. The method of payment will probably also be different from
the one by Germany.
The Austrian Government is anxious that the reparations agreed
upon should be paid not to Jewish groups abroad, but to the Jewish
communities within Austria. Its argument is that a substantial part
of the Jewish population in Austria is poor and sick and in need of
communal support. Such support can be given only if the Jewish
communities have sufficient funds to conduct their social welfare
work. Reparations, paid to the Jewish communities over a period
of about ten years, will guarantee a substantial budget for these
communities for that period. In this argument, the government will,
no doubt, have the backing of the Jewish community leaders in
Austria. The advantage for Austria from such an arrangement is
that the reparations will be paid in Austrian currency and will re
main in the country. Whether the Jewish groups from abroad which
will conduct the negotiations with Austria will agree to such an
arrangement is a different story. These groups are: The American
Jewish Committee, the J.D.C., the Jewish Agency and the World
Jewish Congress.
z,i Chicago Groups Testify
Against McCarran Act
CHICAGO (JTA) — Twenty-
three Chicago Jewish organiza
tions, with a membership of
150,000, called for drastic amend
ment of the McCarran Immigra
tion Act as hearings before the
President’s Commission on Im
migration and Naturalization
held here last week-end. Similar
requests were voiced at the hear
ings by representatives of Pro
testant and Catholic organiza
tions.
Attorney Max Swiren, repre
senting the 25 Jewish groups,
testified in favor of revision of
present immigration and natura
lization laws which, he said, rel
egate “the naturalized citizen to
a secondary position, whose ex
ercise of the freedoms guaran
teed by the Constitution would
jeopardize his precious citizen
ship.”
Branding the immigration
quota system as racist and un
democratic, Mr. Swiren said the
primary concern in the admis
sion of immigrants should be
their worth and need, not their
place of birth. On behalf of the
organizations represented, he
submitted a four-point program
calling for:
1. Doubling of the annual
number of visas for immigrants.
2. Establishing a national
immigration policy board which
would set criteria for the ad
mission of immigrants in a par
ticular year in accordance with
national and world needs. Pref
erence would be given to persons
seeking asylum from racial, re
ligious, or political persecution;
persons seeking to join their
families in the Unted States; and
persons having special skills and
training.
3. The right to administra
tive and judicial review of all
decisions under our immigration
and naturalization laws.
4. A revision of present de
portation laws to prevent their
use as a substitute for criminal
proceedings. He urged that our
criminal laws be relied upon to
deal with infraction by alien and
citizen alike.
ST. PAUL (JTA)—Modifica
tion of the McCarran Immigra
tion Act was demanded here by
representatives of all three ma
jor religious groups appearing at
a hearing before the President’s
Commission on Immigration and
Naturalization.
Speaking for
Jewish Council,
the Minnesota
Rabbi Gunther
Plaut stated that the McCarran
Act “incorporates into law the
horrible myths of race suprema
cy and race superiority.” Lead
ers of the local Protestant and
Catholic churches similarly ob
jected to various aspects of the
McCarran Act and asked for its
ZOA Parley in Savannah
ToHearPetach Tikvah Mayor
Savannah has the welcome mat
out this weekend for the Zionist
leaders from the Southeast Re
gion who will gather in this coas
tal city for their annual confer
ence.
Featured speaker at the ban
quet Sunday evening will be
Mayor Saffer of Petach Tikvah.
He will address a group to be ser
ved at the Jewish Educational Al
liance, according to Michael Ad-
ilman, conference chairman.
The program will also present
Dr. Sidney Marks, executive di
rectors, and Mendel N. Fisher,
who heads the Jewish National
Fund of America.
The two will spearhead the
grass-roots consideration of na
tional Z.O.A. policies recently
delineated by Rabbi Irving Mil
ler, president.
Among the special entertain
ment highlights planned during
the weekend are a special services
at the Agudath Achim Synago
gue Friday evening and an Oneg
Shabbat on Saturday afternoon
at R’nai IPrith Jacob Synagogue,
with Savannah Hadassah serving
as hostess.
Synagogues Sold $4,000,000
In Israel Bonds During Holidays
NEW YORK (JTA) — More
than $4,000,000 in Israel bonds
were sold in communities
throughout the nation which con
ducted special Israel bond drives
in synagogues during the High
Holy days, it has been announc
ed by Henry Montor, vice-presi
dent of the State of Israel bond
organization.
Mr. Montor stated that one of
the outstanding selling jobs in
the nation was accomplished by
Milwaukee, where almost $350,-
000 in bonds were sold in syna
gogues which joined in the en
terprise. More record-breaking
returns were achieved in Wash
ington, D. C., where $300,000
worth of bonds were sold. Al
though the complete returns
from New York City are not
available, Mr. Montor estimated
that more than $1,000,000 in sub
scriptions had been recorded to
date in New York. The State of
New Jersey set a high water
mark in bond sales during the
special High Holy Day drive, he
reported.
German Reparations Pacts
*****
Trends in Germany
Talks I had with Jewish leaders in Germany established that
there will be no more emigration of Jews from Germany. The ap
proximately 20,000 Jews now living there are there to stay. About
a third of them reside in Berlin, which is still in ruins.
It will take at least 25 years to rebuild the devastated houses
in Berlin, and even then the city will never look the same as in pre-
Nazi days. But the Jewish population of Berlin is gradually begin
ning to adjust itself economically, although there are still many
Jew's dependent on the support which they receive from the local
Jewish community. Many Jews are again in business in Berlin and
other cities in Germany and quite a number of Jewish doctors and
lawyers are practicing again. In Berlin today there are also a num
ber of East European Jews who have made up their minds to settle
permanently in the city. Most of them are engaged in business.
There is a good deal of intermarriage in Germany between Pol
ish Jews and German girls, with the children being brought up in a
Jewish spirit. One of the most remarkable things one learns in Ber
lin is that there are in the city about 2,000 Jews who were hidden by
Germans during all the years of the Nazi regime. Also that there are
1,500 Jews in the city whom their “Aryan” wives refused to divorce
despite Nazi pressure. These Jews were sent to labor camps, but
their German wives stood by them throughout and even sent food
packages to the camps from the meager food rations which they re
ceived during the war. The families were, of course, reunited after
the fall of the Nazi regime, and both the men and the women are
very religious.
I saw plenty of blond “Aryan” women in Berlin synagogues on
the Jewish High Holidays, following the prayers quietly from prayer
books with German texts.
To Aid 500,000
NEW YORK (JTA)—A half
million victims of Nazism, of all
faiths, and their families, resid
ing in and outsde Western Ger
many will benefit directly from
the agreements sigfned at Lux-
emberg last month by the Con
ference on Jewish Material
Claims Against Germany and the
Bonn Government, Dr. Nahum
Goldmann, presiding officer of
the Claims Conference, declared
here this week-end.
Dr. Goldmann, who left this
week-end for Europe and Israel,
said that although the Confer
ence negotiated only on behalf of
major Jewish, organ i zations, the
agreement provides for the en
actment of Federal legislation
from which all victims of politi
cal, racial and religious persecu
tion by the Nazis will benefit. He
estimated that 200,000 of the to
tal number of potential benefic
iaries reside in the United
States.
Dr. Goldman refused to esti
mate the amounts Germany
Nazi Victims
would have to pay under these
provisions. However, he said that
“the benefits to each individual
would be considerable and the
total sum impressive.” Non-Jew-
ish victims of Nazism will bene
fit additionally from a global
amount which the German Gov
ernment has agreed to provide
for them. This commitment fol
lowed, or resulted from, a sep
arate global payment of $107,-
000,000 for Jewish victims ne
gotiated by the Conference.
The Germans own estimate,
Dr. Goldman said, is that a sum
of $750,000,000 to $900,000,000
will be paid out under this leg
islation.
Concern in Italy
ROME (JTA) — The Jewish
community and other religious
minorities in Italy are deeply
concerned by the Italian Govern
ment’s action in ordering the
closing of the Churches of
Christ, a Protestant sect, and
are closely following develop
ments in the case.
Minorities’ spokesmen ex
pressed the hope that out of the
discussion over this case would
come a stricter application of the
constitutional guarantees as op
posed to the police laws of the
facist period still being applied
to religious minorities here.
TRUMAN’S IMMIGRATION INVESTIGATORS
WILL HOLD HEARING FRIDAY IN ATLANTA
A special session of the President’s Commission which is in
vestigating the inequities of the McCarran Immigration MeaBure
has been set for Friday, Oct. 17, in Atlanta.
The hearing will be held at the Old Post Office Building and
representations from the Jewish Community Council, the Federation
for Jewish Social Services and possibly the Anti-Defiamation League
will be on hand.
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