From The Testimony Christadelphian Magazine (1933):
Germany's so-called "wisdom and knowledge"—her "kultur"—have perverted her. German Jewry was famed the world over for its industry and integry. Hitlier brought it to ruins in less than a month. Intimidation was followed by indignities on the Jews; then came systematic persecution and hounding from office and shop; finally there was the Haman-like decree to boycott all Jews and tehir businesses. And, incidentlly, the world was surprised to find that nearly half the ships in teh two princap shopping streets in Berlin were closed, because Jews were the proprietors. There is little doubt that these things have been accomplied by floggings, torture and death. “Thou didn’t show them no mercy.”
This is a settled, deliberate policy of the Hitler Governemnt, not a sudden outbreak of fanaticism, or of repres- sion, born of panic. Hitler's Twenty- five points were drawn up in 1920and were declared to be unalterable—an- other reminder of a Bible parallel, for Haman hoped the same for his decree. Point Four of Hitler's Programme reads :
No one can be a Citizen who is not German born. No one can be a member of the German Nation who is not of German blood. A Jew, therefore, cannot be a member of the German Nation or a Citizen. Other laws permit foreign nationals to live in Germany only as guests subject to special aliens legislation, and every public office of whatever kind is to be held only by citizens. Point Twenty-four demands religious freedom for all denominations so long as they do not endanger the stability of the State, and goes on to declare : "The Party, as such, takes its stand on a positive Christianity, without com- mitting itself to any particular creed; it combats the materialist-Jewish spirit within and without " The avowed policy of the new regime in Germany is anti-Jewish. Staggering as it is that one of the Great Powers should adopt, in these days, a policy as stupid as it is barbarous, it was the sequel which caused the hearts of Bible lovers to burn with- in them. One newspaper described the Saturday of Germany's boycott of the Jews, as the most notable day for Jewry since the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. But what is of far greater significance was the united rally and definite action of the Jews which provoked the boy- cott. The Jews in New York began the boycott by declaring they would not deal with Germans, doing so as a protest against Hitler's policy. Jews in London at once adopted the same course, but unofficially, and only the fear of terrible reprisals in Germany—a fear which proved well-founded—prevented the Jewish Board of Deputies giving their official sanction to a boycott here. In short, for the first time since the days of the Maccabbees, the Jews stood up against their foes, and although the war they were prepared to wage was an economic one, it was as effective as an armed conflict. Had Germany continued the fight, nation- ally she would have lost. It has been for our generation to witness a Jewry strong enough and spirited enough to stand up in her own defence against one of the powers of Europe and win the day. And at this stage let us return to the Divine principle to which I drew attention earlier, that God afflicts the nation whose brutality He uses to punish His own people. The principle is declared through the prophet Zechariah as an earnest that Jerusalem is to be restored. These are the words : Thus saith the Lord of Hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy. And I am very sore displeased with the nations that are at ease : for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction. There- fore thus saith the Lord; I am re- turned to Jerusalem with mercies : my house shall be built in it, saith the Lord of Hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem. Cry yet, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; My cities through pros- perity shall yet be spread abroad; and the Lord shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem. The dispersion of the Jew is the mark of God's displeasure with them, but when we see a nation "helping forward the affliction" it is an indica- tion that God will yet comfort Zion and once more prosper her cities. Actually, Hitler's persecution is aid- ing that prosperity. Mr. Neville Laski states that there were 600,000 Jews in Germany, of whom something under 100,000 are foreign born. Many of them are wealthy and influential, and these are those who have been able to flee from Germany. To others, special cheap rates have been inaugurated so that they may go to Palestine. Just one press cutting (from the Daily Telegraph) : —
Reuter's Copenhagen correspon- dent reports that all trains entering Denmark from Germany yesterday were crowded with German Jews fleeing from the boycott. A telegram from Amsterdam also reported that during the whole day a stream of Jewish exiles from Germany has been trickling steadily into Holland...Among the exiles were well- known German bankers and indus- trial magnates. So far more than 400 Jews have arrived in Holland from Germany. - The Testimony, April 1933
Readers of the Testimony are familiar with the accounts in the Press of the savage outbreak of persecution, which the Jews of Germany have been the subjects of, at the hands of Hitler and the Nazi party.