THE JEW IN GERMANY
[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.] SIR,—Some extracts from a letter I have just received from a kinsman at present staying in a large German city appear to me to be of more than personal interest. Since one cannot be too careful in such matters I have suppressed the name of the city and had better sign myself as merely,
X. Y. Z.
" I am staying with a Jewish family, and as far as the city where I am at present is concerned I am a social outcast. You would not believe the degradation which these people have to suffer, and I am beginning to wonder whether civilisation has not gone round the bend a bit. All over the city there are notices, slanging the Jews and telling people to boycott these " filthy, idle parasites," placed if possible on houses occupied by a Jewish family. I wanted to take the family in my car to a place in Austria, but they cannot come, because all Jews here have had their passports cancelled. The only way they can get. a passport is, by signing a document to the effect that they will leave Germany and never return.
" The story of this family since 1933 is a tale of misery ; having been rich in pm-Nazi days they now find themselves on their beam ends. The father, who was a doctor, is dead, and the very talented daughter is forbidden to teach music or languages, or even to find employment. She is a wonderful rider and has a great reputation, but is not allowed to ride in public. She rides surrep- titiously in the park, and I often go there and watch her. People make rude remarks about her and look at me as if I was something unclean.
" The interesting thing about all this is that many Nazis here have given up the Jewish boycott, as they realise how far things have gone, but they don't say so. I often meet one of the riding masters at the riding school, who was a violent Nazi, and I have talked about the Jewish question with him. He has rather lost his hatred for the Jews now, having seen how disgracefully they have been treated. I spend most of my time trying to cheer up the poor old Frau, who says she is simply 'living from one day to the next, not knowing what will happen next. All the Jews here are convinced that there-will be a mighty upheaval against them now that the Olympic Games are over, and hundreds are leaving the country every day. The Frau is quite resigned to. her fate and says that death would be a very merciful .relief. People in England don't realise what these unfortunate people are enduring, especially in the matter of petty persecutions which are never mentioned in the papers."
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