- Headline
-
Hundreds of German Jews, Many in Tears, Beg for Passage to America
- Publication Date
- Saturday, November 12, 1938
- Historical Event
-
Anti-Jewish Riots Convulse German Reich (Kristallnacht)
This database includes 5,092 articles about this event - Article Type
- Newspaper
- Location
- Page Section and Number
- 1
- Author/Byline
- AP
- Article Text
- BERLIN, Nov. 12.—(By A. P.) The American consulate was a pathetic sight today as hundreds of Jews, many in tears, milled around beging for preferred treatment on their visa applications.
Many were women who, when questioned, said their husbands had been arrested in the anti-Jewish campaign of the past two days. Often they broke down in the midst of their story.
Consular officials said that Thursday—the day the Nazis smashed windows and burned synagogues—was unusually quiet at the consulate because Jews then did not venture into the streets. Friday the consulate was closed on account of Armistice Day, and today the visa seekers came in throngs.
But there were not only visa seekers. Consular officials had a definite impression that many of those standing in line patiently hour after hour merely wanted to be under an extraterritorial roof to prevent arrest.
Somehow they appeared to feel sheltered, even though but for a few hours, under the protection of the American flag.
Consular officials made their deductions from the fact that when such persons finally had their turn their questions were vague, indicating they had no definite plan for emigration. Applicants usually have the local Jewish relief committee give them all the preliminary information.
The consular officials, like other foreign observers, expressed the belief that the present anti-Jewish campaign was being aimed at the best exponents of the Jewish race in Germany—the elite, so to speak.
The raids also appeared to be directed only at men - History Unfolded Contributor
- Amy M.
- Location of Research
- Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com)
Learn More about this Historical Event: Anti-Jewish Riots Convulse German Reich (Kristallnacht)
- The “Night of Broken Glass” (The Holocaust: A Learning Site for Students)
- Kristallnacht: A Nationwide Pogrom, November 9-10, 1938 (Encyclopedia Article)
- Kristallnacht: The November 1938 Pogroms (Special Focus)
- Kristallnacht: How Did Religious Leaders in the US Respond?
- Kristallnacht 1938: As Experienced Then and Understood Now (Paper by Prof. Gerhard Weinberg)
Bibliography
Gilbert, Martin. Kristallnacht: Prelude to Destruction. New York: HarperCollins, 2006.
Pehle, Walter H., ed. November 1938: From "Reichskristallnacht" to Genocide. New York: Berg, 1991.
Read, Anthony. Kristallnacht: The Nazi Night of Terror. New York: Times Books, 1989.
Schwab, Gerald. The Day the Holocaust Began: The Odyssey of Herschel Grynszpan. New York: Praeger, 1990.
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