Toyohara Yukio on the persecution of Jews in Germany in 1940
Metadata
Document Text
From: Consul Toyohara Yukio (Manzhouli)
To: Ambassador Umezu Yoshijirō (Shinkyō)
CC: MOFA Tokyo
Re: Situation of Persecution of Jews in Germany
Information gathered by the Foreign Affairs Section here for your reference.
- General Situation
Due to the outbreak of second great war in Europe the persecution of Jews in Germany has become intensified recently. At last the Jews feel their living to be under threat and have no choice but to seek refuge abroad.
- Testimonies
Main testimonies are as follows
- Due to the clandestine collaboration of Jews living in Germany and those in other countries, Germany ended up losing the economic warfare during the first great war in Europe. In view of this, the authorities are trying to avoid a repetition of such a scenario by driving them out of the country. However, there are about two million Jews in the country, and many occupy important places in society. Therefore, it is not easy to expel them. However, without expulsion, it will be difficult to ensure Germany’s economy in a long-term war. In my view, to make them leave Germany voluntarily, [the authorities] are using methods such as denying them jobs and making their life extremely restricted so as to expect the Jews to leave. Basically, the Jews do not have their own country and only engage in self-interest. Lacking patriotism, they are to have any sacrifice for the sake of interest/profit. For the sake of Germany, they are merely seeing [our war] to have nothing to do with them; worse, their deep-seated economic power is destroying Germany’s wartime control economy.
(told by a German named Peistein bound for Tokyo )
- Although more than two million Jews
in Germany like us have faced all kinds of persecution by the German
authorities in recent years, we have tried hard to make a living. With the
outbreak of the war in Europe, their methods have become more stringent and violent. At
last, our living is coming under threat, and we have reached the point of having no choice but to seek refuge abroad. Words cannot describe the ways of persecuting
us Jews. Under the ration
system of life necessities, compared to ordinary Germans, [we receive] one fourth of all
food except bread and one package of 50 cigarette each month. No sweets, alcohol
or similar items is given. It is worse when it comes to entertainment. We cannot go to the
cinema or restaurant because they post
No Jews Allowed
outside. When withdrawing money, we are limited to the amount for purchasing those life necessities and cannot freely access our savings.
At the personal level, the persecution is even more severe. Association with Germans is strictly forbidden, and even kids are not allowed to play with German kids. Although in legal terms we are not expelled from the country, the method used goes against humanity and arouses (uncontrollable) anger.
(told by a Jewish merchant named Frinkle bound for Shanghai)
- My Opinion
Given the situation described above, there is a need to closely monitor the movement of Jews in transit through our city.
References
- Updated 5 years ago
Japan Center for Asian Historical Records (JACAR)
- National Archives of Japan
- Sumitomo Fudosan Hongo Building 10F
- Tokyo
- Updated 5 years ago