The Wilmington morning star., 1945-07-31
GERMAN PALESTINE,
PROBLEM GROWING;
MORE ACUTE DAILY
BY ERIC GOTTGETRrr

JERUSALEM - lP - To.4 a..
Jews were thrown out of Germanr
is a fact; Whether the Gern.n.
should be thrown out of Palestins
is a hot question here TODAY
The Palestine government \
been comforting with the Bri,iss
on the problem of readmittinu ,ba
Germans to their SIX settlenoen.,
in Palestine and giving them bar,
their property holdings, which
were considerable.
There are many proposals. Soma
for the benfit of Jewish pongr.n,
orphans and the victims of Fn
ropes infamous conc ntra+ion
camps. Others propose that pslsI.
tine Jewery appropriate this pron.
erty as compensat on for ali III,
possessions Hitler's follovp,s
wrenched from Europe's Jews
number of whom are finding il barl
shedding in Palestine today. A Jew.
ish ex-soldiers' league put forward
the idea that the German propert,
be given to Palestine soldiers re-.
turning home.
The German villages contained
four or five thousand Germans be.
fore the war. Ch'ldren in tba
streets spoke the pure Wurtembera
dialect of their grandfathers who
were Christians come to Palestine
out of religious motives. One q,
their villages, high in Gallee is
still named Bethlehem in mdiffer.
ence to the real Bethlehem South
of Jerusalem. One Chr stan Holf.
man, Wurtemberg theologian. in.
vestigated Palestine in 1858 and 10
years later returned, with follo%.
ers, to open the Holy Land TO Ger.
man spiritual expression.
Twice German life in Palestine
has been interrupted. The first
time was during World War when
after the Turkish collapse. the Ger.
mans were interned in Egypt by
the British. But later, they "a.
turned and got their property hack.
The second interruption anne
with Hitler's drive for Leben.
stratum. Able-bodied men were in.
termed. The aged, the women and
the children were left in their sci.
Elements but guarded.
These settlements and all Ger.
man property in Palestine - the
Germans regarded in the Naz
policy light of German soil over.
seas" The sale of German prop.
erty was forbidden by Hitler, and
most of Palestine's Germans be.
came ardent Nazis.
German Palestine" provided
soldiers for the Wehrmacht, ex.
perts on the Jewish problem and
scholars for the Reich learned in
the Hebrew language.
The German hand was strongly
suspected in preWar sturbances
by foreign Arabs skilled in the use
OF modern weapons. One Palestine.
born German was among German
parachutists who were captured in
the Jordan valley last October.
The Germans have asked to be
released from internment, some Of
them on the grounds that they
signed statement against Nazism
year ago. One German was re.
leased, but when someone sent him
flowers and a card of best wishes
the press stormed protest To
many the question of permitting
Germans to return to their settle
ments is clear-cut question Of
determination in the Eisenhower.
ian sense of the word.
To others it is not so simple a
matter. In any confiscation Of Ger
man property for the benefit Of
Palestine's Jews the Arab press
sees a strengthening of the Zionist
position in Palestine. The Arabic
Jaffa Daily Falestin writes;
Nov that Germany has co.,
lapsed, the British government IS
free to regard this property as part
OF the war booty or give II back
to the others. the peculiar position
of Palestine does not allow any
property to be offered to the Jews
that will help to strengthen the
Zionists, Irrespective of whether
that property was taken over by
government from the Ottoman En-
pire after the last war or from
defeated nations in this