Hero to Jailbird

Since Der Fuehrer dosed the Fatherland with his anti-Jewish purge, German Jews from Scientist Einstein down to the small-town sausagemaker have been kicked around. Prime exception has been 47- year-old German Jew Arnold Bernstein, head of Arnold Bernstein Line, Red Star Line and Palestine Shipping Co. Hitler, during his four years of dictatorship, has paternally patted Mr. Bernstein's head, graciously welcomed his contributions to German trade. Loudly cheered by Nazis was Jew Bernstein for elaborately equipping "garage ships" and docks with high-speed elevators, enabling cars to be transported at big savings. Loudly cheered was he for shipping Jews from Germany to Palestine, was even allowed to fly the swastika flag on his Jewish ships when doing so.

Three weeks ago Hitler's benign smile for Bernstein changed to a storm-dark cloud. Members of Hitler's secret police (Gestapo) collared Jew Bernstein secretly, flung him and two of his directors, also Jews, into a Hamburg jail. For a fortnight no journalist could learn the charges. Not till last week did Hitler, in the role of "Germany's Maritime Fuehrer," come through with the statement that Jew Bernstein & colleagues were held "for violation of foreign exchange regulations," that a State trustee had been appointed to operate the Bernstein lines pending the trial's outcome.

Such a business as Arnold Bernstein's involves the passing of large sums of money through Germany's exchange controls and the laws governing money exchange in Germany are so labyrinthine and rigorous that even the most innocent person may find he has unintentionally committed a crime punishable, especially if he is a Jew, by death.

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