BERLIN JEWS RIOT AGAINST ENGLISH MOVIE AS BEING ANTI-SEMITIC

Grey River Argus, 23 February 1949, Page 3

BERLIN JEWS RIOT AGAINST ENGLISH MOVIE AS BEING ANTI-SEMITIC

BERLIN, February 21

Mobs of Jews rioted and twice attacked and damaged a Berlin theatre showing the British nim "Oliver Twist." The cinema manager has withdrawn the film from exhibitation. The British authorities had refused to ban the showing of the him, despite protests from the Jews in Berlin that it was anti-Semetic, and the signing of a petition bj- German politicians asking that the film ue withdrawn.

The Lord Mayor, Professor Reuter who signed the petition, said • the film threatened to re-arouse German anti-Semitism and hatred of Naz propaganda. On Sunday, a crowd of Polisii Jews took the matter into their own hands and burst into the cinema where the film was being shown. Cinema seats were broken and several people were injured before the British military police and Western sector German police made several arrests and restored order. When “Oliver Twist” was screened again on Monday, an angry mob of 5000 Jews gathered outside _ the vheatre and fought with police. The police used fire hoses and clubs in an attempt to hold back the demonstrators, but without much success.

British public safety ofiicers then intervened and ordered the patrons from the theatre.

The mob tore down signs outside the cinema, smashed the window of a police radio car, hurled rocks and finally used heavy stones to break down a side door of the theatre and force their way inside, but by this time the audience had dispersed. The World Jewish Congress headquarters in London has written to th British Foreign Oilice', urging it to witlidraw the film “Oliver Twist” from exhibition in Germany, because “the grotesque caricature of the JewHn the film would only serve to promote racialism.”