41. From 1936, "The Intelligent Traveler's Guide to Germany"

From "The Intelligent Traveler's
Guide to Germany",
Knight Publications,
1936,
Photos
courtesy of
the
German Tourist
Information Office.
 
From pages 6 and 7:
 
A few preliminary suggestions
are given here:
The American traveler
to Germany
should acquaint himself
with the latest news
on the subject
of "blocked" marks
and
the mysteries
of money exchange.
 
Germany
continues to remain
on the gold standard;
its mark
is therefore
equivalent to,
roughly, 41 cents
in American money.
 
However,
finding itself
desperately
in need of the money
brought in
by travelers,
the present
German government
has embarked on
a policy of
varying the value
of the mark
for the various classes
who trade with Germany.
 
"Blocked" marks
are one
of a number of ways
in which the value
of the German mark
has,
in effect, been deflated.
 
Any long-established
travel bureau
should be able
to supply the inquirer
with
up-to-the-minute
information
on
the exchange
of American currency
into German marks.
 
Another thing
to remember:
If you are
a Jew,
or
are of Jewish descent,
or
have even
a remotely
Jewish ancestor,
and are
still determined
to visit Germany,
it will be
to your advantage
to acquaint yourself
with the disabilities
imposed upon
the German Jews.
 
Even though
you are not Jewish,
it will pay you
to
make a full study
of this subject,
especially
if you have a Jewish friend
in Germany,
or if your dark features
or facial characteristics
can, by any stretch
of the imagination,
lead you to be regarded
as one of Jewish descent.
 
Today,
despite the warnings
of scientists,
the racial theories
are taken
with the utmost seriousness
in Germany.
 
As a Jew,
or a person of Jewish blood,
you will be forbidden access
to many places.
 
You will be kept
from
spas and watering resorts;
you will meet
with difficulties
in shops and restaurants;
you will be restricted
in social intercourse
with the German natives
who you meet on the trip.
 
As one who
even slightly
resembles a Jew,
you must
be prepared for
embarrassments,
refusals of service,
and
not infrequently,
public insults.
 
Before
entering Germany
make sure that
nothing
in your baggage
could be
of any offense,
either
to the inspectors
who will go over
your luggage
with minute attention,
or
to anyone
living in Germany.
 
Take particular note
of the fact
that a strict censorship
exists in the country
and that books
and periodicals
of which the Nazis
disapprove will,
if found on your person
or in your luggage,
cause you
endless difficulties
and perhaps
imprisonment.
 
This refers not only
to printed literature
in the German language
and of a conspicuous
anti-Nazi tendency.
 
Such publications as
the New York Times,
the London Times,
Harper's Magazine,
Time Magazine,
Nation,
or
Foreign Affairs,
may be confiscated
and
their possession
expose you
to considerable trouble.
 
Finally,
a word of caution
as to your conduct
in the country.
 
If you wish
to avoid all difficulties,
remember to
snap to attention
whenever the
Horst Wessel
song is sung,
and
to thrust up your arm
in the Nazi salute
whenever,
as will happen
more frequently
than you realize,
a military parade
or
a Brown Shirt
demonstration
passes.
 
Failure to observe
the full
Nazi
etiquette of respect
for the Swastika
may lead to grief.
 
Your stay
in Germany
will be
free from difficulties
if, in advance,
you will practice
stiff Nazi salutes
to the Swastika,
and
respectful postures
before
goose-stepping parades.
 
"The Intelligent Traveler's
Guide to Germany"
is subdivided
according to
the outstanding cities
that
most American travelers
visit
in the course of their stay
in Germany.
 
For information
on the countryside
adjacent to these cities,
consult
that section heading
referring to
the city itself.
 
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