At the end of July 1939, SS-Obersturmbannführer Adolf Eichmann, one of the architects of the murder of European Jews, established an office in Prague called the Central Office for Jewish Emigration (German: Zentralstelle für jüdische Auswanderung). The main goal of the Nazis at that time was to rid Europe of all Jews by ejecting them en masse abroad. Unfortunately, the free world refused to accept Jewish refugees.
This place, in a street then called Josefovská, was the seat of the emigration department of the Jewish community in Prague. According to the disposition of the Nazi Central Office, it was supposed to help the emigrants to find ways to obtain the documents necessary for emigration. It also attempted to organize group transports abroad, especially for those who did not have the necessary money to buy visas and tickets.
The very term "emigration" is an euphemism, a word that obscures the true meaning of what it describes. For the desperate attempts to escape hatred and incipient persecution were certainly not a voluntary, unforced move abroad. It was an escape, a saving of life. It is no coincidence that deportation transports to death were later described by the Nazis as "emigration."
The appeal in the first edition of the Jewish Gazette, the only newspaper Jews were allowed to read in the Protectorate.
Text of the appeal:
To all Jews in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia Prague, November 1939.
We ask you to read these instructions with the greatest attention and to observe the directives contained therein as accurately as possible.
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Every Jew should be aware of the responsibility he has towards Jewry. The actions of every Jewish individual can, under certain circumstances, bring disaster upon all Jews. Therefore, we must beware of all phenomena which bring Judaism into danger. This is especially true of any political or pseudo-political activity. The Jews must not refrain from all contacts which might lead them to be suspected of such activity, especially from persons who incite disturbances and spread nonsensical lies.
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All our energy and the interest of every Jewish individual must go first and foremost towards emigration and preparation for emigration. It is necessary that the means necessary for the realization of emigration should be placed in the hands of professional Jewish institutions. Any Jew who has the possibility of emigrating should immediately contact the emigration department of the Jewish Religious Community of Prague, in Josefovská street 9, or the appropriate department of the Palestine Office, Prague I, Dlouha 41, which will assist him in his emigration.
How would you interpret the content of the November 1939 appeal? Answer in one sentence.