Complete denials of a report in Variety, show business trade newspaper, last week that Heliodor Records, a British subsidiary of the Deutsche Grammophon group, had instituted an anti-Semitic policy in the London office, have been issued in both London and Hannover, Germany, it was reported in Variety this week.
Heliodor denied that there was any ban on Jewish employees or that Horst-Werner Buchweitz-identified as Karl Buchweitz in the original dispatch–was a former S.S. officer. Company officials said Buchweitz had served as an officer in the German Air Force and as a member of the Nazi Labor Front–bud denied that he was now in control of Heliodor, as originally reported.
The Variety story had listed two Jewish victims of the new policy in the London office. The denial, however, said that one–Monte Mitelman–had resigned on his own initiative, and the other–Paul Rogers–was never connected with Heliodor. “Executives of the parent company in Germany also denied the existence of anti-Semitic policy. Hartel Roediger, company chief there, added that there was, on the contrary, a company policy against discrimination because of race or religion.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
