The Approach of Czech Attorneys towards their Colleagues of Jewish Origin on the Eve of the Second World War
Abstract
This article deals with the approach of Czech attorneys and of Czech Bar Association towards attorneys of Jewish origin between the 30th September 1938 and 17th March 1939. The timeframe was chosen as the duration of the Second republic, thus between the Munich agreement and the occupation of the republic on the 15th March 1939, and shortly afterwards.
The evolution of the approach towards Jewish attorneys is chronologically described and it comprises of two parts. Firstly, the events during the Second republic are discussed and secondly, the circumstances under which attorneys of Jewish origin were expelled on 15th and 16th March 1939 are debated.
The findings do not suggest that attorneys and Bar association were primarily anti-Semitic or that their leading motivation was hatred towards Jews. They were mainly interested in their economic situation and since attorneys of Jewish origin were in proportion to the population "over-represented", Czech attorneys used their origin as a mean to reduce the number of competitors in the field of legal services.
However, there were several competing groups and neither Czech attorneys nor those of Jewish origin were unanimous. Discussions held between several groups during the Second republic are described in this article as well as the quick decision of power to exclude attorneys of Jewish origin made in days following the occupation of the republic by Germany.