Final settlement of the Sudeten problem is compelling an estimated 30,000 Jews to decide whether they want to become German subjects or leave their homes for an uncertain future.
Twenty thousand of them have already fled to the interior of Czechoslovakia from zones one and two in the ceded areas, which the German troops are occupying between now and Oct. 10, while the remaining 10,000 are living in areas where plebiscites are to decide the ultimate nationality.
As in the Saar plebiscite, transfer of property and sale of lands and buildings will be permitted in the plebiscite areas without payment of taxes. Notice of intention to leave the territory must be served on the authorities within six months after the plebiscite. One year will be allowed for evacuation, during which period deterioration of the individual’s position on account of race, religion or language will not be allowed.
Jews in the Teschen area, ceded to Poland, number 2,000, while Hungarian aspirations menacing the fate of a great number of Slovakian Jews.
The political developments have produced a number of suicides. A Jewish lawyer, Dr. Rudolf Lederer, of Teplica, killed himself by leaping from a building. At Staab, near Pilsen, a Jewish physician, his wife and two daughters committed suicide by taking poison.
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.
