An eye-witness account of the Jewish deportations from unoccupied France was given at a press conference here by Emanuel Rosen, a member of the overseas staff of the Joint Distribution Committee, who recently returned from Lisbon.
The report was given Mr. Rosen by Dr. Joseph Schwartz, chairman of the JDC’s European Executive Council. Dr. Schwartz, who returned to Lisbon from unoccupied France on the day Mr. Rosen left for New York reported that at 5 o’clock on the morning of August 4, police officers arrived at two emigration centers in Marseille intended for women who were on the point of leaving France. They arrested the 160 women who were told that they had the choice of either taking with them or else leaving behind in France all children over the age of 5. The next morning 1,000 Jewish internees at the notorious Camp de Gurs were assembled and told to make ready for departure at 5 A.M. the following morning for an unknown destination. Similarly, 1,000 were rounded up at the Les Milles internment camp, 700 at Riversaltes, 700 at Le Vernet. A total of 3,600 was rounded up during these first few days, and the quota was said to be 10,000, according to Dr. Schwart’s report.
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.
