A top-ranking American military official today told a Jewish Telegraphic Agency correspondent that the borders of the U.S. zone of Germany will remain open to Jewish refugees from Czechoslovakia and other countries.
The officer said that the Army was taking “absolutely no action” to prevent the entrance of displaced Jews and was giving the new arrivals the same status and privileges as the older DP’s, thus abandoning the policy of establishing separate camps for “infiltrates,” Although asserting that the DP’s now have more living room than individual Germans, the officer admitted that the constant flow of refugees will probably necessitate the opening of new camps.
From another source the correspondent learned that the Army will soon open five new entry stations along the eastern border of the zone and that UNRRA will establish three reception camps on the border. He was also informed that a camp accommodating 3,000 persons will be opened late this month in Windsheim, near Nuremberg.
JEWS WHO LIVE OUTSIDE OF CAMPS WILL GET INCREASED FOOD RATIONS
The Army today authorized UNRRA to issue 500 calories of additional food daily to all Jews living in communities which are not attached to regular displaced persons camps. This order will increase the ration of the so-called “free living persons” to 2,200 calories daily, 200 more than is allotted to residents of DP camps.
However, the only food assured these “free living” Jews is the 500 calories supplied by UNRRA. The remaining 1,700 must be bought on the open German market where very few items exist and where the storekeepers are reluctant to sell those rationed foods which they do have. It is believed that the Army’s move is designed to encourage the Jews to remain in independent communities instead of flocking to the already overcrowded DP centers.
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.
