Anton Vasek, Commissioner for Jewish Affairs in the Nazi puppet Slovak Government, was charged today at his war crimes trial here with having deported 50,000 Slovak Jews to Oswiecim, of whom only 250 survived, and of accepting a bribe of 2,000,000 crowns (nominally $40,000) for sparing other Jews. The prosecutor said that for an additional 1,000,000 crowns Vasek promised to halt all deportations. He pointed out that Vasek had written several anti-Semitic books and actively collaborated with the Germans.
Replying to the accusation, Vasek said that he was only a public official carrying out the orders given him. Personally, he added, he was pro-Jewish. His anti-Semitic writings, he said, were only a cover-up to enable him to help the Jews. Vasek claimed that he had improved the conditions under which Jews were held in camps.
Official observers of the Union of Jewish Communities in Slovakia, the World Jewish Congress and Zionist organizations are attending the trial.
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.
