Sweeping anti-Jewish measures, including an order prohibiting Jews from leaving their homes between three o’clock in the afternoon and six in the morning, were proclaimed today in the Nazi-puppet state of Slovakia, it was announced over the Bratislava radio station.
The measures amount to virtual confiscation of Jewish wealth and real estate. Jews are ordered to surrender their valuables, including jewelry, stocks, bonds, while those who own buildings are to be dispossessed by special “Aryan” administrators appointed as managers of Jewish real estate. Jews have also been informed that they are to do their shopping before 10 A.M. only.
The 15-hour curfew imposed upon the Jews is to be applied in the districts of Bratislava, Presov, Trnava, Nitra, Zlate-Moravce, Zvolen, Zilina, Sabinov, Bardiov, Giratovce, Stropkov, Humenne-Vranov, Michalovce, Trebisov, Topolcany and Banska-Bystrica. Police authorities are instructed to visit Jewish homes in these cities, in collaboration with the Hlinka Guards and Nazi storm troopers, and check whether the Jews are remaining at home during the forbidden hours. Only in cases where medical aid is required are Jews permitted to leave their house, the order states.
While the decree does not disclose the reason for prohibiting Jews from appearing in streets after three in the afternoon, it is believed that the new measure is issued in connection with the preparations which are now being made in Slovakia for the wholesale expulsion of Jews from the country along the same lines as this is now being done in Germany. There are about 80,000 Jews in Slovakia today.
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