The 2,200 Jewish “infiltrees” from Eastern Europe who have arrived here since April 21 when American DP camps in the Vienna area were closed down are now in a desperate position.
The UNRRA team which had been aiding them has halted all assistance to the refugees, most of whom come from Rumania, and the American military authorities have closed down the Rothschild Hospital, which served as a camp for 1,000 transient Jews, and removed medical equipment. New camps have been set up in small schools, where two and three persons are compelled to share a single bed. The overcrowding is made worse by the fact that the normal flow of refugees out of Vienna into the DP camps in the U.S. zone of Germany has virtually ceased since Army transportation to the camps was discontinued several weeks ago.
The refugee Jews here, whose number continues to increase, are in the sole care of the J.D.C., according to Bronislaw Teichholz, president of the International Committee for Transient Jews. Teichholz complains that the American military authorities recently have shown no appreciation of the precarious situation of the refugees here, most of whom lack shoes, linen and other clothing. With UNRRA activities at a stand-still and the International Refugee Organization still a paper body, only JDC aid is available.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
