A heartening picture of industry and useful activity among Jews in the DP camps in the Stuttgart area, U.S. zone of Germany, was drawn today by Harold Kaplan, who recently returned to this country after almost two years abroad as area director in that region for the Joint Distribution Committee.
Mr. Kaplan, who supervised JDC aid in thirteen camps in the American zone, reported that approximately 30 percent of the 15,000 DP’s were engaged in some form of work, training, or special services. Many were employed by the American Military Government, IRO, in the camps themselves, or as apprentices in German factories, where they receive valuable training for the future. The 30 percent figure, it was pointed out, compares favorably with the latest data in the United States, which shows 40 percent of the population to be gainfully employed.
Highly encouraging also, Mr. Kaplan said, is the educational program in the camps, where, despite acute shortages of teachers and equipment, Jewish youngsters are making rapid progress in both JDC workshops and academic classroom. The camps, which are administered to a large degree by the DP’s themselves, also boast excellent, medical facilities, may of which are provided by JDC.
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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.
