The International Refugee Organization has turned over control of its international tracing service to the Allied High Command in Germany, it was announced here today by the headquarters of the I.R.O. The transfer marks the end of the active search for hundreds of thousands of people reported missing at the end of World War II, principally those who disappeared into Nazi concentration and slave labor camps.
During the three years of its existence, the tracing service established the fate of about 27,000 missing persons. To the Allied High Commission goes the task of completing the examination and processing of 100 tons of captured Nazi documents which furnished the major clues to the fate of the great army of people marked for extermination or slavery.
In announcing the transfer, J. Donald Kinglsey, director general of the International Refugee Organization, called attention to the tribute paid the tracing service by the Governments of Israel, Belgium, Canada, United Kingdom, Denmark, Holland, South Africa and Sweden.
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.
