The British radio last night reported from Stockholm that the Archbishop of Nazi-occupied Lithuania, Most Rev. Joseph Skvireckas, has warned all Lithuanians against helping the Nazis to execute Jews. He denounced the Nazis as “murderers of Jews and persecutors of Poles” and appealed to Lithuanian officials “not to commit the sin of lending a hand to the German atrocities.”
“In the name of the Church,” the Archbishop said, “I condemn the hands of those who continue to share in the murdering of Jews, persecution of Poles and peoples of Polish origin. I condemn those who expel these people from their homes and who deport them. Lithuanian officials must realize that such activities are not a part of their duties.” The London Times today praised the “extra-ordinarily courageous attitude” of the Archbishop and asserted that “the German crimes have united all the persecuted peoples.”
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