Immigration permits will be granted to 2,500 Jews, Immigration Secretary Arthur A. Calwell announced today.
The permits, he explained, will be given to former inmates of Nazi concentration camps who are close relatives to Jews now in Australia. “This is a humanitarian gesture,” he said, “on the part of Australia in recognition of the suffering these people have undergone in Europe.”
These permits will enable the recipients, now on the Continent, to proceed to Britain whence they will await transportation to Australia. Officials point out, however, that it may be two years before these Jews can get accommodations, since there is a priority list of more than 6,000 cases, which include the wives of Australian soldiers who will be brought to this country first.
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