The entire Jewish male population in Axis-occupied Salonica, aged between 18 and 55, has been ordered by the occupation authorities to appear tomorrow, Saturday, on the city square with identifying documents, a Berlin broadcast reported today.
This is the first time that Jews in occupied Greece have received such an order. When orders of this kind are issued in Germany, they usually indicate that the Jews involved are to be deported. In Nazi-held Poland and in the German-occupied part of Russia, these orders are usually preliminary to the Nazis machine-gunning all the Jews. In Bessarabia and Bukovine, such orders are forerunners to the mass expulsion of the Jews to camps in Transnistria.
Jews of Italian nationality living in Salonica are exempted from the order the Berlin radio specified. There are about 60,000 Jews in Salonica a large proposition of whom are men falling into the category which must appear on the city scene tomorrow. No indication whatsoever was given in the Nazi broadcast as to the reasons for the Axis order.
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
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.
