The first eye-witness account by a Jewish observer of the devastation wrought in the Jewish communities of Tunisia during the Nazi occupation was given here today by Dr. Joseph Schwartz, European director of the Joint Distribution Committee, who has come here to organize assistance for Jewish refugees in neighboring and neutral countries.
Describing Tunisia as a “major relief problem,” Dr. Schwartz told a Jewish Telegraphic Agency correspondent that before retreating, the Nazis robbed the Jewish population of anything they could carry, including money, jewels and other valuables. Several weeks earlier they had levied a 58,000,000 franc fine on the Jewish community in reprisal for Allied air raids. While in Tunisia, the Nazis used 70,000 Jews as forced labor for constructing fortifications, Dr. Schwartz said.
One of his chief reasons for coming to Jerusalem, he explained, was to attempt to arrange transportation for refugees in neutral and Balkan countries who are able to come to Palestine. The JDC director added that he was working in close cooperation with the Jewish Agency. He said he might go to Turkey to confer on refugee problems before returning to North Africa.
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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.
