Exodus Refugees Reject British Ultimatum to Go to France or Get out in Rations

The 4,400 Exodus refugees confined in the Poppendorf and Am Stau camps, near here, today flatly rejected a British ultimatum that they agree to be transferred to France, or have their daily ration of 2,800 calories reducted to the German ration of 1,500 calories.

Through leaflets, posters and loudspeakers, the British occupation authorities informed the deportees that the French people are ready to accept them, and that if they refuse the offer, “it will be quite clear that they remain in the British zone of their own free will.” The authorities also said that the International Refugee Organization stood ready to assist the refugees and also offered to remove the barbed wire fences from the camps as seon as the internees agreed to submit to military screening.

Immediately after the announcement had been broadcast over the camp’s public address system, scattered spontaneous demonstrations broke out. Many of the refugees ostentatiously tore up the leaflets, others laughed and sang, while large groups began singing Hatikvah. They shouted their refusal to agree to any proposal which did not provide for their transfer en masse to Palestine.

Refugee leaders interpreted the offer as “a feeble effort by the British to whitewash their inhuman actions before world opinion, and salve their own conscience.” They said that by making this “new offer,” which they were certain would be rejected, the British hope to show the world that the refugees are remaining in sub-standard camps voluntarily, and also that the heavy military guard and the barbed wire remains only because of the refugees’ refusal to submit to screening.

“The British know the offer we want,” one spokesman said. “We want some kind of a plan which will get us Palestine certificates. If the British think that the threat of reduced rations will weaken us, they are sadly mistaken. It can only mean increased suffering and misery here, which might well lead to violence.”