The first group of 37 German refugees to be settled in the Dominican Republic-including a 15-month-old “stowaway”–left today for the 26,000-acre Sosua tract after being given a warm reception in Ciudad Trujillo.
The refugees disembarked yesterday from the Italian steamship Conte Biancamano and were welcomed at the office of the American-organized Dominican Republic Settlement Association by Dr. Joseph Rosen, vice-president. They were found to be in excellent physical condition and Dominican Government officials expressed themselves as well impressed with them.
While the excited prospective settlers chatted animatedly in the office, the baby slept peacefully. He was brought “by mistake” since no children were supposed to be among the first colonists. The parents simply brought him aboard the ship at Genoa and nothing was known of his presence until the vessel was too far out at sea for anything to be done about it. The baby is Dennis Herzberg, born Jan. 18, 1939, in Berlin.
At Sosua, the tract which was donated by ex-President Rafael L. Trujillo for colonization of about 500 refugee families and several hundred individuals, the pioneer settlers were to be met by Dr. Frederick Perlstein, settlement director. Housing accommodations have been provided, and land has been prepared for cultivation. It is hoped that 100,000 refugees may eventually be settled in the Dominican Republic.
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