The British Red Cross today charged the Red Cross of Germany with deliberately obstructing communication between Jewish inhabitants of the ghettos and their relatives in England. It also warned Jews in the democratic countries that it is not advisable to send letters to their families in Nazi-occupied territories when they know that the families have either fled or been deported by the Nazis.
The charge of non-cooperation by the Nazis was made at a press conference arranged by the Red Cross here at which it was stated that “whatever can be done to maintain contact between Jews in the ghettos and their relatives in Britain is being done.” Some messages, the speakers declared, reach their destinations after three or four months. They emphasized, however, that “the German Red Cross is unwilling to help in this particular work” and thus it becomes more and more difficult to contact Jews in Nazi-held countries.
In warning against sending letters to Jews whom the Nazis have deported to unknown destinations, the representatives of the British Red Cross pointed out that sending letters to such persons “sometimes endangers the persons concerned.”
It was announced at the conference that the activities of the Red Cross have been curtailed in Poland and in the Baltic countries, while the Czechoslovakian Red Cross has been completely disbanded by the Nazi occupation authorities.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
