Dr. Joseph Wuerdiger, a Hungarian rabbi who was liberated from a Russian concentration camp in Siberia as a result of West German intervention, arrived in Israel today. Rabbi Wuerdiger was kidnapped by Soviet authorities while en route from Hungary to West Germany in 1947. He was deported to Siberia on charges of “Zionist activities.
When a West German delegation visited the USSR last year in an effort to locate and obtain the release of German prisoners of war held by the Russians, it found Rabbi Wuerdiger in one of the labor camps. After prolonged negotiations between Bonn and Soviet officials, the Hungarian Jew was released.
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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.