The Executive of the Agudist World Organization has received word from Montreal that all religious requirements of interned Jewish refugees in Canada, including kosher food, are now being supplied.
There is, however, considerable hardship in some of the camps, since no adequate preparations appear to have been made for the arrival of the refugees. Many of the internees refuse to wear clothing bearing the label “prisoner of war,” contending that this places them on a level with the Nazi internees, with whom they will have nothing to do. Indeed, some internees even refuse to make use of the official letter cards provided which bear the inscription “Prisoner-of-war mail.”
The large number of youthful internees is also causing considerable concern. In one camp, where there are 716 refugees, of whom 515 are Jews, more than half of them, or 280, are under 18 years of age. Educational facilities, as well as arrangements for emigration, are as yet entirely lacking.
The payment of 20 cents a day, for arduous forestry work, is entirely insufficient even for the purchase of the most necessary requirements, such as soap and cigarettes, and is less than the remuneration of ordinary prisoners.
The Executive of the Agudist Organization is bringing these facts to the notice of the Home Office.
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.
