Trustworthy sources said today that there has been an unofficial postponement to April 1 of the March 12 deadline for expulsion of all post-War Jewish immigrants, of whom an estimated 6,000 to 7,000 still remain in Italy.
The fact that the expulsion deadline has passed without any known major action by the central authorities — no information is available here on reports from the French border that hundreds of Jews are being forced from Italy at bayonet points — does not signify that the Government has forgotten the date nor its threatened action.
It was authoritatively disclosed, however, that there will be no general roundup at this time of Jews marked for deportation under last October’s expulsion edict. The deadline passed quietly, the Italian press failing to comment. Refugee committees in all large Italian cities functioned as usual today, receiving hundreds of foreign Jews seeking aid and information.
Police headquarters in all cities where foreign Jews reside were besieged over the weekend by appeals for prolongation of stay and for definite information on the status of the applicants. When replies were not forthcoming, the applicants left still in doubt as to their position. Hundreds of Jewish foreigners who had arranged to emigrate but remained to the last in hopes that the time limit would be postponed left at the eleventh hour. Thousands subject to the decree who were unable to comply remained in fear of arrest.
According to available information, time extensions beyond the new unofficial deadline of April 1 will be granted to all applicants who can produce satisfactory reasons for not being able to comply with the expulsion edict. Evidence of intention to emigrate within a “reasonable” time will be accepted among such reasons, it was stated. Thus far, however, only a small number of cases have been reported in which extensions of as much as six months have been granted.
Of the 10,000 foreign Jews reportedly in Italy when the edict was issued last Fall, almost half succeeded in leaving the country before expiration of the time limit. Today there are between 6,000 and 7,000 left who are subject to expulsion. The majority of the emigrants went to China, the United States, France, Palestine and England. A few hundred were able to return to their native countries, Poland, Hungary and Rumania, while some found temporary refuge in South America, the port of Tangiers and in the near and far East.
None of the foreign Jews remaining in Italy has the right to work and more than half of them are dependent on refugee committees for sustenance. Their position is now extremely critical and they are liable to any action that may be taken by the central or local 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.
