Sixty-five displaced Jews have converted the synagogue in Luebeck, in the British zone of Germany, into a fortress in which they are holding out against military authorities who have ordered them to move to a DP camp at Neustadt in Schleswig-Holstein, it was learned here today.
The DP’s, who have been living in barracks in Luebeck under UNRRA supervision for many months, were ordered to move as part of a general British plan to concentrate displaced persons in camps in order to make room for homeless Germans.
The refugee Jews, among whom there are small children and several pregnant women, refused to be transferred, particularly during the present cold wave which has clamped down on Germany. They stated that they had lived in camps long enough and that there were at least 50 properties in Luebeck which had formerly belonged to Jews in which they could reside. They also pointed out that their removal would destroy the small Jewish community which was formed around the ancient synagogue in Luebeck, one of the few spared by the Nazis.
If the Jewish property in the city could not be turned over to them, the DP’s said, the least the military authorities could do was to allow them to renounce their DP status and live freely among the civilian population. When the authorities refused to accede to this request, the Jews decided yesterday morning to move into the synagogue.
At first they were refused access by German guards, but in view of the impending Sabbath service, the guards were removed and the DP’s allowed to enter. They were still there as of late this afternoon, awaiting the next step by the military authorities.
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