Gravely concerned over the fate of the surviving Jewish population of Belgium and Luxembourg, especially because of reports which have reached this country that local Quislings plan the annihilation of the remaining Jews in the event that these countries are again temporarily overrun by Nazi hordes, the Jewish Labor Committee today wired President Roosevelt, Secretary of War. Henry L. Stimson, and John W. Pehle, executive director of the War Refugee Board, urging that extraordinary measures be taken to prevent “these long suffering people from becoming again the victims of the Nazi butchers.”
The wire, signed by Adolph Held, David Dubinsky, Joseph Baskin, and Jacob Pat, chairman, treasurer, secretary, and executive secretary, respectively, of the Committee, emphasized that the special position of the Jews justifies special attention to remove them from possible danger areas. “We pray that this be done in time, before the conscience of civilized humanity will be further burdened with the accusation of being too late,” the appeal stressed.
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.
