Germans and pro-Nazi Slovaks have seized Jewish property valued at approximately $160,000,000 since the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia and the creation of the puppet state of Slovakia, according to a prominent Bratislava Jew who arrived here this week. These figures, he said, were compiled by the Central Committee of Slovakian Jewry, which is still permitted to function.
The refugee confirmed reports that the majority of the Jewish population of Slovakia had been deported or placed in concentration camps. Of the 17,000 Jews who resided in Bratislava prior to the war, only about 3,000 remain, he revealed. Most of those sent to concentration camps are placed at forced labor in tailor shops where they earn about three crowns per day, which is the price of a loaf of bread. Jews who fall ill, he said, immediately “disappear.”
In April, 1942, he disclosed, 83 attractive Jewish girls of prominent families were seized and sent to military brothels. Information reaching the Jewish Central Committee, subsequently, indicated that the majority of the girls, who ranged in age from 16 to 18, had committed suicide.
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.
