Active Jewish participation in the guerilla warfare being waged against the Nazi occupation forces by the Yugoslav population, under the leadership of Colonel Brajan Michailovitch, was described here yesterday by Berenk Denitz, Yugoslav press officer in the Middle East, on the occasion of the celebration of Yugoslav Independence Day.
About 2,800 guerillas, including many Jews, were killed in the fighting during July and August, the press officer reported, while another 60,000 Yugoslavs and Jews have been executed by the Hungarian occupation authorities. On the Boulevard in Novisad the Hungarians hung a Yugoslav or Jew to every tree, he stated. Two Jewish physicians, Dr. Moshe Aeiada and Dr. Alkalai are on the staff of Col. Michailovitch, Denitz added. They lead special units.
The Yugoslav representative revealed the interesting fact that the holy scrolls from the ancient Sarajevo synagogue, destroyed by the Nazis, are now safe in Michailovitch’s headquarters in the hills. The scrolls were rescued from the burning synagogue through the efforts of Yugoslav and Jewish youths.
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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.
