The number of Jews living in the Government-General area of Nazi-occupied Poland is now 1,700,000, about half of whom require relief in various forms, according to recent advices from Cracow.
The information was contained in a letter, dated Dec. 20, from Dr. Tisch, of the Praesidium of the Jewish Social Self-Help in Cracow, which said relief funds were meager and appealed to Jews in the United States to hasten collection of money with which to buy food, clothing and medicine in neutral countries. The German authorities have guaranteed shipment to Cracow without duty or freight charges, it was said.
According to the agreed distribution quota, 17 per cent of gift packages received through the International Red Cross and the American Commission for Polish Relief have been distributed to needy Jews, the letter said. Although the Jews form only 10 to 12 per cent of the population, they receive the increased proportion because their distress is greater than that of the Poles, it was said.
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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.