Many Jews in the German concentration camp of Vittel in France attempted to commit suicide when they learned that they were to be deported to Poland instead of being exchanged for German in Allied countries, it is revealed by British internees from Germany who arrived in Lisbon to be exchanged for Germans.
The Lisbon correspondent of the Sunday Express quotes one of the internees as stating that 35 Jews threw themselves from the windows of the building in which they were held, when they learned that the countries whose visas they held had refused to honor them and that, therefore, they would not be exchanged. The countries which issued the visas were not disclosed.
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.