Massacres of Jews have been taking place in Budapest since Saturday as part of preparations by the Germans to evacuate the city which is menaced by rapidly approaching Russian armies, it was reported here today.
The report said that Gestapo troops and Hungarian Nazis have instituted a ferocious reign of terror in the streets of the Hungarian capital, murdering Jews and arresting people suspected of anti-German feelings. The report was partly substantiated in a broadcast today from Budapest telling the Hungarian people action against Jews is now “even more important than the question of defense of the country.”
Only a few days ago the Budapest radio announced that Jews in Hungary will be used as slave laborers for war defense activities. Today’s broadcast indicates that more extreme anti-Jewish measures are now being carried out in the Hungarian capital. It pointed out repeatedly that “the Jewish question is at present more topical than ever before.”
The German radio today quoted Hungarian newspapers as reporting that “Jews were planning a massacre of pro-German Hungarians” and that “arms dumps were discovered in cellars of yellow-starred buildings.” These dumps, the German broadcast said, contained automatic pistols, infantry weapons and explosives.
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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.