An eye-witness account of the inhuman conditions under which the Germans have imprisoned and deported thousands of Belgian Jews is given in the January, 1944 issue of the underground newspaper, Le Flambeau, which is quoted today by the United Nations Information Office.
“Since August 1942, the ‘Dosain’ barracks at Malines have been used as a prison for unfortunate Jews tracked down by the Gestapo,” the paper says. “Altogether about 30,000 innocent Jews have been imprisoned there, awaiting transfer to forced labor camps in Poland and Upper Silesia. The scene you witness on entering the courtyard must sadden the heart of anyone but a follower of Hitler. Men and women of all ages, young children, move about like dazed automatons who have lost all hope. When the number of victims has reached a total of 1400 or 1600, a train is made up of cattle trucks into which 40 or 50 unfortunate beings are crowded for a journey of unimaginable discomfort and length.
“The Jew-hunt never stops, and the Gestapo cars arrive at the barracks prison regularly with full loads. On September 3 of last year, 900 Belgian Jews who might have thought themselves quite safe were suddenly dragged from their homes for no reason whatsoever, and taken away. Into a lorry which under normal circumstances could have carried a maximum of 50 people, the tyrants crowded 100. The result was that nine were already dead when it reached the prison.”
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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.
