Eight thousand Jewish families were prevented from escaping from Nazi-occupied Hungary to Palestine in the summer of 1944, as a result of the intervention of the ex-Mufti of Jerusalem, it was revealed today.
Dr. Rudolph Kastner, who was a leader of the Jewish underground in Hungary, said here that in a letter dated July 22, 1944, and sent from Berlin, the Mufti informed the Hungarian Foreign Office, which had agreed to the emigration of the Jews, that “the migration is bound to make a bad impression upon the Arabs, who will be surprised to learn that these transports are being organized in friendly countries.”
The letter, which was sent through the Hungarian legation in the German capital, expressed admiration for the anti-Jewish measures taken by the Hungarian government and asked the government to prevent Jews from migrating openly or secretly.
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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.
