The Jews of Lodz, Nazi Poland, have been forced to pay a “ransom” of 9,000,000 zlotys ($1,800,000 at pre-war rates) to secure postponement to the spring of an expulsion order, it was reliably learned here today.
The expulsion order affected 50,000 Jews concentrated in a number of streets. It was intended by the Nazi authorities as the first step toward realization of a program completely to “dejudaize” the largest Polish city annexed by the Reich.
The Jews were already preparing to leave the city, many of them being on their way out when the order was temporarily revoked after the community had paid the “ransom.”
Nazi vandalism in Poland was again demonstrated by an order to wreck the apartment of Elias Mazur, former president of the Warsaw Jewish Community. Some 35 Jewish women were seized on the streets, brought to the apartment and forced to break furniture, destroy valuable paintings, tear books in the library, rip curtains, linen, clothes, bedding and even wall paper, and break mirrors and china while Nazi guards looked on. The incident was climaxed by the violation by the Nazis of two young women before the eyes of all present, including men and women.
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.
