Declaring that Jews had not complied with previous orders to leave Cracow, the German authorities in the capital of the Polish Government General have issued a new order for expulsion of the Jewish inhabitants to “reservations” and forbidding Jews henceforth to enter the city, it was reported here today.
Nazi District Leader Wachter explained the decree, according to the newspaper Wiecsi Polski, as follows: “Orders issued for removal of the Jews were not fulfilled. The dates fixed for the Jews’ departure passed without any result. In many cases there has been a new influx of Jews into Cracow. In order to achieve the desirable aim of keeping Cracow free of Jews by leaving in Cracow only such Jews as perform necessary labor, new measures are necessary.”
The new decree provides: (1) Jews are forbidden to enter Cracow. (2) Jews living in the city must obtain special permission to remain. (3) In order to prevent Jews from moving in “undesirable directions,” the evacuation will be carried out officially and the Jews will be transported en masse to Jewish reservations. (4) Jews will be allowed only 55 pounds of baggage and all other possessions must be left behind to be sold by German trustees.
The paper also revealed that an involuntary contribution for the German war machine had been imposed on the Warsaw ghetto. All metal balconies, railings, gates and other metal fittings in the Jewish quarter have been seized and removed to be used as scrap metal.
According to German press reports, a synagogue in Bromberg (formerly Bydoscz) has been dynamited.
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