A massacre of the last 35,000 Jews in the Warsaw ghetto was started by the Nazis on Passover with the streets of Warsaw echoing to the shots of the Nazi murderers and the shrieks of the victims, while able-bodied Jews were trying to defend themselves within the walls of the ghetto.
The secret Polish radio station SWIAT was heard here shortly after six o’clock last night transmitting the following frantic appeal from occupied Poland:
"Death sentence has been proclaimed on the last 35,000 Jews in the Warsaw ghetto. Gun salvoes are echoing in the streets of Warsaw. Women and children are defending themselves with bare hands. Save us…" At this point the broadcast was suddenly cut off.
(The American Representation of the Zionist Laborite Party in occupied Poland today reported that it has received underground information stating that pogroms have been going on not only in the Warsaw ghetto, but also in a number of cities in Galicia. A message from the Jews in the Warsaw ghetto indicated that not more than 40,000 Jews were left there and that they expect mass-executions. It appealed to the world for immediate aid "before it is too late." The appeal states that two Zionist Laborite leaders in Galicia, Dr. Max Scheff and Moshe Richter, "disappeared" during Nazi pogroms in Galicia.")
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.
