Within another year, there will be virtually no Jewish displaced persons remaining in Western Germany, it was confidently predicted today by United States Army officials.
Major Abraham S. Hyman, Deputy Advisor on Jewish affairs to Gen. Lucius D. Clay, disclosed that more than 15,000 displaced Jews had migrated legally from Western Germany and Austria since Israel became a state May 15 last. Of these, more than 10,000 emigrated in the last three months and the rate of departure is constantly being accelerated, Major Hyman said.
In addition, he stated, another 5,000 Jewish DP’s made their way out of the western zones toward Israel via the “underground” routs–that is to say, without legal exit permits from the United States authorities. This “underground” migration was made necessary by the refusal of the State Department to issue exit visas to young man of military age without prior clearance by the United Nations mediator in Palestine.
Beside the Jews news leaving for Israel, Gen. Clay’s advisers estimate that there will be another 12,000 Jewish DP’s going to the United States in the next 12 months, as well as 7,000 to Canada and other countries, Major Hyman says that “unless some unexpected change in the world situation arises,” there should be only a “negligible” number of displaced Jews left in Western Germany, Austria and Italy by next fall, Already the Jewish DP population has declined from its peak of 150,000 to less than 90,000. Many DP camps are rapidly emptying, Major Hyman reported.
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