The authorities of Brno today tentatively approved a plan for the removal of Jewish refugees in the Czech-German “no man’s land” to a nearby abandoned factory. It is hoped that the transfer will take place within the next few days.
An incomplete survey by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency indicates that about 100 persons, half of them women and children, are living in territory that has not yet been assigned either to Czechoslovakia or Germany. The largest group, numbering 62, is at Kosice; 15 are at krascy, six at Langsdorf and 15 near Bruno.
Last week the Brno authorities consistently raided cafes and homes and stopped passers by in a search for refugees from the German-occupied area. It is estimated that 150 persons were rounded up in the raids and deposited in the “no man’s land” woods near Visnice. Most of those have been returned to Czech territory but a few are roaming the woods without shelter.
Meanwhile, a second mass expulsion of Austrian refugees has not materialized. Efforts of Jewish organizations to establish a work camp for refugees, interrupted by the war crisis, have now been renewed. The camp will be established 40 miles from brno. The Czech government reportedly favors the plan and it is hoped the camp will ultimately be turned into an “immigrants’ camping place” for temporarily sheltering refugees and giving them vocational training for permanent emigration. Between 30 and 40 of the most urgent cases will be allotted visas recently received from England, France and Scandinavia.
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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.
