Number of Jews Fleeing from Poland to Berlin Doubles; Reaches 500 Daily

The number of Jews fleeing from Poland to Berlin is the hope of reaching the American zone in Germany has increased from an average of 100 a day to about 500, it was reported today by Ilya Dijour, secretary general of the (##)s.

Mr. Dijour, who arrived in Berlin last week to study the problem of the Jews escaping from Poland, said that during his stay here he has interviewed hundreds of men, women and children who came from Poland, and disregarded all but eye-witness reports. All of the refugees, he said, described the situation in Poland as being similar to that in the Ukraine in 1919 during the Petlura pogroms. Some stressed that the Warsaw Government is actively interested in protecting and helping the Jews, but is powerless against a population which is 100 percent anti-Jewish.

“The situation should be of the greatest concern to American Jewry,” Mr. Dijour answered. “The large and steady influx of newly displaced Jews makes the situation in the escaps for Jewish refugees even worse than one can imagine. All the community houses in Berlin are inadequate to shelter the arriving Jews. Many of them are compelled to sleep three in one bed and often on the floor without blankets, under unsanitary conditions.”

The Hias leader lauded the UNRRA assembly center in Berlin, established in the U.S. sector of the city by Major Mercer and administered by an UNRRA team under the direction of A. Taylor. This center, he said, is a model one, with abundant food and clean and warm barracks, but its maximum capacity is only 350, so that it can serve as a transit center only.