Undernourishment, increasing disease rates and misery among Jewish refugees from Germany in Czechoslovakia were reported today by Vestnik, official organ of the Praha Jewish Community.
Funds of refugee relief organizations are depleted, the paper said, and instead of the minimum weekly allowance of 300 kronen, the community’s relief committee was barely able to distribute 35 kronen for adults and 15 kronen for children. Recently the adult allowance was cut further to 20 kronen.
The local Jewish community supports 378 refugees, of whom 138 are repatriated Czechoslovakian citizens. The relief committee distributed in this city 600,000 kronen in 1936 and 270,000 up to the end of April, 1937.
Health conditions were described as appalling. Tuberculosis cases among adults are increasing, as well as undernourishment and children’s diseases.
Most of the refugees were formerly physicians, lawyers and businessmen, accustomed to live in six-room apartments. In view of the lack of funds the community has been forced to refuse to issue any relief to newly-arrived refugees.
An influx of Jewish refugees is expected from Upper Silesia after July 15, when the Polish-German Minorities Convention protecting minority groups in the territory expires. Three thousand Jewish families are threatened with loss of livelihood. Three-hundred and fifty Jewish teachers in secondary schools alone are slated for dismissal.
Vestnik concluded with an appeal to Czechoslovakians to contribute more generously to relief funds.
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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.
