The Moscow radio announced in a German-language broad-cast last night that bakeries for matzoth would be operated on a large scale through-out the Soviet union.
“The first such bakery has already been opened, to produce 60 tons of matzoth daily,” the official Soviet broadcast said.
The German-language announcement led several French newspapers today to discuss the possibility that Soviet Russia was trying to export matzoth to German territories. Neutral Jewish relief organizations have so far found it impossible to obtain permission to bring the ritual food into the Reich.
Paris Midi said: “It is very possible that when Dr. Ritter, head of the Nazi economic delegation, reaches Moscow he may find matzoth on the list of commodities which the Soviet is ready to export to the Reich.”
Jewish circles were discussing whether the Moscow announcement might lead to an arrangement with the Soviet authorities for delivery of matzoth to Nazi-occupied Poland, since this would bring the Russians several million dollars in foreign currency. It is estimated that at least 15 carloads of matzoth, or about 1,500,000 kilograms, are necessary to meet the needs of the starving Jews in Poland.
It is recalled that Dr. Joseph Rosen, who is now in the Dominican Republic directing a refugee colonization project, succeeded in obtaining Soviet permission for importing American-manufactured matzoth into Russia during the years when baking of the ritual food was prohibited in the U.S.S.R.
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