Wave of Jewish Mass-suicides Reported from Prague; Jews Rotting in Dungeons

A wave of Jewish mass-suicides is reported today to be taking place in Prague and other cities of the Czech Protectorate as a result of the expulsion of Jews to the fortress town of Theresin where the victims are held in dungeons under the most inhuman conditions.

The report, which reached Czechoslovak circles in London, discloses that many Jews declared that they would prefer to be isolated in ghettos rather than thrown into the Theresin prisons where the inmates are literally rotting.

Coming through neutral channels, the report confirms the information that more than 10,000 Czech Jews have already been transferred by the Nazis from Prague and other Czech cities to the Theresin prisons. The Gestapo night raids on Jewish homes in Prague continue unabated. Every night Jews are dragged out of bed for transportation to Theresin, the report informs.

JEWS ORDERED TO SUBMIT INVENTORY OF THEIR PROPERTY TO GESTAPO

Parallel with the deportation of Jews to the fortress town, the Gestapo authorities have ordered the Jewish communities in the Czech Protectorate to submit, within the next few weeks, lists of all Jews in each community. The lists are to contain the names and addresses of the Jews and are to be supplemented with an inventory of the property which each Jew possesses.

The Nazi-controlled Prague radio today announced that “the Czech population is receiving with enthusiasm the news that Jews are being interned in the fortress of Theresin.” The broadcast, however, is considered to be the usual Nazi propaganda, since all reports reaching the Czechoslovak Government-in-Exile emphasize that all sections of the Czech population in the Protectorate are manifesting great sympathy for the Jews.