Josef Birnbaum, an aged Jewish milkman affectionately known as “Reb Yossele,” was brutally attacked by Nazis who accused him of being a communist in order to justify their action, according to word received here today from Berlin. Birnbaum is now missing and efforts to locate him, made by the Polish consulate, have so far been unsuccessful. Birnbaum was a Polish citizen.
While Birnbaum entered a residence to leave a bottle of milk, Nazis put some communist leaflets in his cart. When he came out, they attacked him so savagely that several Nazi passers-by intervened. When they were shown the leaflets, however, they joined in beating up the aged man.
Birnbaum, a Chassidic Jew who never took part in any political activities, was carried off to a Nazi cellar and has not since been seen.
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.
