Anxious to rush assistance to suffering Jews in Wilno, Morris C. Troper, European director of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, today conferred with leaders of the OZE, Jewish health society, and assigned a substantial sum to finance the sending of a medical unit from Paris to Wilno.
At the same time, a J.D.C. representative, Moses Beckelman, now in Kaunas, arranged to reach Wilno with the first Lithuanian troops and to take immediate steps for revival of J.D.C. kassas (loan societies) and to organize whatever urgent relief may be necessary.
Under a special arrangement, the OZE will cooperate with the Lithuanian Red Cross in its work in Wilno.
According to information of the OZE, many Jews from the German-occupied Suwalki district of Poland are finding their way into Lithuania, coming chiefly to Kaunas and Maria pol.
Reports from Kaunas speak of great misery prevailing in Wilno, which is overcrowded with refugees. The local militia has been organized to maintain order. Economic life is completely paralyzed and many Jews are seen in the streets begging for bread, since no employment is possible until order is stabilized.
The food and lodging situation is acute because of the large refugee influx and because peasants refuse to sell food unless paid in Lithuanian currency, which is not yet available. Long lines are seen in front of bakeries, but nothing can be bought for either Polish or Soviet money.
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.
