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Jewish Doctors in Hungary Mobilized for Service on Wounded Germans

August 1, 1941
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Hundreds of Jewish doctors are being mobilized into medical service all over Hungary despite the fact that their licences had been revoked, it was reported here today. The mobilization of Jewish doctors is due to the fact that Hungary has now become a “mass hospital” for German soldiers and officers wounded on the Russo-German front.

Scores of long Red Cross trains are now arriving daily at Budapest, Ungver, Kassa and other Hungarian cities bringing thousands of wounded Germans from the battlefields. All hospitals in Hungary are filled. Where the hospitals are unable to accommodate the ever-increasing number of casualties, hotels, schools and private homes are being turned into makeshift hospitals. The majority of the casualties are from shrapnel wounds, necessitating a great proportion of amputations. Restaurants and railway depots have been converted into operating rooms with surgeons working day and night, nevertheless many wounded lie unattended. The death rate is described as “staggering” and lack of blood for transfusions is further complicating the situation.

The report says that the Germans routed their trains to Hungary rather than to the Reich because it was feared that the arrival of so many casualties in German towns would lead to a serious breakdown in civilian morale.

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