The role that Jews are playing in the Russian guerrilla units fighting behind the German lines was described here today by the well-known Ukrainian writer Alexander Kornietchuk who reached Kuibyzhev today from the front after spending many weeks as a guerrilla fighter in the rear of the Nazi armies.
“One meets Jews in almost every guerrilla detachment,” the Ukrainian writer reported. “In one place I met a Jewish father, mother and two sons, all conducting guerrilla activities in the forests during the cold winter months. A Jewish girl named Basia has become a legendary figure among the guerrillas. She was responsible for blowing up bridges and warehouses in the rear of the enemy and, with the help of another Jewish guerrilla fighter, even succeeded in capturing a German colonel and bringing him alive to the Russian lines as a prisoner. Once she was hidden in mud under heavy rain for two nights until she succeeded in destroying a German telephone line. She crossed the front lines eight times and each time brought important information. Her husband was killed in action and she herself was twice wounded.”
The Soviet press today reports the curious case of a German colonel who was taken prisoner. Badly wounded, he was placed in a Russian hospital. His diary was full of entries describing the killing of Jews and lauding the Nazi racial theory. “Jewish blood is of the worse quality,” one entry in his diary read.
The Russian doctor in the base hospital decided that only a blood transfusion could save the life of the captured Nazi officer. “We have only Jewish blood in our hospital for transfusion, and I wonder whether it is acceptable to you,” the doctor warned the Nazi. “By all means,” the Nazi officer replied. “The talk about racial purity is nothing but madness and nonsense. I personally do not believe in it. Do what is necessary and save my life.”
The Soviet news agency Tass today reported that mass-executions of Jewish and Russian civilians continue in the Smolensk district. The Nazis drive their victims to the outskirts of the towns, order them to dig mass-graves, and mow them down with machine guns. These murders of innocent civilians take place daily, Tass states on the basis of reports from people who escaped from Smolensk.
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.
