Mass-arrests of Jews for deportation to Nazi-held territories have been resumed during the last few days throughout unoccupied France, according to a report reaching here today from Marseilles.
The report states that since last Wednesday intensified raids have been conducted in every city in Southern France. Jews, including even those who enlisted in the French Army in 1939 soon after the war broke out, are being arrested in their homes, in cafes, in restaurants and wherever the police can lay their hands upon them. Street cars and buses are being stopped to allow the police to search for Jews among the passengers, while travelers on trains must identify themselves in order to avoid being arrested as Jews.
An eye-witness story published today in the Zuricher Volksrecht describing the raids on Jews in Marseilles says that all arrested Jews are being herded into freight cars and sent to unknown destinations. At the same time, a report from Paris published here today predicts that in addition to the deportation of Jews who entered France since 1933, the deportation of native-born Jews from France will start soon.
The civilian population in France displays great sympathy for the hunted Jews and tries to be helpful to them wherever possible, it is emphasized in reports from unoccupied France. The Bishop of Tolouse issued a pastoral letter condemning the arrests of Jews and the “frightful things which are happening in the concentration camps.”
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.
