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Day of Mourning for Jews of Europe Widely Observed in Latin-america

December 4, 1942
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Reports reaching here today indicate that the day of mourning for the massacred Jews of Nazi-Europe was widely observed yesterday throughout Latin-America.

In Buenos Aires Jewish businesses were closed for the entire day and hundreds of people crowded the synagogues. The period of fasting was almost universally observed. The Argentine press carried strong editorials deprecating the executions of the hundreds of thousands of European Jews. In Cuba, the House of Representatives unanimously approved a motion protesting the Nazi persecution of Jews and urging the Allied Governments to act to prevent Hitler from carrying out his threat to exterminate all the Jews of Europe by the and of the year. Earlier a procession of several thousand Jews marched to the National Capital and presented potitions to Congress and President Batista asking the Cuban Government to join in the protest. Jewish business establishments were closed all day.

In Curacao, in the Netherlands West Indies, special service were held in the old synagogue in the capital city of Willemstad. Many Dutch officials, including the Acting Governor, attended. All the newspapers published editorials condemning Hitler’s threat to wipe out the Jews. In Caracas, Venezuela, about 2,000 Jews filled the synagegues as Jewish-owned stores and factories closed for the day. The leaders of the Jewish community appealed to the United Nations to threaten the immediate bombing of German villages if the mass-murder of the Jews does not cease. In Mangua, Nicaragua, and in San Jose, Costa Rica, similar observances were held with Jewish firms closing and prayers being recited in the synagogues.

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