Hungarian Jews Lured to Death with Promise of Exchange for German Civilians

Hungarian Jews, unaware of the fate which awaits them, are still being lured to extermination camps in the Nazi-held part of Poland under various Pretexts, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency was informed here today by an emissary of the Polish underground movement who left occupied Poland only a week ago.

“Despite the impression that the Hungarian Government is trying to spread abroad, that the mass-deportations of Jews from Hungary have been suspended, train-loads of Hungarian Jews continued to arrive at the Oswiecim extermination camp in Poland every day during the week before I left,” the underground envoy stated.

“The Jews are told that they are being exchanged for German civilians, or that they are being taken to Switzerland, or that they are being transported for internment on some island between Britain and Germany for the duration of the war, after which they will have the choice of either returning to Hungary or emigrating to other countries. Some of the Jews are even transported in sleeping cars in order to convince the victims that they are on their way to safety. But all the trains end up at the Oswiecim camp.”

In view of the approach of the Russian armies, the mass-killing of the Jews at Oswiecim is being expedited, the Polish representative said. The Gestapo has reduced the execution time in the gas chambers from thirty minutes to ten. Most of the victims are only stupefied and some of them are thrown into heaps still conscious and pushed into crematoria while still alive.

Fearful of revolts, the Germans have scattered machine-guns throughout the camp area, which are manned 24 hours a day. There have been attempts to escape from the camp, but they were unsuccessful and all the fugitives were killed.

100 BRITISH NATIONALS AMONG JEWS GASSED AT OSWIECIM

Among those executed recently were 100 English Jews who had been interned in Hungary since the outbreak of the war. Many of them were well known in British and Hungarian financial circles. They were separated from the other deportees and were led to the execution chambers by the camp commandant. Before being asphyxiated they were stripped naked and beaten by Elite Guards. All their valuables including gold and platinum fillings from their teeth were appropriated by the commandant and his aide.

Early last month a contingent of 300 Jewish women and girls from Hungary arrived at Palzow, near Cracow. Some of them were given uniforms and sent elsewhere for an undisclosed purpose, the polish informant said.