Of Yugoslavia’s 70,000 Jews only 1,600 remain alive in the country, according to the latest estimate of Joint Distribution Committee representatives working with the Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees. Of these, approximately 600 have joined Marshal Tito’s forces and are fighting the Nazis.
Five thousand Yugoslav Jews have escaped to Italy, but thus far only 2,000 have reached liberated territory. The others are either in hiding or have been captured. The great majority of Yugoslavia’s 70,000 Jews were long ago seized and slaughtered or deported, according to the Intergovernmental Committee’s information.
The Committee is now cooperating with British authorities and the JDC in aiding 1,200 Jews in Tito-held Croatia. Six hundred and fifty of these are aged people and children and include 150 orphans who will be evacuated to Italy. The rest include 100 women, fighting the Nazis or engaged in staff work for Tito. Two hundred others are reported to have reached a partisan oasis in Slovenia.
British planes recently dropped clothing to the group in Croatia. Randolph Churchill, son of the British Prime Minister, superintended the distribution. Clothing furnished by the British Army undoubtedly will save many lives this winter.
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.
