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Jewish Leader Murdered in Poland; Killer Leaves Card Identifying His Organization

June 3, 1946
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Dr. Michael Szczglowski-Mehrer, a leader of the OSE, the Jewish Health Society, in Poland, was murdered by a member of an anti-Semitic underground group at his home in Katowice, which was located on the busiest street of the city.

The murderer brazenly left behind a card indicating that he was a member of the Polish Home Army, which is terrorizing the Jews and campaigning against the present Polish Government.

At his funeral today, which was attended by thousands of people, representatives of the government, of the Polish Medical Association and of other groups expressed their indignation at the terrorism.

Hans Bubow, commander of the Lodz ghetto where 200,000 Jews were murdered, and Rudolph Hoess, commandant of the infamous Oswiecim death camp, have been brought here from the U.S. zone of Germany by a Polish military commission to stand trial as war criminals. The commission was headed by Dr. Marjan Muszkat, vice-president of the Supreme Military Court and president of the ORT in Poland.

Bubow will be tried at Lodz where several hundred Jewish witnesses are expected to testify against him. Hoess’ trial will take place in Warsaw, and witnesses from all over Europe have been assembled to testify.

Another war criminal brought here this week is Haupsturmfuhrer Goetz, who liquidated the Cracow and Samok ghettos and volunteered to wipe out the ghettos in Tarnow and Buchnia. Goetz is charged with responsibility for the deaths of tens of thousands of Jews. He was in hiding in the U.S. zone of Germany for almost a year before being apprehended. Flown here with Goetz was Fritz Preuse, a SS leader who took part in the destruction of the Warsaw ghetto.

It was announced today that a court at Cracow has sentenced to death Joseph Aksat and Sofia Moskaleva for betraying a Jewish lawyer named Humpert to the Gestapo in 1942. Humpert was killed by the Nazis.

20,000 POLISH JEWS HAVE SETTLED IN FORMER GERMAN CITY OF STETTIN

Dr. Joseph Schvartz, European director of the Joint Distribution Committee, and Dr. Julius Brutzkus, president of the world OSE, arrived here during the week-end.

Their arrival is particularly welcome at this time because of the difficulties which the Jewish organizations here are facing in connection with the medical and other aid needed by tens of thousands of Polish Jews who are being repatriated from Russia.

The last transports of Jewish repatriates from Russia are being directed to the port city of Stettin which Poland acquired from Germany. There are already more than 20,000 Polish Jews in Stettin, the majority of whom are working on the reconstruction of the port. A large number of them are in need of food, clothing and medicine.

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