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Jews Stranded on Border As Hungarian and Austrian Guards Forbid Movement

May 19, 1947
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One hundred and sixteen Jewish men, women and chilren from Rumania have been stranded without food on a railway bridge on the Austro-hungarian border near the Austrian village of Loipersbach since May 14, the Jewish elegraphic Agency learned here during the week-end.

The Hungarian border police refuse to permit the Jews to return to Hungary ##hile Austrian frontier guards, under orders from the local Russian occupying authorties, refuse to allow the Jews to continue on to Vienna. The incident began last Tuesday when the Hungarians expelled the Jews across the border at the town of Rohr##ach. The Austrians were ordered to send the refugees back, despite the Hungarian ##tion.Meanwhile, the Jewish Refugee Committee dispatched two trucks from Vienna to pick up the Jews. On the first trip about 50 were transported to the Rothschild ##ospital here, but on the second attempt the drivers, two representatives of the Committee and the trucks were seized. Later, the drivers were released but forced to return to Vienna empty. The Russians are also reported to have arrested six Jews, three of whom spoke Russian.The Russian authorities, at the requost of the Austrian Ministry of the Interior, have asked the Soviet mission in Budapest to prevent further refugee ##migration transports from leaving the country. The Soviet officials, however, Insisted upon the return of the newly-arrived group, while the local officials in the border area have ordered the Austrians to stop further influx of refugees.A report from the Austrian officials in the area informed the Interior Ministry yesterday of the plight of the refugees. It was officially stated that there is considerable illness among the 116. One official at the Ministry asserted that he had personally ordered the refugees fed and housed in Loipersbach, but has not yet received word from the Russians on the matter.

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