Apathy is setting in among many of the displaced Jews in Germany because of the general political picture, Moses Leavitt, executive vice-president of the Joint Distribution Committee, said today. Mr. Leavitt, who is on an extended tour of JDC installations throughout Europe, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that only aid from American Jews can ensure that the apathy does not develop into despair.
Mr. Leavitt warned that it was vital for the International Refugee Organization to begin functioning on July 1, as soon as UNRRA is liquidated, in order to avoid any idatus in relief and rehabilitation activities. He had high praise for the rehabilitation program being conducted by the voluntary Jewish agencies and stressed the high degree of cooperation among the JDC, the Jewish Agency and the Central Committee of Liberated Jews.
The displaced Jews are anxious to work, and the only thing that is holding up expansion of the rehabilitation program is shortage of materials, he said. However, it is expected that these shortages will be shortly overcome, the JDC head added. Mr. Leavitt will visit Austria, Czechoslovakia and Poland after leaving here.
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.
