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Hungarian Jews Will Be Massacred Before Entry of Russians, Budapest Papers Threaten

The Jewish population of Hungary will be massacred in the ghettos into which they are now being herded, in the event that an invasion by Russian troops become imminent, pro-Nazi Budapest newspapers threaten. The papers sneer at the Allied indigaton over the removal of Jews to districts in Hungary which are targets of Anglo-American bombing. […]

May 18, 1944
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The Jewish population of Hungary will be massacred in the ghettos into which they are now being herded, in the event that an invasion by Russian troops become imminent, pro-Nazi Budapest newspapers threaten.

The papers sneer at the Allied indigaton over the removal of Jews to districts in Hungary which are targets of Anglo-American bombing. "Hungarian self-defence will not be influenced by threats from New York and London," the Esti Ujsag writes.

The organ of the Hungarian Government, Fueggetlenseg, in an article written by its editor, says that the Jews in Hungary, when being moved into ghettos, calmly comment. "We shall wait" This, the paper says, means that the Jews hope that within several weeks the Russian Army will break through the Carpathian mountains and occupy the cities where the ghettos have been established. "This Jewish waiting will, however, be forestalled by National-Socialism and by methods fixed to comply with Hitler’s wish that no Jew be left in Europe by the time the war comes to an end," the paper declares.

323,000 HUNGARIAN JEWS IN GHETTOS; AUCTIONING OF PROPERTY SPEEDED

Under-Secretary Lazlo Baky, who yesterday announced that all of Hungary’s 800,000 Jews will be in ghettos by the end of this month, today revealed in a broadcast from Budapest that 323,000 Jews are already in ghettos or concentration camps.

The newspaper Magyarorszag, welcoming the segregation of Jews in ghettos, urges that the government take "immediate measures" to put all the Jews of Hungary "to useful work." It emphasizes that "800,000 Jews constitute an important labor reserve."

Meanwhile, the Hungarian authorities have decided to speed the disposal of confiscated Jewish property, and the Minister of Interior today warned in Budapest that any hidden Jewish property must be reported to local authorities within ten days, after which severe punishment will be imposed upon anyone found guilty of failing to report Jewish belongings.

The warning was broadcast over the Hungarian radio together with an announcement disclosing that it was motivated by the fact that many non-Jews possess hidden Jewish property "partly with a view to material gain and partly because of misguided altruism." The broadcast invited applications for 190 Jewish drug stores which were taken over by the government under the anti-Jewish regulations after the owners were removed to ghettos.

The Bar Association in Budapest announced that it has struck from its membership rolls 1,260 Jewish lawyers. It also sent out a circular letter to its non-Jewish members warning them of disciplinary proceedings if any of them are found guilty of acting "as dummy for a Jewish lawyer."

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