Raids on Jewish homes by Communist police authorities in East Berlin were carried out today, with many Jews deprived of their identity documents in order to prevent them from leaving their homes.
The raids followed the escape this week-end into West Berlin of a number of Jewish leaders from Soviet-held parts of Germany, including Julius Meyer, president of the Berlin Jewish Community and deputy of the East German Parliament. Mr. Meyer, who was a member of the Communist Party, resided in East Berlin where most of the Jewish communal property is located.
Among the other Jewish leaders who fled from the Communist part of Germany into West Berlin were Helmuth Losher, head of the Jewish community in Leipzig; Leo Loewenkopf, head of the Dresden Jewish community, and Guenther Singer, president of the Jewish community of Erfurt. They reported that they had decided to flee from the Soviet zone after they were cross-examined by the political police there about their past activities.
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