Jews in Voroshilovgrad Lured to Death, Told They Were Being Sent to Palestine

Thousands of Jews in the large Russian city of Voroshilvgrad, recently recaptured by the Red Army, were lured to their death before firing squads by a rumor spread secretly by the Nazis that all Jews there were to be evacuated to Palestine, it is disclosed today in an account released by the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee on the basis of an eye-witness report from Voroshilovgrad.

“Early one week,” the report states, “the Germans circulated a rumor that all the Jews were to be shipped off to Palestine. Mad as the rumor was, the starving, tormented people were ready to grasp at any straw. That Saturday evening a notice was posted ordering Jews to report, together with their belongings, at the municipal stadium the next morning. As soon as dawn came, scores of people wearing black six-pointed stars on their sleeves could be seen trudging toward the stadium, carrying large bundles. Many had babes in arms and others led aged and tottering people.

“At the stadium, motor-cars were ready. Load after load of Jews was whisked to the outskirts of the city, while more and more unfortunates arrived at the stadium, unaware of their ultimate destination. By noon, however, the city learned of the tragedy that was being enacted. As the carloads of Jews arrived at the outskirts of the city, they were stripped of their clothing and group after group were methodically shot down. All day long the crackle of gun shots could be heard in outlying sections of the city. Among those executed were two noted aged Jewish doctors, Moshe Katz and Isaac Fihskin.”