“On What Was Happening in the Diaspora” – Five Printed Pages by Zionist Emissaries in Occupied Europe Reporting the Imprisonment of Jews, Massacres, and the Killing of Thousands of Jews in Several Major Cities in Real-Time, Along with Harrowing Reports of Thousands of Jews, Naked and Destitute, Begging for Help and Searching for Relatives – “From Every Corner of the Land, the Cries of the Desperate Are Reaching Us, and We Are Powerless to Fulfill Their Requests…”. The reports came from various cities in France, Romania, Geneva, and Bratislava, from August to November 1943. The document is, in fact, a desperate call for rescue in the darkest times known to the Jewish people. At the top of the document, it is written: “Read and Destroy!” – a call for help, sent under real existential fear.
The document contains harsh reports from different regions. For example, from the occupied area in France on September 12, 1943:
“…We are particularly concerned about the family of children, please pass this on to him. T. and K., I saw their Belgian relatives, I am ready to send you the list of people if you can act for their benefit, please do so.” A report from the occupied region of France on September 12, 1943: “…The Germans quickly arrested some Italians, only a small number managed to escape to Italy. In this situation, the Jews who came in masses from all parts of France to the Italian zone were not taken. The Germans began arrests in Nice. First and foremost, Jews were arrested, and they surrounded the train station in Nice, and all those arriving were arrested by the Germans. They did not demand papers. The men were subjected to medical checks, and all Jews were arrested. The women were required to show papers, and all Jews were arrested. It is not exactly known how many were arrested, but it is known that the number reached into the thousands. About 200 managed to cross to Italy, but their fate is unknown…”.
Horrific Report from Bucharest, Also Dated September 12, 1943, Concerning: “Deportation to Transnistria…According to the information we obtained, there are currently around 65,000 people in Transnistria, residing in six large settlements and several smaller ones.
Their physical, spiritual, social, economic, and hygienic condition is extraordinarily poor… We have accumulated a great deal of material, which we will send to you another time, but for now, suffice it to say that the overwhelming majority are completely without any clothing. They walk around naked and barefoot or wrapped in newspapers or sacks. Their clothes were stolen or worn out from overuse, and some even sold their last shirt for a piece of stale bread. The sight of these people is horrendous, and it is hard to believe they were created in His image. No one is caring for the children, and no one is teaching them even the form of a letter. They wander the streets like vagrants, without shelter. No one is registering births and deaths, and people have no identification papers.. . We are trying to exchange money shipments for shipments of supplies… As for sending emissaries to Czvija – to our great sorrow, that is no longer of much use.
According to the information we have – there are no more than a few tens of thousands of survivors in Czvija, and even they are hidden or have been deported to places that no one can approach…” Regarding the “field cities, ” the report continues: “The harsh decrees have robbed the vast majority of any possibility of work… Poverty and deprivation are exhausting the last remnants of strength. There is no end to the suffering. From all corners of the land, we hear the cries of the desperate, and we are powerless to fulfill their requests – due to lack of means. The men work in forced labor while wrapped in rags, and the women – who can describe their suffering and sorrow… During the slaughter, 14,000 people perished, mostly men. Widows and orphans remain… It should be noted that the population in all of Romania is now 210,000.”
Additionally, a harrowing report from October 8, 1943, states:
“Bad rumors are coming from Transnistria – people are starving, sick, dying from hunger and disease, and every moment brings cruel news of murders and massacres. The war is approaching us… if the Germans retreat, what happened to the Jews and our dear ones there will be like what happened in Poland…”
The report also includes testimony about Polish refugees in Chernivtsi and Bucharest, and the efforts of Zionist emissaries to issue immigration permits, with desperate pleas to their contacts in Eretz Israel: “Provide us with immigration. Find a quick solution for the pioneering movement.” The document also includes a letter sent from a Romanian prison – a Jew who was arrested and desperately requests help from Zionist shipments, among other things.
It is unknown how many documents of this type reached their destination, or whether the recipients were able to provide the necessary assistance, and in what form. Such historical documents were akin to a “cry in the wilderness, ” as possibilities for external help through the occupied territories were almost impossible.
5 pages, 33×21 cm. Typewritten and duplicated by stencil. Very good condition.
