Page Sixteen

U. J. A. Combined
Operations Saved
Many Refugees
In 5703

During the past year large-scale rescue operations

have been made possible through the funds contrib-

TH.E JEWISH NEWS

With U.J.A. funds, the

Friday, October 1, 1943

.

••••;.,I •

J. D. C. helped thousands

• ••••,k.
•
• •
••••••• • • • • •

The J. D. C. has aided
many to emigrate to the

of refugees in Switzerland,
Russia, Spain and North

Western Hemisphere and

Africa.

Palestine.

uted by American Jews to the 525,000,000 nationwide

Retraining and rehab-
ilitation for many of the
125,000 immigrants in
Latin America was pro-
vided by the J.D.C. to
assure complete adjust-
ment and make possible
future immigration.

campaign of the United Jewish Appeal for Refugees,

Overseas Needs and Palestine. The largest fund-

raising agency in the history of the Jews of the

United States, the U.J.A. has provided the resources

for the far-flung relief and rehabilitation activities of

the joint Distribution Committee, for the upbuilding

and defense of the Jewish National Home in Palestine

through the United Palestine Appeal, and for the

program of assistance to the refugees who have found

a haven in the United States carried on by the

National Refugee Service.

3

U. J. A. resources enabled the U. P. A. to mobilize the Jewish

Homeland in Palestine for decisive war operations and to continue

immigration and the settlement of refugees. Women are filling the

This program is financed in Detroit with Allied

jobs in factories and on farms to fill the places of thousands of men

Jewish Campaign funds raised through the War

who have joined the British army to fight for freedom in North
Africa, Sicily, Italy and elsewhere.

Chest.

The joy of building is visible
in Palestine among new and old
settlers who have been estab-
lished on land of the Jewish
National Fund with the aid of
the U.P.A. and U.J.A.

Little Sweden Defends the Jews

Neutral Nation Hits Nazis,
Gives Haven to Deportees

By MARTHA JELENKO
(Copyright, 1943, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.)

True to its tradition of liberalism and fair
play, the small neutral country of Sweden,
despite its precarious situation, was particularly
incensed over the barbarous treatment of Jews,
especially in Norway. After deportations from
Western Europe, a storm of indignation swept
Sweden. A public opinion poll' at the end of
December showed that the deportation of Jews
from Norway was considered the most out-
standing event of 1942.
Of special concern to the government were,
of course, Swedish citizens of Jewish faith in
Nazi-held territories who, as reports in March,
1943, indicated, were confronted with the al-
ternative of either returning to Sweden within
a few weeks or being deported along with the
other Jews.
The first group of Swedish Jews who had
resided for years in France and Holland arrived
in Sweden, April 15, 1943. The press the next
day .welcomed them •home, some newspaperS
stressing that their return should make Sweden
feel proud of its role as the last outpost for the
oppressed in Nazi Europe.
The people, however, were not satisfied
with saving. Swedish Jews alone. The Gotten-
burg University students in December 1942, de-
manded that Sweden admit freely for the
duration Jewish refugees.
Iii an unusuccessful attempt to influence a
forthcoming debate on the refugee. question in
Parliament, the Nazis tried to put pressure on
members of the Riksdag to oppose this "Jew-
ish invasion." Threats were uttered that a pro-
Jewish decision might lead to complications in
Swedish-German relations. Yet, the Govern-
ment's decision was in favor of admitting
,Jewish refugees, at least from Norway.
In order to aid the Nazi victims more ef-
fectively and, particularly, to assist Jewish
children caught in Nazi-held territories to emi-
grate to Palestine, a woman's organization,
headed by Baroness Maria Stjernstedt, was
established in Stockholm. Attempts by the
Swedish Red Cross to aid destitute Jews in
Europe were curbed by the Germans.
Fritz Bauer, its director, resigned in April
in protest against the Nazi refusal to permit
the Red Cross to send food and medicaments
to Jewish women and children in the Polish
ghettos. Several days later, Prince Karl, brother
of King Gustav, in a radio address from Stock-
holm, disclosed the refusal by the Germans of
offers by the Red Cross to transfer to Sweden
the few remaining Jewish families in Norway.
The Bishops of Sweden, headed by Arch-
bishop Erling Eiden, issued a message de-
nouncing the Nazis because the "Jewish people
have had to undergo the heaviest suffering
because of their racial origin."

,

VICTORY FOR FREEDOM IS BROUGHT NEARER by the United Jewish Appeal through support of
the Joint Distribution Committee, which aids great masses of sufferers from war and persecution overseas,

and rescues thousands from Nazism (left); the United Palestine Appeal, which finances the development and

the defense of the Jewish homeland in Palestine, now contributing thousands of fighting men and vastly

increased agricultural output to the war effort (middle); and the National Refugee Service, which aids

newcomers in the United States who are doing their full share for our country, in the armed forces and on

the production lines (right).

