'Friday, September 22, 1944

Jewish Leaders Estimate
120,000 Remain in France

Jewish Telegraphic Correspondent Describes First Hand
Account of Survivors Return to Normalcy, Graphic
Details of How the Underground Operated

By VICTOR BIENSTOCK
LYON (JTA) — Leaders of French Jewry today told this Cor-
resiiondent that they believed that possibly' 120,000 to 150,000 JeWs
survived the German extermination drive in France. They placed
at 300,000 the number of Jews, including foreigners, who resided
in the country prior to the outbreak of the war.
. Additional thousands, they said, escaped . by crossing the Swiss
and Spanish frontiers. About 12,000 Jewish children were saved by
. being smuggled into Switzerland.
. These officials estimated that 120,000 Jews were deported from
France to Poland. They hold out little hope that they have survived.
The-larger part of the deportees, they said, were foreign. refugees.
.. Most of the synagogues in France have been destroyed, the
leaders. of .the Jewish Consistory said, but services are being re-
sumed in liberated territories as soon as possible.
Unsung Heroes Describe Underground ActiVities,
It is difficult to comprehend- how Jewish organizations func-
tioned under the German terror, even when these quiet un-heroic
looking people describe .the methods they employed.. I was shown
the .small, .flimsy, easily-swallowable pieces of paper on : which all
records were kept. I was told that the meek, bashful girl who
helped interpret my French to the JeWish•leaders, had taken several
parties of children into Switzerland through Gestapo and militia
cordons, and had lost a sister who was captured while doing the
Same type of work.
IlluStrative of the way the Jewish organization functioned is
the fact that Jewish officiaiS in Grenoble; 50 miles away, were
unable to give me the names and addresses of leaders here. They
gave me the address of a Frenchwoman living in Villeurbanne and
she brought me to a tailor through whom I met the leaders of the
local organization.
Jews fought not only in their own defense, but as individual
members of special Jewish units of the French. resistance forces.
Jewish officials said that they early recognized the importance of
the resistance movement, and joined in large numbers. Organized
units followed two principal .groupings: nationalist and Zionist
elements, including the Jewish Scouts, in one, and Communist
youth in another.
French Jews Form New Body to Handle Jemiiih Affairs
French Jewish leaders announced the fOrMation. of a new or-
ganization representing all the elements .of the- community; and
empowered to act as the sole representative of French Jews in
dealings with public authorities and Jewish bodies in other coun-
tries.
The group, which will. be known . as the Representative Council
of the Jews of France, will seek recognition by the government and
will ask to be consulted on all matters affecting Jews in France. It
is composed of six representatives of the Jewish Consistory, five
of the general - defense committee, which was.- the supreme . under-
ground organization during the occupation, and one each from the
French Zionist Organization and the Committee of Action of French
Jewish. Youth.
. Other demands inclUde complete and just reparation to Jews
for moral and material damage done them by: Restitution of prop-
erty whoever may be the present holder; reintegration of func-
tiOnaries and agents discharged or compelled to cease their func-
tions, as well as Jewish employes—the period during which such
functionaries, agents and employes were not permitted to function
shall count as a period of active service with full promotion rights
or salary increases to. which they 'would have been entitled had
they been working; and re-establishment of institutions and JeWish
cultural and economic bodies suspended or forbidden under
the anti-Jewish laws.
Demand Abolition -of the White Paper
The council's program in regard. to. Palestine supports the de-
mands of the Jewish Agency for immediate abolition of the White
Paper and free immigration and- colonization, and • for .a national
status for the Jews there.
The Jews of _liberated Lyon, which now has the 'largest Jewish
population in France after Paris, this week held their first open,
legal meeting since the commencement of Nazi persecutions • in
France, and celebrated their new freedom at special synagogue
services.
Some 50 men and women, compo_sing the Lyon. United Jewish
Defense Committee, assembled at a meeting, attended . by this 'cor-
respondent, to discuss the present Jewish situation here and the
various problems facing them in the future course -of their work.
Illustrating the difficulties under which . they worked in the past
few years was the fact that many of these committee members had
never before met each other.
Commissions Established to Return Jewish Life to Normalcy
The .meeting decided to establish four commissions: first, to
continue social work, including relief and social services, job place-
ment and other necessary measures; second, to gather information
concerning - the number of Jews deported and executed, attempt to
arrange reunion of families, and secure other information .concern-
Mg missing Jews; third, to handle legal questions, such as the repos-
session of confiscated property, the status of foreign. Jews, of whom
there are a great many here; and - fourth, to deal with questions of
children, such as the care of a great number whose parents were
deported, arrange for the return of those sent to Switzerland - for
safety. and gather those placed in homes in the countryside, con-
vents. and other places of refuge.
The chairman of the committee, Simon Bornstein, a former
leader of the Jewish Socialist Bund in Paris, warned the meeting
of the grave financial situation, pointing out that hundreds of Jews
coming out of hiding are flooding the committee with appeals for
help.
Among the legal questions now occupying the committee is
first, the question of obtaining valid papers for the majority of the
Jews here. Ironically enough one of the committee members was
arrested on the first day the city was liberated for carrying false
papers, but was released when it was established that he was eom-
pelled to conceal his identity.
The second question is the status of the foreign Jews. They are
considerably alarmed at present • by an order issued by the local
authorities requiring all nationals and natives of enemy countries
to register with the police, owing to • the bitter experience they had
with previous registrations.
Thousands of Children Must Be Returned
The community is preoccupied, also, with the question . of thou-
sands of children scattered in French homes in the countryside, in
convents and other refuges. Many of these are • orphans, and the
parents of others have been missing since they Were deported. They
also want to arrange for the speedy return of the children smuggled
into Switzerland. -
During the discussion on this problem, one speaker, referring
to the fact that an American .Jewish correspondent was present,
appealed. to American Jewry to "make another great gesture and
open their arms to thousands of Jewish children in France whose
parents have been slain by the Nazis."
The full story of the fiendish treatment of the Jews by the Nazis
and their Vichy henchmen will not be known for months, ,btrt it is
known that in addition to hundreds — if not thousands — executed
in this district by the Gestapo and the Vichy militia, hundreds of
others died fighting with French resistance forces against the Nazis.
These heroes will be commemorated at memorial services

Page Three

THE JEWISH NEWS

Weekly Review of the News of the World

(Compiled From Cables of Independent Jewish Press Service)

OVERSEAS

AMERICA

Anti-Semites have been sent out by Homer
L. Chaillaux, head of the American Legion's
National Americanism Commission, as lectur-
ers to address Legion posts and. Legion-spon-.-
sored .meetings, Lucille B. Milner, Secretary of
the American Civil Liberties Union,.charges in,
an article titled "HoW American is the Le-.
gion?" appearing in New Republic magazine:
-'Approximately 1,000 Jews, refugees from
Poland, Austria, and Germany, were found
living in the • former Nazi concentration camp
of Lucca, near Pisa in Italy, after the liberation
of that area by Allied troops, Arthur. D. Green-
leigh, Joint Distribution Committee Represent-
ative in Rome, reports. Mr. Greenleigh also -
reported that the Italian government's subsi-
dies.' to refugees stranded by military Opera-.
tions are inadequate.

Charles Mauras, editor of the anti-Semitic
royalist newspaper "Action Francaise," and
Xavier Vallat, former Vichy Commissioner for
Jewish Affairs, have been arrested by French
patriot forces according to reports in the Paris
newspaper "Liberation."
Alexander Kawalkowski, Polish Consul Gen-
eral of the Polish government-in-exile in Paris,
has invited Polish Jews in France to register
with him for relief. He stressed that they
would be given equal treatment with other
Polish naitonals.
Receiving a deputation of Romanian Jews,
headed by Rabbi Simon Ashkenzi, King
Michael of Romania disclaimed all responsi-
bility for the hounding of Jews by the An- -
tonescu regime.
(See Also Page 18)

With many nurses now in war service and hospital staffs badly
depleted by war conditions, it is urgent that many men volunteer,
to give what help they can. Will you give three hours a week to
help -in Detroit hospitals during this emergency? Will you lend a
helping hand during this critical period?

.

Men who— •
Are able-bodied, between
of 18 and 60;
Have the equivalent of
school education;
Are American citizens or
aliens;
Agree to accept no reins
of any kind.

They should be ' reliable, trust-
worthy and public-spirited.
They should be careful but not

What training is required ?
A short training period will pre-
cede assignment.

Ride ambulance on calls.
Feed helpless patients.
Prepare patients for -the night,
opening windows, drawing shades,
passing.. blankets.
Assist with admission and 'dis-
charge of patients.
Assist doctors with physical ex-
aminations , and all other work re-
quired of non-professional help- in
hospitals.

3 hours each week and 3 hours on
one Sunday each month.

American Red Cross, Blood Pro-
curement Division, 450 W. Fort
(Cherry 1200).
Detroit Junior Board of Com-
merce Office, Detroit Leland Hotel
(Cherry 3214).

