DEPORTATIONS BY NAZIS

Grey River Argus, 11 June 1943, Page 6

DEPORTATIONS BY NAZIS

Catholic Church Protest

LONDON, June 9

A sharply-worded pastoral letter, read in all Roman Catholic churches in Holland on May 16, deals with me deportation of Dutchmen for work in Germany. It states: “This is deportation on a larger scale than the Christian world ever knew J 1 ? 1 ' such happenings we must go back to the times of the Babylonian exile. Posterity would consider it to our eternal shame if we viewed this -injustice silently. Initially, it said that Netherlands men must work elsewhere, because there is neither bread nor work for them here. Now as. has been explicitly stated, they; must work for Germany to assure a German victory. According to the Fourth Commandment, we must honour and love our country, and make sacrifices for it. Now, we may not only) do nothing for our country, but we are even forced, under threat of heavy punishment, ■ to help the enemy, though it is being presented it is the duty of all Christians to fight against Bolshevism. This us only a catch phrase. He who really desires to fight ‘Godless Bolshevism must not suppress Christianity by all manner of means as is done bv Nazism.” . r . The letter was signed by Dr. Jong Archbishop of Utrech, and head of the Roman Catholic Church in Holland and b’y; Holland’s four Bishops. The Belgian News Agency reports that Russian prisoners herded ■_ in goods trucks have arrived at Campinaire coal mines, Namur. Three prisoners of the contingent which naa not received food and drink .for four days, died en route. When news of the Russian arrival spread, civilians provided them with sandwiches’ and tobacco. , , . German military leaders, like the Nazi political leaders, would be liable to punishment for any crimes of which it could be shown they had been responsible against members of the United Nations detained against their will in Gremany, or Germanoccupied territory, Mr. Eden told the House of Commons. • . The Greek ■ Information Office states: German persecution of Jews in Greece made the Greens intensely indignant. The Athens University Council, as the result of intolerable persecutions of Jews in Salonika, petitioned the Occupation authorities requesting Salonika Jews of Greek nationality, to be treated as Greek subjects. The petition was rejected after which there was wholesale deportation of Jews from Salonika, x.ie first batch of 3500 Jews was sent by rail early in March, 1943 to Poland. Men, women and children were herded in trucks, which were sealed, leaving one small window for ventilation. One petrol can of water was allowed to each truck. There have been further deportations, A large number of victims are reported to have died during the journey. German propaganda is putting out a’ stream of stories about the generous treatment of the Ukrainians, but atrocities are verified by official Soviet documents,, and also by British and American correspondents wno visited Kharkov. As recently as May 20, 2500 men and women were arrested at Olvesk, west of Kiev, for deportation as slave labour to Germany. Between ten and fifteen citizens'at Olvesk were hanged publicly daily, as a warning to the guerrillas. One hundred, aged 10 to 15 years, whose parents were deported to Germariy; were brought to the town' of Novogradvolyns and offered publicly for sale, at the rate of four shillings for girls and six shillings for boys. Those not sold, were drowned in the Sluch River, according t 0 an eyewitness who recently arrived at Moscow.