19 FEBRUARY 1943, Page 1

The Massacre of Jews

The Nazi policy of the extermination of the Jews is being prose- cuted with increasing savagery. Stories which have reached the British Section of the World Jewish Congress, to the effect that all Jews are being eliminated from Bohemia and Moravia by the simple process of withdrawing their ration-cards and forbidding them to buy unratitined food ; that 6,000 a day are being killed in one area of Poland alone ; and that the Warsaw ghetto, which once con- tained 43o,000 Jews, now contains none—may be inaccurate in detail, but are only too likely to be correct in substance. The demand that the British Government shall take any and every step possible in this appalling situation is growing in force, and the fact that the majority of these tragic victims are beyond the reach of help only accentuates the importance of exerting every effort for the salvation of those who are not. No appeal to Hitler to let Jews go has, much hope of success. Whether any could be got out of France is doubtful, though here the possibility does perhaps exist. There are said to be some thousands—not enough to tax British official charity unduly—in neutral countries like Spain and Portugal, and some that can still be evacuated from Bulgaria ; the same may apply to Hungary and Rumania. But if they can be got out the question where they can go and how has still to be answered. There is room for a certain number in Palestine, and obviously in the face of a situation so calamitous the entry-quota should be temporarily increased. There is abundant room in the ,healthier parts of Libya, and some in French North Africa: And difficult as the problem of shipping is, it ought rat to be insoluble. The real trouble is that the matter is no single Minister's business here. The appointment of a man of vigour and determination as High Commissioner for the Jews, to formulate a policy and the details of its execution, is needed,