On the last day of August in 1945, the JTA – the Jewish Telegraphic Agency – issued a News Bulletin which carried a news item detailing the postwar work of members of the Jewish Brigade in conveying Jewish refugees from Europe to the Yishuv, and, South America. This occurred in cooperation with Allied authorities in Brussels, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (otherwise known as the Joint or JDC, the Jewish Agency, and HIAS (Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society). (HIAS, now a 501(c)(3), has changed dramatically in ethos since 1945 – as explained here and here – now in 2021 being a “Jewish” organization in title only.)
Just a week later, on September 7, 1945, a shortened German-language version of JTA’s press release was published in Aufbau. A transcript of the news item is given below, followed by the and then, an English-language translation of that item.
The article is reflective of the postwar transformation of the Jewish Brigade’s role, from one of warfare, to that – unofficially but effectively – of rescue, relief, and reconstruction of the Jewish future.
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Trucks of Jewish Brigade Bring Jews from Belgium to France for Palestine Sailing
JTA Daily News Bulletin
Volume XII, No. 200, Friday, August 31, 1945
Twenty trucks of the Jewish Brigade, led by Major T. Kaspi, arrived here today from Brussels with more than 200 Jews from Belgium who were liberated from camps in Germany and who are planning to sail from Marseille for Palestine.
The steamer on which the liberated Jews will travel will also carry about 300 other Jews to Palestine, including 360 from Switzerland, 204 from France and about 200 from various camps in Germany and from an UNRRA camp at Philippeville, Algeria. Allied military authorities in Brussels made it possible for the Jewish Brigade to bring the Jews from Belgium to Paris where they will stay in the Hotel Lutetia, maintained by the French Ministry for Repatriated Deportees, until they leave for Marseille from where they will sail on September 2nd.
The Hias-Ica [a misprint – should read “HIAS-ICA”] office here today reports that the very complicated arrangements for the departure of the approximately 1,000 Jewish emigrants were made by the Hias-Ica [sic] in cooperation with the French, American and British authorities and with the aid of the Joint Distribution Committee and the Jewish Agency for Palestine. Thanks to the sympathetic cooperation of the French authorities, every emigrant will receive en route to Marseille hot beverages and a sufficient quantity of food without ration cards.
(A small group of Jewish survivors has left Marseille on the first French boat to sail directly from France to South America since the country’s liberation, according to a cable received today from Paris by Ilja Dijour, executive secretary of the HIAS-ICA headquarters in New York.)
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Here’s the German-language summary of the item, as it appeared in Aufbau…
Jüdische Brigade begleitet Palästina-Reisende
In Paris sind unter Führung von Major T. Kaspi zwanzig Lastwagen der Jüdischen Brigade aus Brüssel eingetroffen, die über 200 Juden aus Belgien — ehemalige Insassen deutscher Konzentrationslager — nach Frankreich brachten. Diese sollen von Marseille nach Palästina ausreisen. Ihr Dampfer nimmt ferner rund 800 Juden mit, davon 360 aus der Schweiz, 240 aus Frankreich und etwa 200 Juden aus verschiedenen deutschen Lagern und dem UNRRA-Lager Philippeville in Algerien.
Die alliierten Militärbehörden in Brüssel ermöglichten es der Jüdischen Brigade, die Juden von Belgien nach Paris zu transportieren, wo sie einstweilen im Hotel Lutetia untergebracht wurden, das dem französischen Ministerium für die Gefangenen, Deportierten und Repatriierten untersteht. Ihre Abreise von Marseille war für den 2. September vorgesehen. Das hiesige Büro der HIAS berichtet, dass sie die langwierigen Verhandlungen für den Abtransport der rund 1000 jüdischen Palästina – Emigranten im Zusammenwirken mit dem Joint und französischen, amerikanischen und britischen Behörden, erfolgreich zum Abschluss bringen konnte.
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…and, an English-language translation:
Jewish Brigade Accompanies Palestine Travelers
Under the leadership of Major T. Kaspi, twenty lorries of the Jewish Brigade from Brussels arrived in Paris, bringing more than 200 Jews from Belgium – former inmates of German concentration camps – to France. These are to leave Marseille for Palestine. Their steamer also carries around 800 Jews, including 360 from Switzerland, 240 from France and about 200 Jews from various German camps and the UNRRA Philippeville camp in Algeria.
The Allied military authorities in Brussels enabled the Jewish Brigade to transport the Jews from Belgium to Paris, where they were temporarily housed in the Hotel Lutetia, which reports to the French Ministry of Prisoners, Deportees and Repatriates. Her departure from Marseille was scheduled for 2 September. The local HIAS office reported that it was able to successfully conclude the lengthy negotiations for the removal of the approximately 1,000 Jewish Palestinians – emigrants in cooperation with the Joint and French, American and British authorities.