The Nazi authorities in the Polish Government-General are permitting emigration of Polish Jews on payment of the equivalent of $750 per person, it was reported here today.
The “ransom” must be paid to the Passport Office before the authorities will arrange transit through Spain and Portugal, the report said. The requirement recalls the “emigration tax” levied on Jews emigrating from the Reich and Austria.
Persons of non-Polish origin in the Nazi-occupied Poland are receiving special “identity certificates” which exempt them from legislation aimed at the local population, according to reports from Warsaw. It is believed that they will be covered by special legislation. This category includes Lithuanians, Russians, White Russians, Ukrainians and Czechs.
The Warsaw Jewish Community has been permitted to institute Saturday as the official day of rest in the ghetto, instead of Sunday.
Meanwhile, it was learned that arrangements have been made by American relief agencies for emigration of some 1,500 Polish Jewish refugees in Lithuania to the United States and other countries on the American continent by way of Siberia, Japan and the Pacific. These persons hold exit permits which expire Jan. 25. They include a large number of rabbis and yeshiva students.
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