840.48 Refugees/6125: Telegram
The Ambassador in Turkey (Steinhardt) to the Secretary of State
[Received 9:13 p.m.]
950. For the WRB. Department’s 458, May 23.36 Ankara 63. The Turk authorities inform me that their information concerning treatment of Jews in Hungary is limited due to the fact that since former Minister Kallay took refuge in the Turk Legation in Budapest the building has been under guard by German Gestapo37 and movements and contacts of Turk Minister and his staff severely restricted.
Such information as the Turk authorities have been able to furnish me supplemented by information from other authoritative sources indicates that at time of German occupation there were approximately 750,000 Jews in Hungary including approximately 25,000 Jewish refugees mostly from Slovakia and some from Poland. Of this total, approximately 200,000 are [said] to be in various concentration camps in Hungary. Large deportations to Poland are said to have begun from these concentration camps. Up to May 15 no Jews are believed to have been removed from Budapest or its environs. A report, however, has been received since that date to the effect that transfer of Jews from Budapest to concentration camps in Hungary is imminent.
An individual by name of Joel Brandt documented as the representative of the Jewish Community of Budapest arrived two days ago in Istanbul and submitted to Barlas of the Jewish Agency38 a proposal said to have originated with Eichman38a Commissioner for Jewish Affairs to the effect that in exchange for 10,000 trucks, 2 million cakes of soap, 800 tons of coffee, 200 tons of tea and 200 tons of cocoa, Eichman would agree to stop the extermination and deportation of Jews [Page 1051] in all areas occupied by the Germans including Rumania and would further agree to allow exit of Jewish unlimited numbers to Spain and in limited numbers to Palestine.