| Slovakian city apologizes to Jews
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The authorities in a small Slovakian city on Sunday officially apologized to the Jewish community for mob attacks that took place there several months after the end of World War II.
A crowd of angry city residents in Topolcany, provoked by rumours that a Jewish doctor had vaccinated children with a toxic serum, began lynching Jews on 25September 1945.
No Jews died from the mob attacks but around 50 were seriously injured.
Declaration anounced
“We, the representatives of the city of Topolcany, express our profound
sorrow for this act which, given the scale of its barbarity and malice, does
not compare to anything else in our modern history,” said the city's
declaration, which was read before members of the Jewish community.
About 550 Jews lived in the city in western Slovakia when the war ended.
The city's current total population is around 30,000.
“I am very happy with this decision by the city authorities and we welcome
it with satisfaction,” said Jaroslav Franek, a spokesman for the Jewish
community in Slovakia.
Between 1942 and 1944, the Slovak state was controlled by Nazi Germany,
which sent to concentration camps some 70,000 Jews out of a total of 90,000
who were living then in the country.
Around 3,300 Jews are living today in Slovakia.
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