Typed Letter Signed “W. Godfrey,” Archbishop of Cius, Apostolic Delegate. Confidential communication from the Holy See to Chief Rabbi Joseph H. Hertz concerning the whereabouts of Chief Rabbi Shmuel Dovid Ungar of Nitra.

(HOLOCAUST).

November 20th

London

1944

On letterhead of Apostolic Delegation, London.

R. Shmuel Dovid Ungar of Nitra (1886-1945) and his son-in-law R. Michoel Dov Weissmandel (d. 1957) organized in their native Slovakia an underground network to assist Jews escape Nazi deportation, receiving on occasion, cooperation from Catholic clergy. Eventually both men were forced into hiding. In this letter from the Holy See, routed through the Apostolic Delegate in London, Chief Rabbi J.H. Hertz of England is informed that “the person concerned [Shmuel Dovid Ungar] cannot be traced, but there is every reason to believe that he evaded capture and has found a safe refuge.” In actual fact, R. Ungar, trapped in caves deep in the forests surrounding Bistritz, died of starvation in February, 1945. While R. Weissmandel, who escaped from a transport to Auschwitz, survived the war and thereafter settled in the United States where he rebuilt the Nitra community in Mount Kisco, New York.