The British Ambassador in Baghdad wrote to Foreign Minister Anthony Eden on July 11^th, 1941: On the afternoon of June 1, 1941, law and order in Baghdad broke down, and the Jews who went out to celebrate the occasion of their deliverance  (Shavout) picnicking along the Tigris river corniche and other public parks were attacked by thugs armed with knives, hatchets, and guns killing and maiming them brutally. THE JEWISH CROWDS WHO HAD NOWHERE TO GO WERE SLAUGHTERED LIKE SHEEP, ONLY A FEW WERE SAVED BY PRETENDING TO BE CHRISTIANS OR MUSLIMS. Source: Sawdayee, Maurice M. The Baghdad Connection, 1977, pp. 107-108