Jews Worst Sufferers in Most Serious Economic Depression in Eastern Europe in 5 Years; May Continue

The present economic depression in Eastern Europe, bearing especially hard upon the Jewish populations, is worse than anything which has happened in the past five years, and will continue for some time, even if conditions the world over improve, Dr. Berhard Kahn, European director of the Joint Distribution Committee, declares in his report to the American office on the work for the first three months of 1930. Dr. Kahn’s report was made public yesterday by David M. Bressler, one of the national chairmen of the Allied Jewish Campaign for $6,000,000 of which $3,500,000 will be used by the Joint Distribution Committee to help meet the conditions on which Dr. Kahn reports: $2,500,000 will be administered by the Jewish Agency to carry out its program in Palestine.

TEXTILE INDUSTRY DEPRESSION

Ninety percent of the Jewish workers in the textile industry of Poland are out of work, as are almost 70 percent of the Jews in the needle trades, Dr. Kahn says. The failure, thus far, of Poland, to enter into a commercial treaty with Germany, has aggravated the present situation, he states. Roumania, where each of the four districts has its peculiar economic problem, is affected adversely as a whole by the political conditions.

The burden of taxation, in Poland, Roumania, and other Eastern countries strikes the Jewish population, which is predominately commercial, hardest of all, declares Dr. Kahn.

“The prospects for Jews in Roumania look very dark,” Dr. Kahn reports, “Representatives of Roumanian Jewry requested us to come to the aid of the credit cooperatives which are the only economic institutions on which the Jewish masses can still call, to support the Jewish merchant banks and to establish free loan institutions which would help the poorest classes. We must meet this extremely trying situation which affects a million Jews.”

In view of the very serious economic situation which prevails also in Czecho-slovakia and Hungary, Dr. Kahn declares the Joint Distribution Committee has done all it could with the means at its disposal to strengthen the credit institutions, and other cooperative organizations which would favorably affect the economic, physical and social welfare of the Jews.

GOVERNMENTS’ HIGH REGARD FOR J.D.C.

Indicating the high regard in which the work of the Joint Distribution Committee is held by the governments abroad, Dr. Kahn declared that in the budget presented to the Sejm by the Polish ministry, there is a grant of 75,000 zlotys for the Gemiloth Chessed Kassas, and also 125,000 zlotys for the Jewish trade schools established or assisted by the Joint Distribution Committee.

“In view of the serious economic situation in all countries covered by the activities of the American Reconstruction Foundation,” Dr. Kahn declares, “there seems to be no other means of helping the situation except by strengthening the credit kassas and other cooperative institutions.”

At present there are 712 credit cooperatives with a membership of 308,750 under the supervision of the Foundation in thirteen countries and districts of Eastern Europe.