“GHETTO BENCHES” FOR JEWS WERE OFFICIALLY INTRODUCED IN WARSAW UNIVERSITIES TODAY BY ORDER OF THE RECTORS UNDER AUTHORIZATION GRANTED BY THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION.
THE RECTORS’ PUBLISHED ORDERS ALLOCATE BENCHES TO MEMBERS OF THE POLISH STUDENTS’ CORPORATION, BRATNIA POMOC, AND SEPARATE BENCHES ON THE LEFT SIDE OF LECTURE ROOMS STAMPED TO INDICATE THEY ARE RESERVED FOR JEWS. DISCIPLINARY MEASURES ARE PROVIDED FOR VIOLATION.
THE EDUCATION MINISTER’S DECREE EMPOWERED RECTORS IN WARSAW AND IN PROVINCIAL TOWNS TO INTRODUCE AT THEIR DISCRETION THE SEGREGATION AGAINST WHICH JEWISH STUDENTS HAD FOUGHT FOR TWO YEARS.
JEWISH MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT, AFTER CONFERRING WITH STUDENTS, DECIDED TONIGHT TO INTERVENE WITH HIGH AUTHORITIES AGAINST SEGREGATION OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS, AND ALSO TO CALL A CONFERENCE OF ALL JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS ABOUT THE SITUATION.
THE JEWISH STUDENTS TERMED THE BENCH-STAMP “YELLOW PATCHES,” REMINISCENT OF THE IDENTIFYING BADGES JEWS WERE FORCED TO WEAR IN MEDIEVAL TIMES, AND IMMEDIATELY ORGANIZED A COMMITTEE FOR THE DEFENSE OF RIGHTS OF JEWISH STUDENTS TO FIGHT SEGREGATION.
THE JEWISH STUDENTS CHARGED THE DECREE WAS A VIOLATION OF THE CONSTITUTION AND OF THE ELEMENTARY RIGHTS OF ACADEMIC LIFE. THE SEGREGATION MADE A PROFOUND IMPRESSION ON THE JEWISH COMMUNITY GENERALLY.
ANTI-SEMITIC NEWSPAPERS HAILED THE MOVE AS THE FIRST STEP IN THE CAMPAIGN TO OUST JEWS FROM POLISH HIGHER SCHOOLS.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
