Diplomat Gives Eye-witness Account of Conditions in Warsaw

A detailed report on the situation of the Jews in Warsaw under the Nazi regime has been given to this correspondent in written form by a diplomat of a neutral country who was one of the 36 foreign diplomats taken in a special train from Berlin to Warsaw for a 48-hour visit.

The diplomat, having previously served as en envoy in Warsaw for some years, was in a particularly good position to check on the Jewish situation there by visiting the Jewish sections and talking to Jews and Poles whom he had known previously. This report, which pictures the situation as it existed on Oct. 16, follows:

“Upon our arrival we found Warsaw in complete chaos. The Germans had not yet succeeded in establishing order. The head of Warsaw is still the former mayor, Starzynski, but he must sign everything which a certain Dr. Otto orders him to sign.

“No civil administration exists yet and the city remains under a military administration. I gained the impression that everybody, especially the Jews, are awaiting with great fear the establishment of a civil administration. Although the military avoids practicing any special Nazi anti-Semitism, the Jews in Warsaw are nevertheless severely hit by special anti-Jewish measures.

“There is, for instance, the order prohibiting Jews from drawing from their banking accounts more than 25 zlotys (about $5). With the great shortage of food and the increase in prices, this restriction is felt very severely.

“On the day when I left Warsaw the authorities started a systematic requisitioning of cash, going from house to house and confiscating all the cash over 2,000 zlotys without even depositing it in blocked accounts to the names of the owners but simply issuing requisition receipts. Everybody told me that this requisitioning was carried out in Jewish houses alone.

“During my 48 hours’ stay, Warsaw was still without water and electric light. The Germans, however, were anxious to restore the water and light systems and drafted for this work not only war prisoners but also civilians. I read today in the foreign newspapers that only Jews and war prisoners were conscripted for this work. It is possible that the non-Jews were later released from the labor but what I saw was that Jews and non-Jews were equally driven to do this work.

“Many people could be seen in the streets, all busying themselves with the single purpose of finding food. People were leaving their homes in the early hours of the morning and were only too happy if they returned late in the evening with small quantities of vegetables and butter for which heavy money was paid to peasants from neighboring villages.

“No bread is available, except the ration given by the municipality. This ration is given by apartments and not by person so that large families get as much as single people who occupy apartments by themselves.

“The city still presents a picture resembling one hit by an earthquake. It would not be correct to say that the Jewish quarter has suffered more than others. I was to the Nalewki, Leszno, Gensia, Dzika and Smotcha (Jewish sections) and my opinion is that the devastation there is not greater than in other sections of Warsaw.

“The Jewish streets which suffered most are Chmielna, especially the part lying between Marszalkowska and Bracka, and also Graniczna, particularly the portion between Krolewska and the Saxon Gardens. Only the left side of the street remained. Marszalkowska has suffered heavily but is not completely demolished, as was reported.

“Yasna Street, where the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and the American Consulate offices were located, is demolished in the vicinity of the PKO Building. A complete block of houses is demolished on Marszalkowska Street near the railway station where the offices of the orbis travel company were located.

“Similarly many houses are demolished on the streets Wilcza, Piusa, Hoza and Aleja Ukadowska, where the American Embassy and other embassies were located. Most damaged of all is Aleja Jerosolimska.

“More devastated than Warsaw is the Jewish-populated Praga suburb, where only a few houses remained standing. The chalutzim (Palestine pioneer) colony Grochow near Warsaw is wiped out and nothing but earth remained there.

“I was told in Warsaw that about 20,000 civilians were killed. Dead bodies can still be seen under the ruins of buildings. While seeking food the population is also busy seeking relatives under the ruins. No one in Warsaw is in a position to give information as to his family or friends since no one knows who is where because during the bombardment many fled and were separated.

“Only three cafes are open in all of Warsaw. They are the Cafe Europe, Cafe Bristol and…(name lost in wireless transmission). In the latter I had coffee with a small piece of bread, paying quite a high price. Radio tubes are requisitioned so as to bar the hearing of foreign stations. Mail is not yet functioning, nor is railway communication, except for the military. The general mood of the population is extremely depressing.

“The largest synagogue on Tlomazka Street remained intact. I am, however, not in a position to state whether the Jewish Community and other Jewish institutions still exist.”