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Jews Flee from Nazi-held Poland to Liberated Area; Communal Life in Lublin Revives

December 10, 1944
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A steady trickle of Jews continues to arrive in liberated Polish territory daily, it is reported here today. After eluding German patrols, the Jews cross the Vistula, the east bank of which is held by Russian troops. Among them are a considerable number of doctors who are now serving in the Polish units attached to the Red Army, the report says.

Meanwhile, the surviving Jews in the liberated area are beginning to rebuild some sort of communal life. The Polish Committee of National Liberation has placed at the disposal of the Jewish Committee, which is headed by Dr. Emil Sommerstein, the sum of 16,000,000 zlotys (approximately $1,333,333) to be used for relief and rehabilitation. The first appropriations made from the grant were used to establish a Jewish orphanage and to reopen the Lublin synagogue.

A Yiddish newspaper will shortly be issued in the freed areas. A provisional editorial board has already been selected consisting mainly of members of the staff of pre-war Yiddish papers. Printing equipment has been obtained from a Gestapo dump heap in Lublin. A daily half-hour Yiddish program will soon be broadcast over the Lublin. radio.

The well known “Peretz House” in Lublin, which was the headquarters of Jewish cultural groups before the war, has been placed at the disposal of the Jewish community. It now houses all cultural and social institutions. The famous Lublin yeshiva has also been reopened. The Jewish committee includes representatives of several Zionist groups, members of the Jewish Socialist Bund, and Communists.

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