The position of the Jews in Poland has improved greatly since last year, both from the point of view of economics and security, Dr. Nathan Reich, research director of the Joint Distribution Committee, and chairman of the Department of Economics at Hunter College, said here yesterday.
Dr. Reich, who has just completed a two-month tour of Poland, Czecheslovakia and Germany, reported that attacks on Jews have ceased. They now ride trolleys and trains without molestation, and even have their names openly displayed on shops. The strend towards emigration has been reversed and there is no immediate drive to leave the country, although Dr. Reich estimated that 70 percent might leave if assured of security and a place of permanent settlement.
There is no unemployment among Polish Jewry. Most of them work in state industries or in the 200 producer cooperatives that have been established with the help of the JDC. Most of the cooperatives are now self-supporting and beginning to ##pay back the capital loaned them. Their big problem is obtaining adequate supplies of raw materials. The Jews who work in state industries or for private firms are in a somewhat less favorable economic position and still require some JDC aid. Dr. Reich stressed that only 10 percent of the Jews are engaged in business, in marked contrast to the situation which existed before the war.
Concerning Germany, Dr. Reich said that the situation in the camps would probably worsen this winter because of the poor German harvest and the inadequate funds allotted to the International Refugee Organization. When he left, he said, there were rumors that the daily rations of 2,000 calories, plus 1,000 for workers, were to be cut.
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.
