Polish Ambassador E. Modzelewski today told the correspondent of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency here that about 5,000 Jews have been liberated in the city of Czenstochowa by the lightning advance of the Russian Army. Most of them were working as slave laborers for the Germans in local engineering works.
It was also reported here today from Lublin that about 5,000 Jews were found in Lodz by the Russian troops. Most of them were Jews brought to Poland from other German-occupied countries.
A handful of Jews dared the German terror and lived among the ruins of Warsaw until the liberation of the city enabled them to emerge, the Polish Ambassador stated. He revealed that in the liberated part of Poland east of the Vistula river – the section liberated by the Russian Army prior to its present offensive – no more than 500 Jewish children were found. The number of the surviving Jewish adults there is now about 20,000, he said. “The Germans made doubly certain that Jewish children were murdered, “he added.
The Central Committee of Polish Jews in the USSR today sent a message of greetings to the Provisional Polish Government, assuring it that efforts will be made to help the destitute and the homeless Jews in liberated towns.
ZIONIST GROUPS IN LIBERATED POLAND PLAN TO ESTABLISH FEDERATION
With more and more Polish territory being liberated by the Red Army, the Central Jewish Committee in Lublin decided to reorganize its activities. The Committee under the chairmanship of Dr. Emil Sommerstein, is a coalition body composed of representatives of Zionists, Bundists, Democrats and Communists who have an equal number
While pre-war Jewish political parties are now being reestablished, the Zionist groups, including the Mizrachi, Poale-Zion and Hashomer Hatzair, are now negotiating for the establishment of a Zionist Federation to represent all the Zionist bodies in liberated Poland. The move to consolidate the Zionist movement has not yet fully crystallized, but all Zionist groups are firmly backing the Polish Provisional Government, are collaborating with the Polish Army and are cooperating in the work of restoring the economic life of the country. At the same time, they are watching developments in Palestine.
The Jewish members of the Polish Workers Communist Party, represented in the Central Jewish Committee by Melech Bitter, have gone on record as advocating a united front of fraternal collaboration with the Jews of Russia, England, the United States and Palestine. Dr. Emil Sommerstein, is the recognized leader of the General Zionists in Poland. The Zionist State Party is led by Dr. Feldszhu. The leaders of the Hashomer Hatzair are M. Kosower and Abe Kowner. The Jewish Socialist Bund Party is led by Gregory Jaszunski, a former leader of the Jewish Socialist organization “Zukunft” in Warsaw.
Dr. Michael Szuldenfrei, of Cracow, was today appointed legal adviser of the National Council of Poland. He is one of the Jewish members of this body.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
