Nearly 5,000 Jewish refugees from Poland have arrived in Czechoslovakia since the pogrom at Kielce, posing a difficult problem for the Jewish community and the Joint Distribution Committee.
Food and lodging for the fugitives, most of whom are en route, via Austria and the American zone in Germany, to Palestine, is difficult to arrange, but with the assistance of governmental authorities provision is being made for the arrivals.
Although rivers along the Czechoslovak-Polish frontier are swollen, greatly increasing the dangers and hardships of their journey, hundreds of Jews arrive daily. Events in Poland have created such panic among them that the difficulties of their flight are ignored.
Some of the refugees charge that members of the police and the militia participated in the assaults on Jews or refrained from curbing the attackers. Jews from Lodz said that when they complained to the local police that the windows of their homes had been smashed, they were told: “What are you complaining about, you’re still alive.”
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
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.
