Polish authorities have in effect taken over control of the Warsaw Yiddish daily, Folkstimme, which has been without an editor since the official anti-Jewish campaign began in Poland several months ago, it was learned here today.
According to reports from Warsaw, the Folkstimme’s editor, Hersh Smolar, was removed from his post by the Jewish Social and Cultural Association, which publishes the paper, on orders from authorities. But the Association was unable to find a new editor. Two staff members who were offered the job declined and the paper is now being run collectively by the staff with “guidance” from higher up. The “guidance” consists of filling its columns with communiques of the official Polish Press Agency (PAP) which are well translated into Yiddish. But there is no editorial comment and the paper’s standards have declined appreciably, according to the reports. It was also reported that the Folkstimme has stopped printing news from Israel and other Jewish communities abroad, which it had been doing for 20 years. The only Jewish news appearing now covers activities of Communist front groups.
Arrangements for summer camps for Jewish children in Poland were not made this year after the Polish Education Ministry withdrew approval for such camps, it was reported here from Warsaw. In prior years, the summer period was used for rest, recreation and instruction in Jewish history and other fields to fill gaps in the regular school programs. The Education Ministry reportedly asserted that the camp programs fostered affinities with “foreign countries” and “alien ideas.”
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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.
