A court in Czestochowa, western Poland, today sentenced Valenty Mlartsik, beadle of a Catholic church in the town of Truskolas, to thirty months’ imprisonment for the desecration of his church, which led to anti-Semitic disorders when the act was blamed on Jews.
After Mlartsik had stolen sacred objects from the church, a report was spread that the act had been committed by Jews as a reprisal for the bombing of a synagogue. The rumor resulted in serious anti-Jewish disturbances.
Mlartsik is the brother of the priest of the church.
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.
