Joseph Bendrak, Jewish butcher, pleaded not guilty today to the murder of Stefan Bendrak, a Polish railway porter. The porter’s death led to three days of anti-Semitic riots in Czestochowa.
Bendrak, whose trial was shifted from Czestochowa to Piatrikow because of continuing tension, stated that he acted in self-defense. After being assaulted by Baran, he said, he fired a gun to frighten him and the porter was hit accidentally.
If convicted, Bendrak can be sentenced to death or to a prison sentence of anywhere from five years to life. He is being defended by a Warsaw Jewish attorney named Honigwel.
Despite the tension, conditions in Czestochowa are rapidly returning to normal. Many Poles are openly patronizing Jewish shops.
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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.
