The District Court, which last June meted out severe prison sentences to eleven Jews for roles in the Przytyk pogrom of March 9 and freed 39 of 43 Poles, today placed the “moral responsibility” for the disturbances on the Jewish residents of the town and specifically Jewish youth. Two Jews and one Christian were killed and scores of Jews wounded in the anti-Semitic outburst.
The court published its reasons for the sentences, ranging from six months to eight years, in response to the appeal of the convicted Jews for re-trial.
Naming two of the Jewish defendants. Sholom Lesko, 19 and Eliezer Kirzenzweig, 19, recipients of eight-and six-year jail-terms respectively, the Court said it was “their shots which incited the crowd and therefore, they received the severest sentences.”
The Court further stated that Jewish witnesses had committed perjury while Polish deponents told the truth.
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.
