Plans for immediate relief for the Jews in Poland were mapped today by Jeseph Schwartz, European director of the Joint Distribution Committee, and leaders of the Central Committee of Polish Jews, the representative body of Polish Jewry, at a meeting here.
The plans provide for relief not only for the Jewish survivore now in Poland, but also for Polish Jews who are expected to be repatriated from Russia. They take into account that between 150,000 and 180,000 Polish Jews are in various parts of the Soviet Union and may soon return to Poland.
Dr. Schwartz, who arrived here two days ago, also conferred with officials of the Polish Government, and discussed Jewish relief problems with U.S. Ambassador Arthur Bliss Lane. He assured the Jewish leaders at today’s conference that the Joint Distribution Committee will do everything possible to satisfy the urgent needs of the Jews in Poland.
It was revealed at the meeting that many of the Polish Jews in Russia are surrendering their Soviet citizenship and are re-applying for their former Polish citizenship on the basis of the agreement reached between the Polish and the Soviet governments on July 6, 1945, under which former Polish citizens can ask for the restoration of their Polish citizenship and for repatriation to Poland. The majority of Polish Jews repatriated from Russia will be settled in Lower Silesia, it was stated.
At present, there are 15,000 Polish Jews living in Lower Silesia. All of them were liberated from various Nazi camps in Poland and preferred to start life anew in the western part of Poland rather than return to their former homes where their families were killed. They have taken up residence in the cities of Reichebach, Swidnica, reterawald and other Silesian towns, where some are now employed at factory work.
Forty-five tons of food products arrived today at the Polish port of Gdynia destined for Jews in Poland. The transport was sent by the Jews of Sweden as a gift to Polish Jewry. The supplies will be delivered to the Central Committee of Polish Jews in Warsaw.
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.
