J.D.C. to Build New Homes for the Jewish Aged in Two Cities in Poland

The Joint Distribution Committee has arranged for new homes for the aged to be built in Cracow and Wroclaw to meet the needs of aging Jews in Poland. Charles H. Jordan, executive vice-chairman of the JDC said here today.

The projects were planned by the JDC and the Central Jewish Relief Committee in Warsaw with the full cooperation and support of the Polish Government, Mr. Jordan said. He conveyed the appreciation of the JDC for the fact that the Polish Government had donated land for the buildings, had made labor and materials available at the lowest possible cost and was providing equipment in addition to guaranteeing maintenance when the homes are completed.

Also participating are the Jewish Colonization Association of Britain which plans to cover the cost of one home, and the Central British Fund for Jewish Relief and Rehabilitation, which will provide half of the cost of the second institution. Mr. Jordan, expressing gratitude for the cooperation of the two Jewish agencies, said “we could not have gone ahead without the promise of their support.”

The two homes will ease an acute shortage of facilities for the Jewish aged in Poland. Mr. Jordan said, adding that the only home for the Jewish aged at present is a 100-bed institution built by the JDC in Warsaw in 1962. Though a new annex with 50 more beds is now under construction for occupancy at the end of this year, the Warsaw institution cannot cope with the hundreds of applications from elderly Jews from all parts of Poland.

Mr. Jordan reported that of some 20,000 Jews now living in Poland, it was estimated that 13,500 are over age 50. Since so many Polish Jews lost their entire families and friends in the Nazi holocaust, hundreds of the survivors are alone in the world and, as they grow older, must turn to the JDC for help, he said.