Jewish Population in Poland Reported Increasing Despite Emigration

Poland’s over-all Jewish population is increasing despite the heavy emigration of Polish Jews to Israel, according to a report published in the latest issue of “Folkshtimme,” the Warsaw Yiddish-language newspaper, which reached here today. The report said that Jews repatriated from the Soviet Union are entering Poland at a rate exceeding the number leaving the country.

The fact that the influx of Jewish repatriates is higher than the number of Jews who left for Israel was also reported at a conference of representatives from the larger Jewish communities in Poland held recently in Lodz. The conference discussed the problem of housing for the Jewish repatriates. It was noted that the Jews coming back from the Soviet Union face difficulties in finding housing and work.

The conference voted to increase the budget for feeding the Jewish repatriates in Poland. Since most of these are being sent by the Polish Government to Lower Silesian–the section of Poland taken over from Germany after the war–it was decided that seven more kosher kitchens be opened in Lower Silesian, and that the number of free lunches being served to repatriates in that area be increased from the present 400 meals a day to between 700 and 800 per day. At present, three kosher kitchens are being conducted for Jewish repatriates–in Warsaw, Lodz and Wroclaw (Breslau).

The difficulties regarding housing for the repatriates was reported also in “Folkshtimme” from Walbzych, one of the larger distribution points for the Jewish repatriates returning from the USSR. Two leaders of the Walbzych Jewish community, M. Yakuboyitch and M. Greenfeld, were quoted as blaming officials of the National Minorities Council in Wroclaw for the housing difficulties being faced by repatriates.

According to these two leaders, the head government office for repatriates, at Warsaw, often issues dwelling permits to repatriates before they are sent to the principal Lower Silesian distribution center at Wroclaw. At the Wroclaw district headquarters, however, officials refuse to recognize the permits issued in Warsaw. As a result, the Jewish leaders declared, repatriates are sometimes evicted from homes they had purchased under the Warsaw permits, because the Wroclaw headquarters disregards the decisions made in the nation’s capital.

The complaints made by the two Jewish leaders also indicated clearly that the vacant housing being denied to repatriates includes dwellings abandoned by Polish Jews who had emigrated to Israel.