Professor Hercell Handelsmann, Polish Jewish historian and dean of the historical faculty of the University of Warsaw, today resigned his post. Professor Handelsmann is in a Warsaw hospital as the re-suit of a beating he received on Wednesday evening at the hands of a group of anti-Semitic Endek students.
It is believed here that the entire incident is due to attacks made by the Gazette Warsawska, anti-Semitic paper, on Professor Handelsmann over a long period of time.
Polish authorities have began an investigation of the entire affair. It is understood that the Minister of Education, Waclaw Jedrzejewicz, is watching the investigation.
Professor Handelsmann attended a meeting of students of the university Wednesday night, where he spoke sharply against the attempt made to introduce an “Aryan clause???, which would have prohibited Jewish students from joining the student self-aid groups. The University senate rejected the “Aryan clause.”
ATTACKED ON CAMPUS
Professor Handelsmann was attacked by the Endek students as he was leaving the meeting. The attack occurred on the university campus.
Polish authorities immediately ordered the University of Warsaw closed for an indefinite period.
The grey shirt organization of the Endek students at the University of Warsaw is spreading to other universities in Poland. Anti-Semitic propaganda among Polish students is increasing rapidly.
The Endek students belong to the National Democrats, which is an anti-Semitic, anti-government political party. The party is very active and has a number of representatives in the Sejm and the Senate.
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.
