Jews in Poland Learn of American Victories in North Africa Despite Nazi Censorship

Brief announcements written during the night in chalk on the walls of the Jewish ghetto in Warsaw as well as on the sidewalks of the part of the city set aside for Poles, informed the enslaved population of Nazi-occupied Poland of the American victories in North Africa and of Rommel’s crushing defeat in Egypt, the Polish Government reported here today.

The news that the danger to Palestine is over and that American forces have entered French Morocco and Algeria reached the underground movement in Poland despite the measures taken by the Nazi authorities to prevent any such information from penetrating into occupied eastern territory. In a joint message which Gen. Sikorskorskid, the Polish Premier, received today from Polish and Jewish underground leaders in Poland, he is asked ”to convey best wishes for continued success of operations to President pulications in Polish and Yiddish in Poland have issued special editions which are now being widely spread throughout the country, the message adds.

The Polish Cabinet, meeting today under the chairmanship of Gen. Sikorski, decided to award military and civilian medals posthumously to all residents of occupied Poland, irrespective of their religion, who sacrificed their lives in resisting the Nazi occupational authorities. The awards will carry pensions for the families of the heroes after the liberation of Poland from the Nazis. Lists of the heroic patriots who lost their lives in occupied Poland since the Nazi invasion will be compiled by a special department which the Polish Cabinet has decided to establish.

Polish Government circles today learned that there are about 15,000 Polish Refugees in North Africa, including many Jews, who escaped from the unoccupied part of France. Polish officials are attempting to secure information concerning the situation of these refugees.