Polish Envoy Urged to Help Reschedule Commemoration of Janusz Korczak

Two leaders of the Federation of Polish Jews met here with Romualo Spsowski, Poland’s Ambassador to the United States, in an effort to urge the Polish government to reschedule its international conference in commemoration of Janusz Karczak which is now to be held an Yom Kippur. Korczak was a pediatrician in Warsaw. When the Nazis captured the city he was instrumental in saving the lives of countless children.

Rabbi Alexander Schindler, president of the Federation, and Kalman Sultanik, a member of its executive, also expressed their distress at the sudden closing of the Jewish Pavilion at Auschwitz. They asked for a clarification since the Pavilion, which was opened with much fan fare and ceremony April 17, was to have remained open for visits by Jewish organizations throughout the world.

The two leaders reported that Spsowski promised them that he would transmit their requests to his government and promised an early reply.

A six-point memorandum submitted to the Polish government on the first visit of the Polish Jewish delegation in December 1977 in which Sultanik participated, was also discussed. This memorandum includes requests for assessment and compensation earmarked for preservation of the Polish Jewish heritage; social security and pension payments to be made by the Polish government to former Polish citizens who are now citizens of the U.S.; return of sacred relics to Jewish synagogues and congregations throughout the world; and erection of appropriate memorials on the sites of mass graves for Jewish victims such as Treblinka and Maidanek. The Ambassador promised to elicit a progress report from his government on these items, too.