Polish sources today indicated that the Polish Government-in-Exile will “within the next few days” issue a statement making clear its attitude with regard to the anti-Jewish atmosphere in the Polish Army as well as the verdicts imposed by a Polish court-martial on 21 Jewish soldiers who left their units because of anti-Semitism and attempted to join the British forces.
An authoritative statement issued today by Polish officials to the World Jewish Congress reads: “The implications of the verdict passed by the Polish military court against the twenty-one Jewish soldiers who absented themselves without leave from the ranks of the Polish Army, as well as the action to be taken against those guilty of anti-Semitism in the Polish armed forces, is now being seriously considered by the Polish Government. It is expected that decisions with regard to these matters will be announced within the next few days in a statement which the Polish authorities will issue.”
Meanwhile, it was learned here today that members of the house of Commons will ask the Government on Tuesday to open negotiations with the Polish authorities for the transfer of all Jews from Polish units to Jewish battalions in Palestine, which are part of the British Army. Some of the parliamentarians intend to broaden the question by asking the Government to enlarge the existing Jewish battalions into a Jewish regiment with a view to having it expanded into a Jewish military division open to all Jews who are not liable to compulsory military service and to Jewish volunteers from neutral countries and liberated territories. A motion to this effect was tabled today in the House of Lords by Lord Strabolgi.
POLISH SPEAKER HECKLED AT JEWISH MEETING; POLICE INTERVENE
The Polish Ambassador to the British Government, Count Edward Raczynski, addressing a meeting today in Bristol said that “suggestions that anti-Semitism is condoned in the Polish armed forces are entirely untrue and deeply resented.” He said that “anti-Semitism is not tolerated anywhere in the Polish movement.” Cases of Jew baiting brought to the notice of the Polish authorities are being dealt with severely, he declared.
Adam Ciolkosz, a Socialist member of the Polish National Council, was heckled last night at a meeting here commemorating the first anniversary of the Battle of the Warsaw Ghetto. The hecklers interrupted his speech with protests against the mistreatment of Jewish soldiers in the Polish Army. Police intervened and ejected the hecklers.
“The mass-murder of Jews by the Nazis is not only a problem for Jews,” Ciolkose pointed out. He emphasized that no Pole in occupied Poland collaborated with the Germans in their anti-Jewish atrocities. “If anyone had done so, he would have been dealt with by the Polish underground movement,” he said. The Jewish resistance to the Germans in the Warsaw ghetto will remain an inspiration to all mankind, he declared.
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.
