The charge that Jewish soldiers are being mistreated in the Polish Army resulted today in the appointment by the Polish National Council of a commission to investigate the position of the Jews in the Polish armed forces and the extent to which anti-Semitism is being practiced there.
The commission is composed of six members of the Council, including the two Jewish members, Dr. Ignacy Schwarzbart and Dr. Emanuel Szerer. The proposal to appoint such a commission was made by Dr. Schwarzbart and was adopted by the Council after a debate which lasted more than four hours.
The resolution adopted by the Council provides that governmental authorities are to place at the disposal of the commission all necessary documents and that complete secrecy is guaranteed to witness who are asked for testimony. No witness is to be subjected to any reprisals, it stipulates.
Upon completing its investigation, the commission will report its findings to a plenary session of the Council, which functions as a parliament-in-exile. The four non-Jewish members of the commission are: Bronislaw Kusnierz of the Paderewski Party, Witold Kolerski of the Peasant Party, Adam Ciolkosz of the Socialist Party and Czeslaw Neisner of the anti-Semitic Endek Party.
A suggestion that the Polish Government solve the problem resulting from the mistreatment of Jews in its army either by setting up special Jewish units in the Polish forces, or allowing Jewish servicemen to transfer to British or Palestinian units is made in an editorial in the London Jewish Chronicle.
“By refusing succor to Polish Jewish soldiers, the democratic powers would be shirking the issue and vastly encourage the hostile camp,” the article says. “By taking these soldiers under their wing, the democracies would proclaim their determination to stand not only by their allies and friends, but by their principles and promises. Action in behalf of the Jewish soldiers would restore the shaken respect in the democratic governments’ sincerity in the present struggle.”
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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.
