A report on the life of Jewish refugees from Poland in Russian camps in Siberia was given here today by one of the refugees, Leah Halberstam, at a press conference arranged by the Vaad Eatzala, the relief organization of Orthodox Jews.
The first Jewish refugee to arrive in this country from Siberia, Mrs. Halberstam said that although the Jews who were evacuated by the Russian authorities from the Galician part of Poland to Siberian camps at the outbreak of the war were compelled to live in barracks in temperatures which often fell to 70 degrees below zero, they appreciated the fact that the Russians did not separate families, were completely free from anti-Semitism, did not interfere with religious observances and showed consideration in many other ways.
“What surprised me most” said Mrs. Halberstam, “was that at no time was any comment made about our religion. Everybody knew we were Jews, but no mention of it was ever made by any official, nor was there any discrimination of any kind.” Nurseries were provided for the children and all not directly concerned with the care of the youngsters were put to work chopping wood in the nearby forests. We started at four o’clock in the morning.
“After the pact between Poland and Russia, all Polish citizens were freed, and given permission to settle any place in Russia they wished. We went on to Xzylorda, Kazakstan. There we lived in homes and were assigned to work, receiving special pay for increased production. We bought our food in the Russian stores. There was very little to buy and we would have suffered greatly, were it not for the packages we received from Vaad Hatzala.
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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.
