Jews in America were warned Friday not to be misled into regarding the renunciation of the minority clauses by Poland as solely, or even principally, a Jewish issue by Morris D. Waldman, secretary of the American Jewish Committee.
Asked regarding the Geneva announcement by Col Josef Berk, Polish Foreign Minister, that Poland hereafter will refuse to be controlled in her minorities administration by the League of Nations, Mr. Waldman described the situation as serious, and as a set-back to the general principles of minority rights. At the same time he asserted that since the minority rights cover many groups in Poland, such as Germans, Ukrainians, Ruthenians, Lithuanians, as well as Jews, the problems presented are of world concern.
“Undoubtedly,” he said, “such a policy has important implications for the Jews in Poland, but the significance of this decision is even greater as a problem in international relations. The minority treaties were designed to protect the civil, religious and linguistic rights of all individuals who differed in those respects from the majority element of the population. These provisions were fortified by clauses in Poland’s constitution, which, it is to be noted, the Polish government has given assurances she will continue to observe.
ASSURANCES SINCERE
“I believe these assurances are sincere because they spring not only from consideration of elementary justice but are probably dictated by the necessity to safeguard her 2,200,000 nationals in neighboring countries as well as by her realization that her internal security and prosperity can only be assured by fair treatment of her minority populations. While there can be no substitute for a wise and friendly government policy, there is, of course always a danger that a constitution removed from international control may be altered. Poland’s treatment of her minorities will therefore be watched with greater concern than ever,” Mr. Waldman said.
“This is not the first time Poland has raised the issue of extending the minorities guarantees to other countries. It has been a perennial affair. Thus far the League has shown little inclination to accept her proposal. It was feared that to give it serious consideration would be tantamount to putting all the peace treaties on the operating table and thus open up the way to other proposals from dissatisfied countries for changes that would lead to even more dangerous consequences.
“It is not easy to judge the motives that had led Poland to announce this bombshell in Geneva. Poland has for years resented the subordinate position in which she believed the special minorities treaty placed her. During the last year or two she has given clear evidence of her desire to be regarded as a first-class power, and has especially disturbed France, with her non-aggression pact with Germany and her disinclination to enter into the proposed Eastern Locarno.
“It may be too that the imminence of Russia’s entry into the League has led Poland to make this declaration in order to avoid difficulties because of the Ukrainian minority.
ISSUES INTERNATIONAL
“Whatever the causes are, and at present it is too early to pass any judgment on them, the issues are of important international concern. More than one country is involved and more than one group of minority peoples is affected. Furthermore, the minority clauses being an integral section of the Versailles treaty, there will no doubt be vigorous representation by France, England, Italy and other countries. Poland herself may be led to realize that by her action she is endangering the status of the Polish nationals living within the borders of other countries.
“Whatever may be the motivations, I fear that Poland has acted rashly and ill-advisedly. Her pronouncement is likely further to weaken the influence of the League and to make efforts for peace and international cooperation more difficult. On the other hand it may be that the dramatic way in which the issue has been raised this year may stimulate the League to devise a new formula to cover all member nations—a sort of international Bill of Rights.
“These international aspects make it apparent that the European powers will address themselves to this subject vigorously. It would be a mistake, therefore, for Jews, certainly at this time, to create the impression that this is an attack on the Jewish minority in Poland, or that it is in any way an assault upon Jews as such. To interpret the recent event in that light would be to make the same grave error as has been committed in the over-emphasis of the anti-Jewish elements in Hitlerism. Just as the problems raised by the Hitlerist movement are a challenge to all nations, to all religions and to civilization itself, so the implications of Poland’s newly announced policies are the proper concern of those countries which are members of the League or signatories of the Versailles treaty.”
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.
