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Repatriated Polish Jews Flee from Stettin; 20,000 Leave Ceded German City

September 8, 1946
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Repatriated Jews who, after arriving from the USSR were settled by the Polish authorities in the former German city of Stettin, are now panic-stricken as a result of the mounting anti-Jewish propaganda and terror there, which follows the same pattern as in other parts of Poland.

Increased terroristic activities on the part of local Poles are forcing the Jews to leave their dwellings and all other possessions and cross the border en route to the American zone. Hundreds of them are handing over the keys of their apartments to the local Jewish Committee and are leaving town with a few personal possessions.

According to a report reaching here today, there are at present no more than 6,000 Jews left in Stettin, and even this number is dwindling. Only several weeks ago the number of repatriated Polish Jews in Stettin exceeded 26,000.

The report reveals that Jews have been killed in the vicinity of Stettin and that even in the center of the city Jews have been found murdered. The local Jewish self-defense group prevented a pogrom which was apparently planned by local anti-Semites. They persuaded a local Polish woman to raise an alarm that her child had disappeared and was “probably kidnapped by Jews.” A unit of the Jewish defense organization started a search for the missing child and found it peacefully sleeping at home. The threatening crowd was dispersed and the mother was arrested.

A Polish policeman was also arrested in Stettin for firing at Jewish children passing in the street. Two Jewish children, wounded by his bullets, had to undergo operations. One of them, an 8-year-old girl, had both her legs amputated, and the other, a boy, lost his right arm.

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