“There is a determined fight by the Government of Poland against any manifestations of anti-Semitism in the country,” Mr. Jacob Blaustein, honorary president of the American Jewish Committee, said in a report made public today in connection with the opening of the four-day meeting here of the American Jewish Committee’s national executive board.
Mr. Blaustein reported that “there are no anti-Jewish incidents” in Poland today and “at the present time there appears to be little discrimination with regard to employment.” Before Hitler, there were 3,500,000 Jews in Poland. The latest estimates give the Jewish population at about 32,000, including about 12,000 repatriates whom Russia had been holding since the last world war.
The AJC leader said that the Polish Government officials had advised him they would prefer Jews to remain in the country since they believe “they can be desirable and useful citizens.” At the same time, he expressed the belief that the Polish Government “will in no way oppose the continuation of the slow and orderly voluntary emigration of those who wish to leave.”
Mr. Blaustein, who met with leaders of Jewish organizations in Warsaw, Cracow and other cities, reported that “a substantial number of the Jewish population will probably remain in Poland” since “most of them are personally well integrated.” However, it appears a large number of the 12,000 repatriates “desire to leave the country since they have been away for years and no longer feel part of Poland.”
For the 15,000 to 20,000 Jews who will remain in Poland as a permanent community, Mr. Blaustein stressed that “there will be a need for educational and intellectual institutions to make it possible for them to retain their Jewish identity.” Currently, he said, there are two central Jewish organizations–the Cultural and Social Union of Polish Jews and the Union of Religious Congregations. He said the first, which is Communist dominated, has branches in 16 cities and publishes a Yiddish paper, organizes clubs, lectures, etc. The second is limited strictly to religious activities.
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.
