A Polish Jewish journalist who served as cultural and press attache of the Polish Embassy in Washington during the 1950s said here yesterday that the Warsaw regime’s attitude toward Jews now amounted to “cold terror.”
Jerzy Ross, who arrived here with his wife and two children as immigrants, said that between 8,000-10,000 Jews remained in Poland but most would depart in a short time, leaving behind mainly elderly people who live on pensions. According to Mr. Ross, the authorities still issue passports to Jews but the “red tape” is much more difficult than before, and Jews are forced to spend their last penny in order to secure the required documents and must pay a heavy tariff for wooden packing cases to contain personal belongings. Mr. Ross said that his family paid $600 for three passports.
The Warsaw regime announced last spring that it would impose severe restrictions on exit permits beginning Sept. 1. Prior to that deadline, Jews experienced little difficulty in obtaining permits although they were restricted in the amount of cash and personal valuables they could take. Mr. Ross said great hardship was imposed on families who received permits for one parent to leave with the children while the other parent had to remain.
Mr. Ross accused Polish Communist Party chief Wladislaw Gomulka of using Jews as scapegoats in the internal struggle over liberal reforms. He said Gomulka diverted public opinion from burning issues of liberalism by branding all Jews “Zionists” and Zionists “liberals.” Mr. Ross said that this policy extricated Gomulka from some of his internal difficulties but undermined Poland’s image abroad.
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.
