Joseph Bendrak, Jewish butcher, pleaded not guilty today to the murder of Stefan Bendrak, a Polish railway porter. The porter’s death led to three days of anti-Semitic riots in Czestochowa.
Bendrak, whose trial was shifted from Czestochowa to Piatrikow because of continuing tension, stated that he acted in self-defense. After being assaulted by Baran, he said, he fired a gun to frighten him and the porter was hit accidentally.
If convicted, Bendrak can be sentenced to death or to a prison sentence of anywhere from five years to life. He is being defended by a Warsaw Jewish attorney named Honigwel.
Despite the tension, conditions in Czestochowa are rapidly returning to normal. Many Poles are openly patronizing Jewish shops.
A Season of Big Decisions. From the Knesset campaign to American midterms, Jewish communities are weighing what comes next. Help JTA keep delivering the deeper context.
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.
