A four-point program on Polish-Jewish relations offered to the Polish National Council here by Dr. Ignacy Schwartzbart was rejected by the Council today after a two-day debate on the issue. In its place the Council adopted a resolution approving the declaration made by the Polish Government-in-exile on February 24 which pledged “free political, cultural and social development for all national minorities in post-war Poland.”
The program, as suggested by Dr. Schwartzbart in the form of a motion presented to the Council, provided for the following steps to be taken by the Polish Government-in-exile: 1. The government should abolish all legal and administrative restrictions which were enforced against the Jews in Poland before the war. 2. The government should disassociate itself from the policy of “Jewish evacuation” proclaimed by the pre-war Polish regime and should issue a statement declaring that emigration from Poland is a right but not a duty of any citizen.
Stanislaw Mikolajczyk, Polish vice-Premier and Minister of Interior, in replying on behalf of the Government to Dr. Schwartzbart’s demands, stated that the general declaration of principles on the post-war democratic regime in Poland makes it unnecessary for the Government to issue any additional specific declarations. “The Government, he said, is constantly on guard to secure a sincere realization of its principles with regard to its national minorities and is ready to undertake proper steps for the issuing of appropriate orders in case of concrete necessity.”
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