Cold War Poland: Surviving Jews

Figure 1.--Poland was the only Soviet Eastern European satellite xountry to permit free aliyah to Palistine after World War II. Soviet policy at first thought that the important left-wing direction of many Zionists could gain them a foothold in the region. When this did not occur, the Soviets began to shift their policy and Poland closed its borders like other Eastern European satellites. We don't know the full story here, but his litle Jewish boy's friends managed to smuggle him out of Communist Poland in a sack. We are hopeung that readers my know nore of Terry's story. Terry is presumably an American version of his first name. Finkeltale seems more of a German than a Polish name. This was diring the Stalinist era. The press caption read, "A 'free' education: Terry Finkeltale, 8, a displaced person who ws smuggled out of Poland in a sack, shakes hands with his new classmates as he attends school for the first time in the United States. The young refugee, who now lives at the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society in New York City, will be able to tell his pals the real mening of the phrase 'a free education'. The photograph was dated September 10, 1951.

Jews were incredably the target of violent attacks after World War II. Many of thge small number of Holocaust survivors did not want he NAI World War II Holocaust essentially suceeded in destroying Poland's once large, vibrant Jewish community. Many of the pitifully small number of survivors did not want to returned to their pre-War homes and destroyed communities. And some of those who did return were increbably attacked by their Polish neighbors. This occurred in the immediate aftermath of the War (1946-47). The Communists and Soviets were responsible for many attrocities in Poland. There are differences of opinion as to the extent of these attacksand who if anyone inspirted them. It is a subject that was generally covered up by Poland's post-War Communist givernment and a general public desire to paint the nation as victims and heros in the struggle against the NAZIs. We certainly do not want to suggest that Poland did not bravely stand up to Hitler and play an important role in the struggle. And there was relatively little colaboration in Poland with the NAZIs, with the exception of the Holocaust. And there does seem to be some truth to the claims that many Jewish survivors were attacked or otherwise abused by Poles after the War. [Gross, Fear.] The Polish Government immediately following the War, opened its borders to allow free Jewish immigration. While the post-War Polish Jewish community was a fraction of its former self, it played a role in Cold War politics, primarily because of the Doviet desire to gain Arab support in the Middle East.

The Holocaust

Poland had one of the world's largest and most vibrant Jewish communities dateing back to the medieval era. Poland had the largest Jewish population in Europe with the exception of the Soviet Union. Poland was the center of the NAZI Holocaust of the Jewish people. The German invasion and seizure of western and central Poland made it possible to perfect the process of killing Jews. There were some if limited constraints on the NAZIS in German. There were no constraints in Poland. Heydrich in September 1939 layed out the NAZI plan for the Jews to SS officers. The NAZIs proceeded to concentrate the Jews into ghettos, a medieval institution, where they were easily accssible fortransport to the death camps built nearby. The death camps were located in Poland not Germany. And in Poland the Germans found many willing to help them and few Poles intersted in protecting the Jews. Einsatzgruppen began killing Polish Jews with the German invasion (September 1939). This was done, however, in relatively small numbers. Most Polish Jews were forced into the new ghettos which after the viloence directed at them semed almost a haven. It also gave the NAZIs the opportunity tocompletely strip threm of their property and restrict consumtion of food and other consumer products as well as to force them into slave labor. The impetus for murder outweighed the benefits of slave labor. The SS largely liquidated the ghettos (meaning murdered the Jews in them) during 1942 following the Wannsee Conference: Lublin (March 1942); ghettos of Eastern and Western Poland (Spring 1942); and the Warsaw Ghetto (July-September 1942). Hitler had largely succeeded by 1943 in destroying the once vibrant Jewish community of Poland. The death camps in Poland were also used to kill the Jews in NAZI occupied western and southern Europe.

Post War Attacks on Jews (1945-46)

Liberation did not end the problems Jews faced in Poland. Jews were incredably the target of violent attacks after World War II. Many of the small number of Holocaust survivors did not want he NAZI World War II Holocaust essentially suceeded in destroying Poland's once large, vibrant Jewish community. Many of the pitifully small number of survivors did not want to returned to their pre-War homes and destroyed communities. And some of those who did return were increbably attacked by their Polish neighbors. This occurred in the immed iate aftermath of the War (1946-47). The Communists and Soviets were responsible for many attrocities in Poland. There are differences of opinion as to the extent of these attacks. It is a subject that was generally covered up by Poland's post-War Communist givernment and a general public desire to paint the nation as victims and heros in the struggle against the NAZIs. We certainly do not want to suggest that Poland did not bravely stand up to Hitler and play an important role in the struggle. And there was relatively little colaboration in Poland with the NAZIs, with the exception of the Holocaust. And there does seem to be some truth to the claims that many Jewish survivors were attacked or otherwise abused by Poles after the War. [Gross, Fear.] There are differences of opinion as to the extent and inspiration for these attacks. The publication of Dr. Gross' book descriving the abuse of Holocaust survivors has resulted in great controversy in Poland. Polish historians refute few of the facts in the book. Tghey do tend to accuse Gross of inscholarly, intemperate language. It is probably fair to say that Gross does not fully sketch out the very complicated and divisise situation in Poland after the War. Pre-War Poland was a diverse country with substantial minorities of Jews, Germans, Ukranians and others. Jews were not the only targets of Polish nationalists and the whole situation was further complicated by the fact that Stalin moved the entire country west. He annexed eastern Poland to the Soviet Union and eastern Germany to Poland. There were large-scale forced population transfers. Stalin ordered the removal of Poles from the area he annexed and Germans, Ukranians, and others were expelled from the areas that became Polsnd. Of course this does not justify attacks on Holocaust survivors, but the post-War sitution should be discussed in assessing what occurred. Also some Poles believe that the NKVD was behind many of these attacks. This is difficult to prove, but it is otable that many of thoise targeted were involved had been involved in the non-Communistresisrabce to the Germans.

Survivors (1945)

There were a few Holocaust survivors in POland. Tge Germans were chillingly efficent in their campaign to destroy Polish Jews, but some 0.2 million survived from Poland's pre-War Jewish population of an estimated 3.3 million people. There is not exact count, but prhaps as many as 0.1 million Polish Jews managed to survive in Poland by hiding. Others survived by joining the Polish Home Army or in eastern Poland jponing Soviet partisan units. Another 0.1-0.2 million were repatriated from the Soviet Union. This included Poles that had ben deported by the NKVD after the Soviets invased eastern Poland as a NAZI ally (September (1939). Less than 0.1 million survived in Germm comcentation camps, mostly moved many moved there in the final moths of the war and in terrible condition by the times the Allies reached them. when the allid reached them. The Jewish population of Poland in the immediate aftermnath od=f the War was about 0.2 million people, primarily located in Warsaw, Łódź, Kraków, Wrocław and Lower Silesia (Bielawa and Dzierżoniów).

First Emmigration Wave (1946-48)

Almost immediately after the end of the War, the surviving Jews began leaving Poland. This included both the new areas of westrn Poland tranferred from German control and the former areas of eastrn Poland annexed by the Soviet Union. The later was a rarity. The Soviet Union normlly maintained strict border contols and rarely allowed emigrtion, even during famines like the Ukranian Famine. However as part of redrawing its eastern border, the Soviet Union signd a repatriation agreement with the Communist authoritis in Warsaw. [Hakohen, p. 70.] This not only permitted, but required Poles in the east to move west into Poland's new borders. The surviving Jews left Poland for several reasons. This was a personal decision with countles reasons and many of the emmigrants hd multiple reasons. There were, however, especially important reasons. Many Poles, including Jews, did not desire to live in a communist country. Others left because the Communist authorities refused to return pre-War private property seized by the NAZIs. Others having lost their entire families or almost all of their family, did not wish to return to communities that held such painful memories. Here Polish anti-Semitism meant that ties to the Polish nation were weak. Others had Zionist motivations, an orientation strengrthned by the Holocaust. They wanted to reach the British Mandate of Palestine. Some had relatives abroad, especially Palestine and America. As the Soviet Red Army occupied eastern Germany, the migration of Polish Jews could have been contolled. Polish Jews in what had been eastern Poland were allowed to leave the Soviet Union. And once in Poland, they were able to leave. Poland was the only Soviet Eastern European empire that permitted free Jewish aliyah to British-controlled Mandate Palestine. The key decision here was made by Gen. Spychalski who fought in the Communist underground and was an important figure in the post-War Polish Government. Gen. Spychalski has aomewhat checkered record. He bravely fought the Germans, but as part of Stalin's effort to destroy the non-Communist Home Army loyal to the Polish government-in-exile, he turned names of Polish patriots over to the German Gestapo and almost certain death. After the War, he signed a decree allowing Jewish Holocaust survivors to leave Poland without obtaining visas or exit permits. [Bułhak] We are not entirely sure about his motives and to what extent he cleared this with the Soviets. But as the Polish Jews were allowed to transit the Soviet-occupied eastern Germany, it seems that Stalin did not object. We suspect that this reflected the Soviet belief at the time that the strong left-wing elemnt of Zionism would help them gain a foothold in the Mideast. Interesyingly, the NKVD arrested Spychalski during the subsequent Stalinist purges (1949–53) meaning tht they believed that he was too independent minded. The free Jewish aliyah, however, just for a limited period at the end of the War. The limitation here was British restrictions on the number of Jews permitted to enter Palestine after the War. As a result, Jewish increased substantially. [Marrus and Zolberg. p.336.] This movement promoted by Polish Zionists gave the emmigratiin movement the Hebrew code word Brichah (flight) and gained momentum after the Kielce pogrom (July 1946). The British, trying to control Jewish emmigratiin to Palistine, protested, but apparently did not stop movement into their occpation zone. Geographicaly, the British zone ofoccupied Germany (northern Germany) was closest to Poland and thus where the Polish emmigrants headed. The Poles ignored the British protests. [Kochavi, p. xi.] Some 0.1 million Jews are believed to have left Poland at this time. This would be nearly half the Poilsh Jews that survived the Holocaust.

Communists Seize Control (1945-46)

Poland and Britain were the two World war II allies that fouught the Germans fron the eginning of the War. It was not clear at the time of the German surrender what kind of Polidh state would emerge from the War. The Red army occupied the country. And the NKVD even before the end of the War began to arrest abd execute non-Communists menbers of the resistance, meaning primarily the Home Army. Some were hooeful in that Stalin had pledged at the Yalta Conference to permit democratic elections. Poland at the end if the War was in chaos. The Red Army, NKVD and their Communist allies were in control. Mny Poles, however, expected a return to constitutinal government and the return of the London-based Goverbnent-in-exile. And the Home Army, although devestated bythe NKVD and German SS still existed and hd some weapons and support. Polish communists and non-communist nationalists battled for control of the country. It was, however, an unqual struggle. The NKVD carefully vetted the Communist leadership for Poles who would be sjubservient to Moscow. And ththey had the backing of the NKVD and Red army. In the ensuing chaos, anti-Jewish violence resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Jews. This included Communists involved with the regime Stalin was imposing in the Poles. [Engel] Most of the Jews appeared killed were anti-Communists or politically uncommitted. The Socialist General Jewish Labour Bund participated in the 1947 post-War elections as part of a colition with the (non-communist) Polish Socialist Party (PPS). They won a parliamentary seat aswell a few seats in municipal councils. As the Communists expanded their control, Bund leaders 'voluntarily' disbanded their party despite the opposition of many Party activists. The Bind leaders were more aware of the consequences. Important Bund leaders seeking rfuge in Moscow during the war were executed by the NKVD.

Rebuilding Jewish Life

The vastly diminished Jewish community made some effort to rebuild Jewish life after the War. Ultimtely this proved unsucessful because of the extenive emigration. This began even during the ar as the Red Army movedinto eastern Poland (October 1944). The Centralny Komitet Żydów Polskich (Central Committee of Polish Jews -- CKŻP) promoted legal, educational opportunities, social care, cultural activities, and informtion. Dawid Kahane, chief rabbi of the Polish Armed Forces, during the War sought to rebuild a Jewish Religious Community (1945-50). It was eventually absorbed by the CKŻP. Eleven independent political Jewish parties were organized from pre-War parties. The most important was the Bund. Eight were legal, existed. They were disolved during the Stalist period (1949–50). Some Jewish cultural institutions were also reestablished. One of the most important was the Yiddish State Theater founded by Ida Kaminska (1950). The Jewish Historical Institute was also founded. It was an academic institution focysed on Jewish history and culture. The Yiddish newspaper Folks-Shtime also functioned for a few years.

Second Emmigration Wave: Liberalization (1957-58)

Premier Nikita Khrushchev denounced Stalin at the 20th Party Congress (1956). As Easrrn European Communist Party functionaries were present, his Secret Speech soon became widely known. This rocked the Communist world and resulted in a liberalization od Stalinst regimes in Eastern Europe. One impact was a second wave of Jewish emigration (1957-58). Stalinist officials had shut down Jewish emmigration. Some 50,000 Jews emmigrated at this time, about half of the remaining Jewish population.

Jewish Involvement in Stalinist Poland

A number of Polish Jews participated in the establishment of the Polish People's Republic. One of rhe Stalinist police states established in Eastern Europe creating essentially a Soviet empire. Soviet sources refer to it as the 'anti-revisionist socialist government'-- the People's Republic of Poland between (1944-56). Jews held positions incluing posts in the Politburo of the Polish United Worker's Party. Jakub Berman and Hilary Minc played a major role in converting Poland's battered capitalist economy to a socialist one. Jews were also involved in the security service (Urząd Bezpieczeństwa --UB) as well as diplomacy/intelligence. A UB officer, Józef Światło defected to the West (1953). He began broacasting on Radio Free Europe and exposed the UB's methods and extensive use of torture. This lead to its dissolution (actually renaming) evenduring the Stalinst peruod (1954). During the process of destalinisation led by Władysław Gomułka some UB officers were (Roman Romkowski ), Józef Różański , Anatol Fejgin. and others were arrested and prosecuted for 'power abuses'. The charges included the torture of Polish anti-communists (auch as Witold Pilecki). They were found guilty and sentenced to long prison terms. Jerzy Borejsza became a popular press and book editor, who helped many talented writers get published.

State-sponsord Anti-Semitism (1968)

The Soviet Union made a decissionnto back Egyptian President Nasser and otherArab nationalists in the aftermath of the Suez War (1956). The leaders aided included several authoritative regimes, including Arab Socialists like Nasser and Fascists (the Bath Party in Iraq and Syria). The Soviets provided them with billions of dollars in modern weapons, believing they could destroy Israel and expel American incluence in the region. The Sovits required Polabd abd its itger Eastern European satellite countries to support this fireign policy. The resukt wa military disaster for the arabs and Soviet aems--the Six Days War (1967). Communist Polsnd as a result broke off diplomatic relations with Israel. The Polish people greeted the news differently. Knowing that Polish Jews played an importantbrole in founding Israel, the Ples were elatd over what amounted to the Soviet defeat. "Our Jews have given the Soviet Arabs a drumming!" as tge geberal attitide. This of course did not go over well in Moscow. At the time the remaining 40,000 Jews in Poland werealmist all thoroughly assimilated. Even so, soviet leaders using the KGB ecided to make an example out of them. This attutude toward Jews would lead to the Refusnik phenomenon in the soiviet Union and the sourxe of endless trouble fir the Soviets. The KGB ordered a centrally organized media campaign in the best traditions of NAZI Germany, claiming that Jewish origins meant Zionist sympathies and equating both with disloyalty to Poland. Student-led demonstrations in Warsaw led to a major political crisis (March 1968). Gomułka sought to channel popular dusaffection from his regime to the traditional Polisg scapegoat--the Jews. This was adopted even though most Polish Jews had been killed by the NAZIs. And as Gomułka was also trying tomplacate the Soviets, concerbed about hos liberal reforms, the anti-Semitic campaign seemed doubly bennficial. He instructed his security chief, Mieczysław Moczar, to launch an anti-Semitic press campaign. As is cimmon with modern anti-Semites, the word 'Zionist' wss subsituted for Jews in the media. Gomułka's 'anti-Zionist' campaign resulted in the firing of Jews from the Polish United Worker's (Communist) Party and from teaching positions in both schools and universities. Those fired were Jews regardless of their attitudes toward Israel and Zionism. There was an effort to claim that thpse fired were connected wirg the Sralkinist era, but in fact the only consideration was that they were ethnically Jews. Religious observence cwas not a factor. There families were also affected, not only because their fathers were fired, but because matters like university entance could be blocked. This led to the last wave of Jewish emmigration with some 25,000 Jews leaving Poland (1969-70). Along with the media campaign Gomułka turned the Ochotnicza Rezerwa Milicji Obywatelskiej (Volunteer Reserve Militia -- ORMO) loose on the universities. [Friszke] ORMO was a kind of Communist version if the NAZI SA Stormtoopers. Tgey would also be ysed agianst the Solidarity workers protesting Communist abuses. The Communist abti-Semetic campaign did little to increase the popularity of the Comminist Government. It did seriously damage the imm=mage of the Communist Government abrioad, particularly in America. And in Poland, many intellectuals were dismayed at what amounted to official anti-Semitism. They opposed the campaign. Some of the Jews who emigrated to the West founded and supportd organizations assisting the anti-Communist opposition in Poland. This meabt that there were groups in the West, anxious to assist Solidarity when it rose to challenge the Communist regime.

Third Wave Expulsion (1968-69)

The third and final wave of Jewish emigration might be better called an expulsion (1968–69). This resulted from the Soviet and Communist Party anti-Semetic campaign. It essentially ended any kind of Jewish presence in Poland. This occurred in the aftermath of the Israeli-Arab Six Days War and the beginning of the Refusnik phenomenon in the Soviet Union. As a result, there would be no Polish Refusniks. After this final wave of emmigration, the small number of Jews who decided to stay in Poland, for all practical purposes 'stopped' being Jewish. Almost all did not look what might b called Jewish and had earlier changed their names so they did not sound Jewish.

Anti-Communist Movement (1980s)

After the final wave of Jewish emmigration, Jews no longer palyed an important role oin Polish national life. There were just not enough Jews left in Poland. A few Jewish activists joined anti-Communist opposition groups (late-1970s. The most prominent was Adam Michnik who edited the Gazeta Wyborcza and was was one of the founders of the Workers' Defence Committee (KOR).

Remaining Jews

Communism finally fell in Poland (1989). Only some 5,000–10,000 Jews were left. They were non-observaebt fully asimilated Jews. Most were concealing their Jewish origin. Many of their children didnot even know rgat thy were Jewish.

Sources

Bułhak, Władysław. "Komunistyczny donos do gestapo Rzeczpospolita," (5–6 maja 2007).

Engel, David. "Patterns Of Anti-Jewish Violence" Yadvashem.org.

Friszke, Andrzej. "The March 1968 Protest Movement in light of Ministry of Interior reports to the Party Leadership," Intermarium Volume 1, Number 1, 1997. Translated from Polish by Dawid Walendowski. Original published in Więź (March 1994).

Gross, Jan T. Fear (2006). Gross is a Princeton University scholar. He is a Polish Jew who emigrated from Poland during the Cold War. The Communist Government facilitated the emigration of the country's Jews

Hakohen, Devorah. Immigrants in Turmoil: Mass Immigration to Israel and Its Repercussions (Syracuse University Press, 2003), 325p. Pre-War eastern Poland was unlike western Poland ethnically diverse wih many Bylorusins and Ukranins as well as Blts and Jes. We are not entirely sure how the repatriation from the areas annezed to the Soviet Union worked. We believe that nationality was the detrrmining factor. Thus we think the Soviets only allowed Polish national (including Jews) to leave and not surviving Ukranian and Bylorussian Jews. we do not yet have details in how such determinations were made, but language was probbly important given that Belrus and Ukraine were not yet actual countries. This is a topic we hope to address in more dtail.

Kochavi, Arieh J. Post-Holocaust Politics: Britain, the United States & Jewish Refugees, 1945–1948 (The University of North Carolina Press: 2001).

Marrus, Michael Robert and Aristide R. Zolberg. The Unwanted: European Refugees from the First World War Through the Cold War (Temple University Press: 2002).

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Created: 12:49 PM 4/16/2015
Last updated: 12:49 PM 4/16/2015