While the prior post – about the war’s effects on Jewish civilians in Eastern during the first year of the Great War – is comprised of three relatively brief news items, the article forming this post, “The Tragedy of Israel in Poland,” published during the same time period and covering the same topic, is quite different.
Penned by journalist, writer, and diplomat Herman Bernstein (who served as United States’ Ambassador to Albania, and founded the Yiddish daily Der Tog (“The Day”), the article covers and illustrates the experiences of Polish Jewry early in the war in depth and detail, through writing compelled by a deep sense of moral urgency. First published in The New York Sun, it was reprinted four days later (on February 19, 1915) in The Jewish Exponent of Philadelphia.
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Herman Bernstein in 1918 (photo from his biographical profile at Wikipedia)
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The article, as it appeared in the Exponent, is illustrated below.
A verbatim transcript follows.
With its opening paragraphs providing a general overview of Jewish life in pre-war Poland, the article briefly touches upon Jewish military service in the Russian Army, and then focuses on the social and political impact upon Polish Jewry of the manifesto of Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich (commander in chief of Russian Army units on the main war front until August 21, 1915, at which time Czar Nicholas II took command of Russian military forces). The Grand Duke’s manifesto offered political autonomy to Poland under the condition of that country’s loyalty to Russia, and, “respect[ing] the right of those nationalities with which history has bound you.”
As recounted by Bernstein through the lengthy remainder of his article, the implications and ultimate effects of this latter passage upon Polish Jewry – after an initial burst of optimism and gratitude – were tragic.
By way of illustration, he presents accounts of the experiences of Polish Jews from the towns of Tarnobrzeg (in southeastern Poland) and Skierniewice (“Skiernievice”; in central Poland, midway between Lodz and Warsaw). Given the power and detail of Bernstein’s prose, there is no need to recapitulate this part of his essay, suffice to note the use of the word “Beiilis” – an allusion to Menahem Mendel Beilis – as a term of contempt hurled by Russian soldiers at Jewish civilians exiled from Skierniewice.
Anyway… This post refers to military service of Jewish soldiers only tangentially, at best. However, in the context of history (and not solely the history of the First World War), if Bernstein’s article is an ironic counterpart to that topic, it is also a necessary one.
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The worst part of our experience was, however, that all along the way we were continually joined by ever new hosts of Jews who were even more desperate than we. The livelong day we dragged ourselves along the hard, rutty roads. Beside us moved long lines of Russian soldiers. They were coming to “redeem” the land from the hands of the enemy and it was these redeemers who inflicted upon us the most excruciating woes. Wherever the Russian troops went they were accompanied by a crowd of Poles, men and women and children, who would point at us and shout:
“There they go, the Beilises! There go the traitors!”
“Beilises!” the incited Russian soldiers would cry as we passed before them. Those of us who happened to come near enough even felt their blows. Perhaps the Russians were not to blame. They believed what the Poles told them.
“To Sakhalien! To Sakhalien! Go to Palestine, you accursed Jews!” the Poles and the soldiers would taunt us. What could we answer?
Often we noticed among the soldiers familiar faces. There were Jewish soldiers from Poland and Russia. We would stretch out our hands to them and cry:
“See, brethren, what the Russians are doing to us! You are on your way to defend the fatherland and here they are torturing us! Save us!”
The Jewish soldiers would bow their heads. Many an eye would fill with tears.
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The Tragedy of Israel in Poland
By Herman Bernstein
The Jewish Exponent
February 19, 1915
[Reprinted From The New York Sun of February 14, 1915]
Picture the sorrow, the martyrdom and the sufferings of the Russian Jew in the Pale of Jewish Settlement, with pogroms, with expulsions, with poverty – his ambition throttled, his craving for education stifled, his opportunities for work and trade blocked. Then picture the sorrows of the Belgian, attacked, ruined, homeless, starving, with widows and orphans on all sides. Take away from the Belgian his fatherland, his hope for regeneration and for justice, the sympathy of the world, and the relief sent by generous humanity – and you will have a faint idea of the sorrow and sufferings of the Polish Jew today.
Upward of three million of Polish Jews are staving, homeless, driven from place to place by the armies that are fighting Russia and by armies that are fighting for Russia; boycotted, humiliated, slandered by the Poles, accused of the vilest crimes, of disloyalty, of espionage and treachery – all for the purpose of discrediting them so as to rob them even of the hope of freedom and justice in the future.
For several years before the outbreak of the European war, the Jews of Poland suffered as no oppressed people have ever suffered anywhere else on the face of the earth. In addition to the general disabilities and the restrictive laws which placed them beyond the pale of human rights, they were mercilessly hounded and tortured by the Poles. The Polish people, who were themselves struggling for liberty, ever hopeful to re-establish Poland as a nation, reorganized, rejuvenated and regenerated, conducted a cunningly devised and cruelly executed campaign of economic boycott against the Jews within the Polish provinces.
The anti-Jewish boycott in its acute form grew out of political disappointment, and the vengeance the Poles wreaked upon the Jews was diabolical. The liberal Polish leaders of yesterday became the most rabid, heartless Jew baiters. Orders were issued through the press to boycott the Jews throughout Poland. Poles were warned against buying anything from Jews. Polish physicians refused to render medical aid to Jews. Polish druggists refused to sell medicine to the Jewish sick. Polish hospitals refused to admit Jewish patients, however critical their condition, and there are records of Jewish families slain, burned to death, as in the time of the Inquisition; of Jewish homes destroyed, of Jewish shops plundered.
The pogrom policy, abandoned by the Russian government, was taken up in another form by the Poles. Through various machinations and provocations they tortured the Jewish people within their provinces, ruined them, often putting them to death upon one pretext or another.
When the war broke out the Jews of Russia were carried away by a passionate loyalty to Russia that, to the outsider, seemed more than strange. They enlisted as volunteers in large numbers, they established hospitals, they gave large sums of money for the wounded soldiers, they fought and died for Russia, where it had been so hard for them to live.
Among the first heroes of the Russian troops the Jews furnished a conspicuously large number. The Jewish heroes distinguished themselves buy their courage and devotion, and even the eyes of the Russian reactionaries seemed to have been opened. The Jew baiters suddenly realized their blundering narrowness and sickly prejudice.
Those who but a short time before had sought to brand the Jews as ritual murderers suddenly repented. Purishkevitch, the Black Hundred leader in the Duma, kissed the scroll of the Torah, and Shmakoff, another anti-Semite, embraced and kissed Jews in public to demonstrate that there were no longer any differences among the nationalities constituting the population of the Russian empire.
For a time it seemed as though the Polish Jewish animosities would also be swept aside by the awful catastrophe that had suddenly turned almost all of Europe into a madhouse. Then came the famous manifesto, issued by the Grand Duke Nicholas Nicolayevitch, in command of the Russian armies, promising autonomy to Poland on condition that the people would be loyal to Russia in the war. The Jews, who had been tyrannized, humiliated and almost crushed through the Polish boycott, nevertheless hailed Poland’s freedom in a spirit of genuine joy. The Jews, who, have always loved liberty, know how to prize liberty, and they rejoiced even when their oppressors were promised liberty. They hoped that this promise to the Poles, the approaching realization of their dreams of a reunited Poland, would soften the hearts of the Poles and end their militant and tyrannical policy of Jew hatred.
The Jewish press in the Polish provinces welcomed the Polish manifesto with almost hysterical enthusiasm. One of the most widely circulated Jewish dailies in Warsaw aid editorially:
“The Jewish population of Poland welcomes the manifesto with no less enthusiasm than the Poles themselves. During the past centuries the fate of the Jews has been bound up with the fate of the Poles. The Jews have participated in the sorrows as well as the joys of the Polish people. In the great moments of Polish history the Polish leaders did not forget the devotion of the Jewish people to Poland. We believe that when the sun of freedom will rise in the sky of Poland all misunderstandings and differences will be forgotten forever.”
Another Jewish daily declared:
“The joy of the Polish people is great. We Jews are rejoicing in their joy and we are also deeply grateful to the Russian commander in chief because in his manifesto to the Poles he did not forget to mention the other nationalities whose fate is bound up with that of the Poles.”
Still another Jewish daily said:
“The news about the regeneration of the Polish people calls out a feeling of real gratification knowing the Jews, who themselves realize all the tragedy of being scattered among the nations. It is, of course, to be expected that, in accordance with the manifesto, the Poles will respect the rights of the other nationalities within their provinces.”
The Polish press, however, overlooked the following passage contained in the manifesto issued by the Russian commander in chief:
“There is but one thing that Russia expects of you – that you respect the right of those nationalities with which history has bound you.”
Russia struck the keynote of unity in this manifesto, but the Poles, instead of abandoning their anti-Jewish campaign, intensified their cunningly devised plots against the Jewish people within their provinces.
It seemed as though the manifesto which stipulated that the Poles respect the other nationalities in Poland added oil to the flames of hatred. They who had systematically hounded the Jews during the past few years tried to justify their anti-Semitic activities on the eve of their own liberation.
One of the leading Polish newspapers commenced the new campaign by publishing an article declaring that the Poles could not be expected to respect the rights of the Jews because in all Russian official documents the Jews are spoken of as “aliens” and not as a nationality.
When the Germans invaded a portion of Russian Poland a new plot was formed against the Jews by the Poles. The leaders sent out word throughout the Polish provinces to lay the blame upon the Jews for anything that might compromise the Poles in the eyes of the Russians or the Germans.
“Blame the Jew.” This order, spread by the Polish leaders, was intended to serve two purposes. The Jews were to be compromised and discredited so that the Poles would not have to respect their rights when Poland became autonomous. In the second place their own disloyalty would be rendered less conspicuous.
The Poles circulated rumors throughout the Polish provinces that the Jews were spies, that the Jews were poisoning the wells to kill the Russian troops, were giving signals to the German troops, were throwing bombs from German Zeppelins and other equally absurd stories. The Polish newspapers helped to circulate these legends among the Polish peasantry. These rumors also reached the Russian army and spread like wildfire to Russian towns and villages.
The Polish newspapers published, and foreign papers reproduced a story to the effect that Polish Jews had carted to the Germans a million and a half rubles in gold in a coffin, and however ridiculous the story may sound, the people believed it and the Poles intensified their attacks upon the Jews. Naturally all this had its effect upon the Russian army and was the cause of numerous catastrophes, of numerous pogroms. Hundreds of Jews were hanged on account of such false accusations. The ground was prepared, the Poles knew how to reach the authorities with their accusations, and the word of one informer was sufficient for the officials to hang a Jew.
Many circumstances helped the Poles in their campaign against the Jews. The similarity between the Yiddish and the German languages, the peculiar clothes worn by the Polish Jews, their isolation in ghettos, their unfamiliarity with the Russian language, which made it impossible for them to defend themselves by clearing up many misunderstandings; the fact that they were not permitted to serve on any committees that represented the local population to the authorities – all these created an unfavorable state of affairs for the Jews at the time of the German invasion of Russian Poland.
As soon as the Germans entered a Russian town the Poles changed their tactics. Having previously barred the Jews from various committees, they now urged them to form such committees in order to place responsibility upon the Jews. Thus the Jews were expected to secure provisions and supplies for the invading troops. The Jews were compelled to do this, and when the Russian troops returned they made charges against the Jews to the Russian officials.
The returning Russian troops were usually met by the Polish rabble, who related to them all kinds of stories about Jewish espionage and treachery. Very often the soldiers and Cossacks started at once for the Jewish quarter and broke into Jewish houses, looking for Germans supposed to have hidden there. Since their search proved unsuccessful the infuriated Russian soldiers robbed Jewish homes and shops at the instigation of the Poles. The Poles spurred on the hungry Russian soldiers by telling them that while the Jews gladly gave bread to the German troops, they refused to help the Russians.
Upon just such information given to the Russian troops by Polish informers the sons-in-law of the well known rabbi of Radom were hanged. A large number of Jews were hanged because they had been accused by the Poles of having refused to exchange money for Russian soldiers.
When the Russian troops entered the city of Warsaw and the population came out to welcome them and give them bread and tea, the Poles shouted to the soldiers not to accept anything from the Jews.
“Beware!” they cried. “They want to poison you. Their bread and tea are poisoned.”
It was a critical moment and it looked as though a terrible pogrom would break out. Fortunately a tragedy was averted on that occasion.
In Grayevo, the Poles led the German troops to the Jewish quarter and pointed out to them the houses to be robbed, and later they told the Russians that the Jews were on most friendly terms with the German troops, assisting them in every way possible.
Among the accounts of the tragedies enacted in the Polish provinces and of the sorrows of the Jewish people there, I have received numerous documents in the form of letters from eye witnesses of the pogroms and expulsions, also descriptions by writers who have visited the scenes of a tragedy even more painful that the tragedy of Belgium. The following extracts from a letter received recently in New York from Austrian Poland contains the simple, heartrending account of the horrors of a massacre near Tarnobrzeg:
“And now, my dear son, I will tell you what happened to your father and your mother. On Thursday about one hundred Jews, women and children among them, were placed on the sidewalk. The Russian soldiers aimed their guns at us. Our cries went up to Heaven. We were saying our last prayers. Then God had pity on us, and only Isaac Treger’s son, the youngest, was shot.
“After that the soldiers picked out six young men, stripped them and flogged them mercilessly until blood commenced to gush from their bodies. Then they took the ten oldest men of our town and imprisoned them in a cellar in Vimishlin, where they were kept for forty-eight hours.
“You may bless the Lord for having permitted me to survive. I am glad that my life was spared because I was enabled to bury the dead in accordance with the Jewish law. If I were not here, your grandfather, Hershel, and the others from Mokshoiv would have remained in Byela Gura in the woods. They were hanged there and they remained hanging in the woods for four days. Then they were all buried in one grave, one on top of the other. I learned of this a day after the hanging.
“Yochevedel returned. She had hidden herself somewhere. I went to the Count and begged him to allow me to bury the dead in the Jewish cemetery. But the Russians would not allow me to do that. Three weeks later our troops returned to this town. I went to the authorities and begged them to permit me to bury the dead. I was fortunate enough to have gone there in time, otherwise they would have remained in the woods forever.
“I had asked grandfather to come along with us, but he said it was a pity to leave our house upon which we had worked so hard. When we heard the sound of cannonading we ran to Maidan. ***
“In Maidan we waited for father, but he did not come. We could not get anything to eat there, for all the people of Maidan had already fled.
“We got some bread from the soldiers. On the third day we ran into Kolbushov. On the way we met Moses Bartsen and his family. When we reached Kolbushov on the following day we did not find any one there. Most of the Jews had all run away on Friday. I did not know what to do. Mother was unable to go any further. So we remained in Kolbushov for ten days. The Russians arrived there on Saturday at three o’clock.
“On Sunday night, that was the Jewish New Year, they slaughtered three Jews – father and son and the son’s father-in-law. You can imagine our feelings. What could we do? We were not permitted to leave town. We hid the girls under the beds, and every ten minutes another Cossack would come into the house demanding food, money and our watches. But we had nothing to eat ourselves. Yet they did not believe that we were telling them the truth. Thank God that we were left among the living.”
Among the letters I have received from responsible and reliable people who have visited the scenes of the Jewish Belgium, Poland, the following vivid description of the Jewish exile from Skiernievice stands out prominently.
“I met one of the Jewish militiamen from ill fated Skiernievice at one of the many Warsaw shelters for homeless Jews, a pale, worn young man, half laborer and half “intellectual”. His terrible experiences had left an indelible impression upon him. He seemed to have lost all sense of fear, so anxious was he to rush into the street and proclaim to every passerby the tragedy he had just witnessed.
“The shelter was overflowing with human beings; women, children and the aged and feeble. The grown men were scouring the city all day to secure some means to rebuild their shattered homes. The air was so close one could scarcely breathe. But who in this vale of Jewish tears thought of such needs as fresh air?
“So the Jewish militiaman and I found a seat on a hard, black bench near the window. He began to tell me the story of the exile of the Jews from Skiernievice, and as I listened I recalled the horrible tales of Chmeinitzky’s hordes, tales which had hitherto sounded incredible.
“He spoke in a low tone that betrayed his suppressed excitement.
“ ‘We organized a volunteer militia,” he told me. “When the Russian troops and officials abandoned Skiernievice, we felt that we were left among savage beasts who might crush us at any moment in a pogrom. We went to the Citizens’ Committee, which was made up exclusively of Poles, and petitioned that the Jews be allowed to enter the militia, but the Poles refused to let us join them. We therefore organized a militia of our own, which aside from its other duties had to protect the Jews from the Polish militia.
“ ‘Meanwhile the Germans entered the town. We had heard plenty of stories of the Poles carrying false accusations to the Russian officials against the Jews, so we were afraid to go out to meet the Germans. The Poles went alone and told the Germans that we, the Jews, were the only friends of the Russia in the village. Yet the Germans did not molest us. They paid for everything they took either in cash or orders.
“ ‘A member of the German landstrum gathered a crowd and said: “We are waging war only against the Russian soldiers and not against the peaceful inhabitants. We shall not trouble you if you do not interfere with us. On the contrary we bring you liberty.
“ ‘When we asked him to explain the conduct of the Germans at Kaliscz he replied that the Germans must have been given some provocation. But at that moment we were not interested so much in gaining liberty as in keeping body and soul together.
“ ‘One day the Germans were looking for a stable for their horses. Our Polish friends pointed out the Jewish synagogue as suitable for the purpose. Without further search the Germans installed their horses in the sanctuary.
“ ‘The Jews were shocked, for up to that time the Germans had behaved creditably. The rabbi and a few Jewish laymen sought the German commander and begged him to spare the synagogue. He received them cordially but rebuked them for not being as friendly as the Poles. When they asked him to have the horses removed from the synagogue he showed considerable surprise. He had not known that the building was a synagogue. He gave the order at once to his soldiers. They removed the horses, and furthermore, scoured the place so thoroughly, that they left it cleaner that it had ever been before. You know the condition of our synagogues in the small towns?’
“ ‘And how did it all end? I interrupted at this point.
“ ‘We paid dearly,” resumed the militiaman, ‘for this German good-will. A few days before the Hebrew New Year the Russians compelled the Germans to evacuate. We awaited with dread the return of the Russian troops, for we had heard too often of the bitter experiences of the Jews in other towns under such circumstances. The Poles threatened to wreak vengeance upon us when the Russians would arrive.
“ ‘And so they did. The reality was even worse than our greatest fears.
“ ‘On the eve of New Year the Russians returned. The Poles met them far out on the road and maliciously accused the Jews of having aided the Germans. As a result, the Russians entered the town hostile towards us.
“ ‘The Russian commander had a talk with several prominent Poles and immediately decided to Punish the Jews severely. At noon an officer with a huge drum appeared in the market place and proclaimed that the Jews must prepare to leave the town the next morning at 11 o’clock.
“ ‘We were thunderstruck. Where could we go? What could we do?
“ ‘The Russian officer added that no Jew could remain in Skiernievice because we were all under suspicion, and that any Jew who lingered would be shot as a spy.
“ ‘We hastened to the Russian commander and begged him to spare us. We produced evidence showing that we had been libeled. But in vain. He persisted that he could not investigate our claims because the commander of the Russian army in that vicinity, General Sheideman, had given him his orders.
“ ‘It was rumored about town that when General Sheideman had been in Skiernievice some time before he called the representatives of the citizens’ committee and demanded of them a guarantee that the inhabitants would be loyal to the Russians. As the representatives were all Poles, they gave the general a list of persons under suspicion, which included all the Jews in the village.
“ ‘When we saw that our efforts were useless we decided to leave our possessions and merely try to save our lives. The incidents of that night beggar description. We were not even permitted to leave behind us the sick and the women in childbirth. Only the Jewish bakers, blacksmiths and a few contractors were allowed to remain. But they did not care to stay and prepared to leave with the rest of us.
“ ‘The order of the commander stated that the Jews must depart along the right bank of the Vistula.
“ ‘At 11 o’clock on New Year’s Day, some 7,000 Jews gathered in the market place, carrying their children and the sick. In half an hour our number was increased by another thousand Jews who had been driven from the neighboring villages.
“ ‘The Poles did not even wait for the Jews to leave town before they started plundering our homes and shops. They met with no resistance. We, the Jewish militiamen, surrounded our community in order to defend our lives and the honor of our women. I cannot describe our feelings. We were so enraged that if we had had access to bombs then, we would have annihilated ourselves and all Skiernievice.
“ ‘It was the Sabbath, but the rabbi declared it was lawful to let the children, the feeble old men and the women in childbirth on wagons, which we hired at unheard of prices.
“ ‘We took the scrolls of the law in our hands and, amid the savage cries of the Poles and the soldiers, we left the town in silence and despair. Our hearts were heavy. Even the children cried with us.
“ ‘Just then a fine looking Jew with gray hair and a jet black beard, took a seat on our bench. My companion hesitated.
“ ‘Does he embarrass you?’ I asked the militiaman. ‘If so we might move to another corner.’
“ ‘No,’ the young man answered sadly. ‘He cannot disturb us.’
“ ‘I gazed intently at the newcomer and I shuddered. He was looking straight into our eyes, but I felt his glance pass through me to some invisible goal.
“ ‘He is out of his senses,’ the militiaman explained to me in a low voice.
“The gray headed Jew began to rock himself back and forth, repeating in a low murmer:
“ ‘Beilis! Beilis!’
“ ‘He is one of the victims, the militiaman said sadly. ‘That’s the way he’s been acting since we arrived here. He ought to be put in an institution, but where can we find such a place now? So he is here with us, with the sane. He does not trouble any one. He is very quiet.
“The militiaman continued his story.
“ ‘We directed our steps toward Warsaw, some eighty versts distant. We had to carry the invalids and the children during the entire journey. But we had become hardened to suffering of late and night have borne all with a certain amount of resignation.
“ ‘The worst part of our experience was, however, that all along the way we were continually joined by ever new hosts of Jews who were even more desperate than we. The livelong day we dragged ourselves along the hard, rutty roads. Beside us moved long lines of Russian soldiers. They were coming to “redeem” the land from the hands of the enemy and it was these redeemers who inflicted upon us the most excruciating woes. Wherever the Russian troops went they were accompanied by a crowd of Poles, men and women and children, who would point at us and shout:
“There they go, the Beilises! There go the traitors!”
“ ‘ “Beilises!” the incited Russian soldiers would cry as we passed before them. Those of us who happened to come near enough even felt their blows. Perhaps the Russians were not to blame. They believed what the Poles told them.
“ ‘ “To Sakhalien! To Sakhalien! Go to Palestine, you accursed Jews!” the Poles and the soldiers would taunt us. What could we answer?
Often we noticed among the soldiers familiar faces. There were Jewish soldiers from Poland and Russia. We would stretch out our hands to them and cry:
“ ‘ “See, brethren, what the Russians are doing to us! You are on your way to defend the fatherland and here they are torturing us! Save us!”
“ ‘The Jewish soldiers would bow their heads. Many an eye would fill with tears.
“ ‘We expected to be banished to Siberia or to Sakhalien, so we trudged along to Warsaw without a spark of hope in our hearts. Toward evening we reached a small Jewish town. The local Jews had heard of our misfortune and they came out to meet us. But before long an official mandate arrived ordering that we should not be allowed to spend the night in the town or even to pass through the streets. The Russians began at once to drive out those of us who had set foot in the town. Behind us the others were pressing forward, not knowing what had happened at the van. Sobs and moans filled the air. Men and women grew hysterical. In the tumult a child was choked to death. We were herded together like a flock of sheep and forced to spend the night in the open fields.
“ ‘We begged piteously that a few of us should be allowed to enter the town and buy bread and wood, but our prayers were vain. The officers threatened to shoot any Jews who would enter the town. Some of us drew near to talk with the local Jews, only to be driven back with brutal blows.
“ ‘In the morning we set out again on our way. We did not try to halt at the towns we passed. Such an attempt would have been useless and would only have embarrassed the Jews who lived there and whose own position was none too secure.
“ ‘We trudged on, hungry and exhausted. Ever and anon the Poles would come out from the neighboring villages and heap insults upon us. The Poles beat those of us who straggled behind from weakness. So did the soldiers.
“ ‘I cannot find words to describe the journey. At was a journey of shame and misery. A few women in childbirth died on the way with their babies. We carried the corpses along on the wagons together with the living invalids and children. We could not bury the dead, since we were not allowed to stop anywhere.
“ ‘In this plight we reached Warsaw. Here too the report of our misfortune had preceded us and we were met with bread, clothes and wagons. Representatives of the Jewish community petitioned the authorities to allow us to enter the city.
“ ‘Here in Warsaw no one could understand the reason for our expulsion and every one was afraid to do anything for us. The civil authorities could not disregard the command of the military officials that we be banished to the right side of the Vistula, the Prague side. That locality is known as a den of thugs and the Jews of Warsaw were afraid that we would be attacked and murdered. After urgent petition to the civil authorities, the Governor of Warsaw at last consented to overlook our entrance into the city. We therefore remained in Warsaw where charitable Jews had established shelters for the homeless. The rest of the story is known to you.’
“This is the tale of the ruin of Skiernievice as told by the young Jewish militiaman. He did not tell me all and much of his story I have omitted here. There is a great deal which it is not yet possible to describe frankly.
“The Jewish community of Warsaw helped the unfortunate exiles as far as human power could aid them. A few weeks later when they were settled in shelters, the Government was prevailed upon to permit a Jewish deputation to visit Skiernievice and see how things were there. A good many Jews of the village had meanwhile obtained permission to return to their pillaged homes. They went back with the deputation.
“What they found at Skiernievice struck them with consternation. The Poles had taken possession of the Jewish houses and did not allow their Jewish owners to enter. They were doing business in the Jewish shops and acted as if they were the proprietors. They scouted the idea of leaving.
“The Poles translated into reality the plan which the well known Jew baiting Polish newspaper Dwa Groshi outlined at the outbreak of the war. This newspaper wrote: ‘Now is the time for the Poles to take control of the Polish trade and crowd out the Jews.’ So they crowded out the Jews with a vengeance.
“The Jewish representatives repeatedly appealed to the civil and military authorities against the outrage, but their efforts were in vain.
“ ‘You are right,’ the authorities would reply, ‘but why make so much noise about it? Obtain redress by the process of law. Bring suit in court and produce witnesses to prove that the houses and stores belong to you.’
“This reply was merely an inhuman jest at the expense of the Jews. Where could they obtain redress? How could they produce witnesses, since the Jews had been driven out and the Polish witnesses were themselves the robbers!
“The Jewish deputation and the Jewish natives of Skiernievice who had returned exerted every effort, but realizing that they could accomplish nothing left the ruined Jewish quarter with tears in their eyes and brought the sad news to Warsaw.
“The Jews of Skiernievice will remain homeless for a long, long time. The wealthiest men are now compelled to be for bread. They could save nothing of their possessions in the short twenty-four hours which were granted them to prepare to leave their native town.”
This is but a scene of the tragedy of Israel in Poland.
References
Grand Duke Nicolas Nikolaevich of Russia (1856-1929) – Biographical Profile at Wikipedia
Herman Bernstein – Biographical Profile at Wikipedia
Menahem Mendel Beilis – Biographical Profile at Wikipedia
Skiernievice – Description at Wikipedia
Tarnobrzeg – Description at Wikipedia