New-York tribune., 1920-01-19
Polish Nation
Is AbsOlyed of
Staying Jews
Morgenthau Mission Finds
Excesses Were Result of
Anti Semitic Prejudice;
Grimes Not Premeditated


against the Jews in Poland, in which
252 members of the race were the
victims of mob violence, are given in
the report of the mission headed bv
Henry Morgenthau, which investigated d
these outbreaks, and which was made
public in New York last night. The
mission, which was appointed by Sec
retary Lansing on the request of
lgnace Paderewsk, then President of
the Polish Council of Ministers, was
composed Of. in addition to Mr.. Morgen-
thau, Brigadier General Edgar Jadwin
and Homer II. Johnson.
1t arrived in Warsaw on July 13,
1919, and remained in Poland for two
months, during which time it travelled
by automobiles more than $500 miles.
making personal investigation in
every town where anti-Jewish out
breaks had been reported
Fails to Fix Blame
While admitting that in eight specific
cases the Jews had been made the tar
get of outrage, pillage and murder
the report of the mission declares that
it would be unfair to place the blame
tor these excesses on the Polish
nation as q whole.
Just as the Jews" the report says,
would resent being condemned as a
race for the action of few of their
be correspondingly unfair to condemn
the Polish nation as whole for the
violence committed by uncontrolled
trOODS or local mObs
These eXcesses were apparently not
premeditated, for if they had been
part of a preconceived plan the num-
ber of killed would have run into the
thousands instead of amounting to
about 280. 1t is believed that Shese ex-
cesses were the result of widespread
antiSemitic prejudice, aggravated by
the belief that the Jewish inhabitants
were politically hostile to the Polish
state" The report in part follows:
when in November, 1918, the Aus
trian and German armies of occupation
left Poland there was no firm govern
mcnt until the arrival of General Pill
sudski, who had escaped from a Ger
man prison. and it was during this
period. before the Polish Republic came
into being, that the first of the excesses
took place The use of the word 'po-
grom' had purposely been avoided, as
the word is applied to everything from
petty outrages to premeditated and
carefully organized massacres. No
fixed definition is generally understood.
There were eight principal excesses,
which are here described in chronology
ical order:
1. Kielce November II, 1918
Shortly after the evacuation Of the
Austrian troops from Kielce the Jews
Of this city secured permission from
the local authorities to hold a meeting
in the Polski Theatre. At $3.50 p. m.
the meeting began to break up, and
when only about 300 people remained
in the theater some militiamen entered
and began to search for arms. short
while thereafter, while the militia
Of civilians and some soldiers came
into the auditorium and drove the Jews
toward the stairs. On the stairs there
was double line of men armed with
clubs and bayonets, and they beat the
Jews as they left me building. After the
Jews reached the street they were
again beaten by the mob outside. AS
the result of this attack four Jews
were killed and a large number
wounded. A number of civilians have
been indicted for participation in this
excess, out nave not as yet Deen
brought to trial.
2. Lemberg, November 21-23, 1918
Upon the final departure of the
Ukraninns disreputable elements plum
dered to the extent Of many millions
of crowns the dwellings and stores in
ne Jewish quarter and did not hest
tate to murder when they met with
resistance. During the ensuing dis
orders, which prevailed on Novem-
ber 21, % and %. sixty-four Jews were
killed and large amount of property
destroyed. Thirty-eight houses were
set on fire and owing to the paralysis
of the Fire Department were com
petely gutted The synagogue was
also burned and large number of the
sacred scrolls of the law were de-
stroyed
3. Pinsk, April S. 1919
Late in the afternoon of April s.
1919, Il month or more after the Polish
occupation of Pinsk. some seventy five
Jews of both sexes. with the official
permission Of the town commander.
gathered in the assembly hall at the
Peoples House in Kupieeka Street. to
discuss the distribution of relief sent
by the American Joint Distribution
Committee. AS the meeting was about
to adjourn 1t was interrupted by a
band Of soldiers, who arrested and
searched the whole assembly, and after
robbing the prisoners marched them at
rapid pac" 10 gendarmerie head
quarters. Thence the prisoners were
conducted to the market place and
lined up against the wall Of the cathe-