The Denver Jewish news., 1920-10-13
Morris Rothenberg Tells
of Jewish Life Abroad
DESPERATE CONDITION OF JEWS
IN POIAAND-HJINGARIAN AN
TI-JEWISH EXCESSES - CON
STRUCTIVE RELIEF IMPOSSI.
BI,E-UNORGANIZED ENIIGRA.
TION TO PALESTINE
Copyright. 1920. by l. ]. p. b


his thirty yeurs. he already occupie
very conspicuous place in the Jew
ish life of America. His position Il
not due to riches or aristocrati
BIRTH but to his own personal quail
ties. His talent as speaker and hi
honest and energetic work hav,
earned him the love and esteem o.
ALL Mr.. Rothenberg Is. as Is known
Chairman of the Executive Commit
tee of the Provisional ganiZatiOI
for an American Jewish Congress
He has just arrived from Europe
where he attended the London Zion
ist Conference. and also the WOrlt
RELIEF Conference nt Carlsbad and
then made trip through the refuget
centers. visiting vienna, Pressburg
Prague. Berlin and other parts OF
Central and Eastern Europe. \ rep
resentativc Of the International Jew
ish Press Bureau had three lengthy
conversations with Mr.. ROthenber;
md the following statement is the re
suit Of these talks:
Before leaving for Europe" said
Mr. Rothenberg. II was under the
impression that the condition Of tho
Jews in Eastern Europe was grndu
ally improving and in suIne measure
beginning to approach norma
state. l was quite disillusionet'
about this. ! had an unusual oppor
tunitS through the London Confer
ence and the Conference at Carls
bad. to meet the foremost represep
tativcs OF Jewry from every part O.
Europe. There was hardly countr'
where Jews live that was not repre-
sented at one ar the other of thes
conferences. and was therefore J.
a position to get the most reliabl
information with regard to the cor
ditIon of the JewS in the varior
countries. besides the Observatio'
that made in the lands which ;
visited.
Poland is hell for the Jewr
The advance of the Soviet armies ur
on Poland resulted in reign of to-
ror against the Jews that exceeded
anything they had experienced unit
then: although. when mobilization
was ordered in Poland. the Jews re
spondcd readily and enlisted as vol
unteers in the defense Of Poland. the,
were nevertheless attacked by th'
Polish soldiers at every step. In th'
army they were humiliated and de
graded. They were not given an OF
portunity to fight at the front. BIZ
were given the filthiest menial wort
such as cleaning letrines and sewae'
and were not even given implement
with which to work. In the coursf
of their work. they were frequently
beaten and insulted. Jews were
beaten and assaulted in trains anf
on the streets. and things came t.
such point. that they decided ~
longer to use the streets which were
freQuented mostly by non-Jews. Al
ter the first Polish victories. the
Jews were driven into concentration
camps. as in the city of Jablono.
5000 Jewish soldiers were held prac
tically as offenders.
when the Jewish Deputies. Green.
baum. Hnrtglass and Prilutzki, went
to the Ministerium they were prom
ised that something would be done to
change the situation. but nothing was
done. A Jewish Deputy In the Polish
Diet Perlmutter, while on his way
to the Government Offices. was twice
attacked on the streets. In a number
Of cities that were entered by the
Polish soldiers. Jews were shot indis-
criminntely, on the pretext that they
were Bolsheviks. although it was
wholly untrue. Jews In Poland re-
gard the situation as utterly hope
less and have come TO the conclusion
that emigration from the country is
their only hope to escape from the
tortures they are undergoing.
Hungary. where there are prob
ably 100000 Jews, is n tragedy al,
by itself. There. they have stopped
making mass pogroms. but daily some
jew is found murdered or horribly
mutilated Between december of
1919 and June of 1920. 800 Jews are
known to have been murdered, and
what Is worse. laws have been enacted
and continue to be enacted. which
threaten the complete ruin of the
economic existence Of the Jews there.
Laws are passed which require all