Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, 1919, Volume II

860c.4016/160

The Secretary of State to President Wilson³⁴

The President: The undersigned, the Secretary of State, in response to a resolution passed by the Senate of the United States on October 22, (calendar day, October 28) 1919, reading as follows:

“Whereas it is understood that the Mission of the United States Government to Poland, headed by Hon. Henry Morgenthau, has completed its work, and Mr. Morgenthau has made a report to the Secretary of State: Therefore be it

Resolved, That the Secretary of State is hereby requested to send to the Senate, if it is not incompatible with the public interest, a copy of said report”,

has the honor to submit herewith for transmission to the Senate, if the President approve thereof, a copy of the report made by the Honorable Henry Morgenthau, head of the Mission, and a copy of a report made by the other members of the Mission, General Edgar Jadwin, United States Army, and Mr. Homer H. Johnson.

Respectfully submitted,

Robert Lansing

Washington, January 14, 1920.

[Enclosure 1]

Report of the Head of the Mission to Poland (Morgenthau) to the Commission to Negotiate Peace

Paris, October 3, 1919.

Gentlemen: 1. A Mission, consisting of Mr. Henry Morgenthau, Brigadier General Edgar Jadwin, and Mr. Homer H. Johnson, was appointed by the American Commission to Negotiate Peace to investigate Jewish matters in Poland. The appointment of such a Mission had previously been requested by Mr. Paderewski, President of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Poland. On June 30, 1919, Secretary Lansing wrote to this Mission: “It is desired that the Mission make careful inquiry into all matters affecting the relations between the Jewish and non-Jewish elements in Poland. This will, of course, involve the investigation of the various massacres, pogroms, and other excesses alleged to have taken place, the economic boycott, and other methods of discrimination against the Jewish race. The establishment of the truth in regard to these matters is not, however, an end in itself. It is merely for the purpose of seeking to discover the reason lying behind such excesses and discriminations with a view to finding a possible remedy. The American Government, as you know, is inspired by a friendly desire to render service to all elements in the new Poland—Christians and Jews alike. I am convinced that any measures that may be taken to ameliorate the conditions of the Jews will also benefit the rest of the population, and that, conversely, anything done for the community benefit of Poland as a whole will be of advantage to the Jewish race. I am sure that the members of your Mission are approaching the subject in the right spirit, free from prejudice one way or the other and filled with a desire to discover the truth and evolve some constructive measures to improve the situation which gives concern to all the friends of Poland.”

2. The Mission reached Warsaw on July 13, 1919, and remained in Poland until September 13, 1919. All the places where the principal excesses had occurred were visited. In addition thereto the Mission also studied the economic and social conditions in such places as Lodz, Krakau, Grodno, Kalisch, Posen, Cholm, Lublin, and Stanislawow. By automobiling over 2,500 miles through Russian, Austrian, and German Poland, the Mission also came into immediate contact with the inhabitants of the small towns and villages. In order properly to appreciate the present cultural and social conditions, the Mission also visited educational institutions, libraries, hospitals, museums, art galleries, orphan asylums, and prisons.

3. Investigations of the excesses were made mostly in the presence of representatives of the Polish Government and of the Jewish communities. There were also present in many cases military and civil officials, and, wherever possible, officials in command at the time the excesses occurred were conferred with and interrogated. In this work the Polish authorities and the American Minister to Poland, Mr. Hugh Gibson, lent the Mission every facility. Deputations of all kinds of organizations were received and interviewed. A large number of public meetings and gatherings were attended, and the Mission endeavored to obtain a correct impression of what had occurred, of the present mental state of the public, and of the attitude of the various factions towards one another.

4. The Jews first entered Poland in large numbers during the 12th and 13th centuries, when they migrated from Germany and other countries as the result of severe persecutions. Their language was German, which subsequently developed into a Hebrew-German dialect, or Yiddish. As prior to this immigration only two classes or estates had existed in Poland (the owners and the tillers of the soil) the Jewish immigrant became the pioneer of trade and finance, settling in the towns and villages. As time went on, it became generally known throughout Europe that Poland was a place of refuge for the Jews, and their numbers were augmented as a result of persecutions in Western Europe. Still more recently, as a result of the expulsion of the Jews from Russia, on account of the enforcement of the Pale of settlement, and of the May laws of 1882, their number was further increased.

5. Notwithstanding the fact that Poland has been a place of refuge for the Jews, there have been anti-Jewish movements at various times. The present antisemitic feeling took a definite political form after the Russian revolution of 1905. This feeling reached an intense stage in 1912 when the Polish National Democratic Party nominated an anti-Semite to represent Warsaw in the Russian Duma and the Jews cast their vote for a Polish Socialist and carried the election. The National Democratic Party then commenced a vigorous antisemitic campaign. During the German occupation this campaign was temporarily reduced. At the end of the Great War the chaotic and unnatural state of affairs in which Poland found itself gave good ground for a condition of social unrest, which, together with the world-stimulated tendency toward national self-determination, accentuated the feeling between Jewish and non-Jewish elements. The chauvinistic reaction created by the sudden acquisition of a long-coveted freedom ripened the public mind for antisemitic or anti-alien sentiment, which was strongly agitated by the Press and by politicians. This finally encouraged physical manifestations or violent outcroppings of an unbalanced social condition.

6. When, in November, 1918, the Austrian and German armies of occupation left Poland there was no firm government until the arrival of General Pilsudski, who had escaped from a German prison, and it was during this period, before the Polish Republic came into being, that the first of the excesses took place. (The Mission has purposely avoided the use of the word “pogrom,” 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 chronological order.

(1) Kielce, November 11, 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 Theater. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss Jewish national aspirations. It began shortly before two o’clock and filled the theater to overflowing. During the afternoon a small crowd of Polish civilians, largely composed of students, gathered outside of the theater. At 6:30 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. A short while thereafter, and while the militiamen were still in the building, a crowd of civilians and some soldiers came into the auditorium and drove the Jews towards the stairs. On the stairs there was a double line of men armed with clubs and bayonets, who beat the Jews as they left the building. After the Jews reached the street they were again beaten by a mob outside. As a 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, but have not as yet been brought to trial.

(2) Lemberg, November 21–23, 1918.

On October 30, 1918, when the Austrian Empire collapsed, the Ukrainian troops, formerly in the Austrian service, assumed control of the town. A few hundred Polish boys, combined with numerous volunteers of doubtful character, recaptured about half the city and held it until the arrival of Polish reinforcements on November 21st. The Jewish population declared themselves neutral, but the fact that the Jewish quarter lay within the section occupied by the Ukrainians, and that the Jews had organized their own militia, and further, the rumor that some of the Jewish population had fired upon the soldiery, stimulated amongst the Polish volunteers an antisemitic bias that readily communicated itself to the relieving troops. The situation was further complicated by the presence of some 15,000 uniformed deserters and numerous criminals released by the Ukrainians from local jails, who were ready to join in any disorder, particularly if, as in the case of wholesale pillage, they might profit thereby.

Upon the final departure of the Ukrainians, these disreputable elements plundered to the extent of many millions of crowns the dwellings and stores in the Jewish quarter, and did not hesitate at murder when they met with resistance. During the ensuing disorders, which prevailed on November 21st, 22nd, and 23rd, sixty-four Jews were killed and a large amount of property destroyed. Thirty-eight houses were set on fire, and owing to the paralysis of the fire department, were completely gutted. The Synagogue was also burned and large numbers of the sacred scrolls of the Law were destroyed. The repression of the disorders was rendered more difficult by the prevailing lack of discipline among the newly organized Polish troops, and by a certain hesitation among the junior officers to apply stern punitive measures. When officers’ patrols under experienced leaders were finally organized on November 23rd, robbery and violence ceased.

As early as December 24, 1918, the Polish Government, through the Ministry of Justice, began a strict investigation of the events of November 21st to 23rd. A special commission, headed by a Justice of the Supreme Court, sat in Lemberg for about two months, and rendered an extensive formal report which has been furnished this Mission. In spite of the crowded dockets of the local courts, where over 7,000 cases are now pending, 164 persons, ten of them Jews, have been tried for complicity in the November disorders, and numerous similar cases await disposal. Forty-four persons are under sentences ranging from ten days to eighteen months. Aside from the civil courts, the local court martial has sentenced military persons to confinement for as long as three years for lawlessness during the period in question. This Mission is advised that on the basis of official investigations the Government has begun the payment of claims for damages resulting from these events.

(3) Pinsk, April 5, 1919.

Late in the afternoon of April 5, 1919, a month or more after the Polish occupation of Pinsk, some 75 Jews of both sexes, with the official permission of the Town Commander, gathered in the assembly hall at the People’s House, in the Kupiecka Street, to discuss the distribution of relief sent by the American Joint Distribution Committee. As the meeting was about to adjourn, it was interrupted by a band of soldiers, who arrested and searched the whole assembly, and, after robbing the prisoners, marched them at a rapid pace to Gendarmerie Headquarters. Thence the prisoners were conducted to the market place and lined up against the wall of the Cathedral. With no lights except the lamps of a military automobile the six women in the crowd, and about 25 men, were separated from the mass, and the remainder, 35 in number, were shot with scant deliberation and no trial whatever. Early the next morning three wounded victims were shot in cold blood when it was found that they were still alive.

The women and other reprieved prisoners were confined in the city jail until the following Thursday. The women were stripped and beaten by the prison guards so severely that several of them were bed-ridden for weeks thereafter, and the men were subjected to similar maltreatment.

It has been asserted officially by the Polish authorities that there was reason to suspect this assemblage of Bolshevist allegiance. This Mission is convinced that no arguments of Bolshevist nature were mentioned in the meeting in question. While it is recognized that certain information of Bolshevist activities in Pinsk had been received by two Jewish soldiers, the undersigned is convinced that Major Luczynski, the Town Commander, showed reprehensible and frivolous readiness to place credence upon such untested assertions, and on this insufficient basis took inexcusably drastic action against reputable citizens whose loyal character could have been immediately established by a consultation with any well-known non-Jewish inhabitant.

The statements made officially by General Listowski, the Polish Group Commander, that the Jewish population on April 5th attacked the Polish troops, are regarded by this Mission as devoid of foundation. The undersigned is further of the opinion that the consultation prior to executing the 35 Jews, alleged by Major Luczynski to have had the character of a court-martial, was by the very nature of the case a most casual affair with no judicial nature whatever, since less than an hour elapsed between the arrest and the execution. It is further found that no conscientious effort was made at the time either to investigate the charges against the prisoners or even sufficiently to identify them. Though there have been official investigations of this case none of the offenders answerable for this summary execution have been punished or even tried, nor has the Diet commission published its findings.

(4) Lida, April 17, 1919.

On April 17, 1919, the Polish military forces captured Lida from the Russian Bolsheviks. After the city fell into the hands of the Poles the soldiers proceeded to enter and rob the houses of the Jews. During this period of pillage 39 Jews were killed. A large number of Jews, including the local Rabbi, were arbitrarily arrested on the same day by the Polish authorities and kept for 24 hours without food amid revolting conditions of filth at No. 60 Kamienska Street. Jews were also impressed for forced labor without respect for age or infirmity. It does not appear that anyone has been punished for these excesses, or that any steps have been taken to reimburse the victims of the robberies.

(5) Wilno, April 19–21, 1919.

On April 19th Polish detachments entered the city of Wilno. The city was definitely taken by the Poles after three days of street fighting, during which time they lost 33 men killed. During this same period some 65 Jews lost their lives. From the evidence submitted it appears that none of these people, among whom were four women, and eight men over 50 years of age, had served with the Bolsheviks. Eight Jews were marched three kilometers to the outskirts of Wilno and deliberately shot without a semblance of a trial or investigation. Others were shot by soldiers who were robbing Jewish houses. No list has been furnished the Mission of any Polish civilians killed during the occupation. It is, however, stated on behalf of the Government that the civilian inhabitants of Wilno took part on both sides in this fighting, and that some civilians fired upon the soldiers. Over 2,000 Jewish houses and stores in the city were entered by Polish soldiers and civilians during these three days, and the inhabitants robbed and beaten. It is claimed by the Jewish community that the consequent losses amounted to over 10,000,000 rubles. Many of the poorest families were robbed of their shoes and blankets. Hundreds of Jews were arrested and deported from the city. Some of them were herded into boxcars and kept without food or water for four days. Old men and children were carried away without trial or investigation. Two of these prisoners have since died from the treatment they received. Included in this list were some of the most prominent Jews of Wilno, such as the eminent Jewish writers, Jaffe and Niger. For days the families of these prisoners were without news from them and feared that they had been killed. The soldiers also broke into the synagogue and mutilated the sacred scrolls of the Law. Up to August 3, 1919, when the Mission was in Wilno, none of the soldiers or civilians responsible for these excesses had been punished.

(6) Kolbuszowa, May 7, 1919.

For a few days before May 7, 1919, the Jews of Kolbuszowa feared that excesses might take place, as there had been riots in the neighboring towns of Rzeszow and Glogow. These riots had been the result of political agitation in this district, and of excitement caused by a case of alleged ritual murder in which the Jewish defendant had been acquitted. On May 6th a company of soldiers was ordered to Kolbuszowa to prevent the threatened trouble. Early in the morning of May 7th a great number of peasants, among whom were many former soldiers of the Austrian army, entered the town. The rioters disarmed the soldiers after two soldiers and three peasants had been killed. They then proceeded to rob the Jewish stores and to beat any Jews who fell into their hands. Eight Jews were killed during this excess. Order was restored when a new detachment of soldiers arrived late in the afternoon. One of the rioters has since been tried and executed by the Polish Government.

(7) Czestochowa, May 27, 1919.

On May 27, 1919, at Czestochowa, a shot fired by an unknown person slightly wounded a Polish soldier. A rumor spread that the shot had been fired by the Jews and riots broke out in the city in which Polish soldiers and civilians took part. During these riots five Jews, including a doctor who was hurrying to aid one of the injured, were beaten to death and a large number were wounded. French officers, who were stationed at Czestochowa, took an active part in preventing further murders.

(8) Minsk, August 8, 1919.

On August 8, 1919, the Polish troops took the city of Minsk from the Russian Bolsheviks. The Polish troops entered the city at about ten o’clock in the morning, and by twelve o’clock they had absolute control. Notwithstanding the presence in Minsk of General Jadwin and other members of this Mission, and the orders of the Polish Commanding General forbidding violence against civilians, 31 Jews were killed by the soldiers. Only one of this number can in any way be connected with the Bolshevist movement. Eighteen of the deaths appear to have been deliberate murder. Two of these murders were incident to robberies, but the rest were committed, to all appearances, solely on the ground that the victims were Jews. During the afternoon and in the evening of August 8th, the Polish soldiers, aided by civilians, plundered 377 shops, all of which belonged to Jews. It must be noted, however, that about 90% of the stores in Minsk are owned by Jews. No effective attempt was made to prevent these robberies until the next morning, when adequate officers’ patrols were sent out through the streets and order was established. The private houses of many of the Jews were also broken into by soldiers and the inhabitants were beaten and robbed. The Polish Government has stated that four Polish soldiers were killed while attempting to prevent robberies. It has also been stated to the Mission that some of the rioters have been executed.

7. There have also been here and there individual cases of murder not enumerated in the preceding paragraphs, but their detailed description has not been considered necessary inasmuch as they present no characteristics not already observed in the principal excesses. In considering these excesses as a whole, it should be borne in mind that of the eight cities and towns at which striking disorders have occurred, only Kielce and Czestochowa are within the boundaries of Congress Poland. In Kielce and Kolbuszowa the excesses were committed by city civilians and by peasants respectively. At Czestochowa both civilians and soldiers took part in the disorders. At Pinsk the excess was essentially the fault of one officer. In Lemberg, Lida, Wilno, and Minsk the excesses were committed by the soldiers who were capturing the cities and not by the civilian population. In the three last-named cities the antisemitic prejudice of the soldiers had been inflamed by the charge that the Jews were Bolsheviks, while at Lemberg it was associated with the idea that the Jews were making common cause with the Ukrainians. These excesses were, therefore, political as well as antisemitic in character. The responsibility for these excesses is borne for the most part by the undisciplined and ill-equipped Polish recruits, who, uncontrolled by their inexperienced and ofttimes timid officers, sought to profit at the expense of that portion of the population which they regarded as alien and hostile to Polish nationality and aspirations. It is recognized that the enforcement of discipline in a new and untrained army is a matter of extreme difficulty. On the other hand, the prompt cessation of disorder in Lemberg after the adoption of appropriate measures of control shows that an unflinching determination to restore order and a firm application of repressive measures, can prevent, or at least limit, such excesses. It is therefore, believed that a more aggressive punitive policy, and a more general publicity for reports of judicial and military prosecutions, would have minimized subsequent excesses by discouraging the belief among the soldiery that robbery and violence could be committed with impunity.

8. Just as the Jews would resent being condemned as a race for the action of a few of their undesirable coreligionists, so it would be correspondingly unfair to condemn the Polish nation as a whole for the violence committed by uncontrolled troops or local mobs. These excesses were apparently not premeditated, for if they had been part of a preconceived plan, the number of victims would have run into the thousands instead of amounting to about 280. It is believed that these excesses were the result of a widespread antisemitic prejudice aggravated by the belief that the Jewish inhabitants were politically hostile to the Polish State. When the boundaries of Poland are once fixed, and the internal organization of the country is perfected, the Polish Government will be increasingly able to protect all classes of Polish citizenry. Since the Polish Republic has subscribed to the Treaty which provides for the protection of racial religious and linguistic minorities, it is confidently anticipated that the Government will wholeheartedly accept the responsibility, not only of guarding certain classes of its citizens from aggression, but also of educating the masses beyond the state of mind that makes such aggression possible.

9. Besides these excesses there have been reported to the Mission numerous cases of other forms of persecutions. Thus, in almost every one of the cities and towns of Poland, Jews have been stopped by the soldiers and had their beards either torn out or cut off. As the orthodox Jews feel that the shaving of their beards is contrary to their religious belief, this form of persecution has a particular significance to them. Jews also have been beaten and forded from trains and railroad stations. As a result many of them are afraid to travel. The result of all these minor persecutions is to keep the Jewish population in a state of ferment, and to subject them to the fear that graver excesses may again occur.

10. Whereas it has been easy to determine the excesses which took place and to fix the approximate number of deaths, it was more difficult to establish the extent of anti-Jewish discrimination. This discrimination finds its most conspicuous manifestation in the form of an economic boycott. The National Democratic Party has continuously agitated the economic strangling of the Jews. Through the Press and political announcements, as well as by public speeches, the non-Jewish element of the Polish people is urged to abstain from dealing with the Jews. Landowners are warned not to sell their property to Jews, and in some cases where such sales have been made, the names of the offenders have been posted within black-bordered notices, stating that such vendors were “dead to Poland.” Even at the present time, this campaign is being waged by most of the non-Jewish Press, which constantly advocates that the economic boycott be used as a means of ridding Poland of its Jewish element. This agitation had created in the minds of some of the Jews the feeling that there is an invisible rope around their necks, and they claim that this is the worst persecution that they can be forced to endure. Non-Jewish laborers have in many cases refused to work side by side with Jews. The percentage of Jews in public office, especially those holding minor positions, such as railway employees, firemen, policemen, and the like, has been materially reduced since the present Government has taken control. Documents have been furnished the Mission showing that government-owned railways have discharged Jewish employees and given them certificates that they have been released for no other reason than that they belong to the Jewish race.

11. Furthermore, the establishment of Cooperative Stores is claimed by many Jewish traders to be a form of discrimination. It would seem, however, that this movement is a legitimate effort to restrict the activities and therefore the profits of the middleman. Unfortunately, when these stores were introduced into Poland, they were advertised as a means of eliminating the Jewish trader. The Jews have, therefore, been caused to feel that the establishment of Cooperatives is an attack upon themselves. While the establishment and the maintenance of Cooperatives may have been influenced by antisemitic sentiment, this is a form of economic activity which any community is perfectly entitled to pursue. On the other hand, the Jews complain that even the Jewish Cooperatives and individual Jews are discriminated against by the Government in the distribution of government-controlled supplies.

12. The Government has denied that discrimination against Jews has been practiced as a Government policy, though it has not denied that there may be individual cases where antisemitism has played a part. Assurances have been made to the Mission by official authorities that in so far as it lies within the power of the Government this discrimination will be corrected.

13. In considering the causes for the antisemitic feeling which has brought about the manifestations described above, it must be remembered that ever since the Partition of 1795 the Poles have striven to be reunited as a nation and to regain their freedom. This continual effort to keep alive their national aspirations has caused them to look with hatred upon anything which might interfere with their aims. This has led to a conflict with the nationalist declarations of some of the Jewish organizations which desire to establish cultural autonomy financially supported by the State. In addition, the position taken by the Jews in favor of Article 93 of the Treaty of Versailles, guaranteeing protection to racial, linguistic and religious minorities in Poland, has created a further resentment against them. Moreover, Polish national feeling is irritated by what is regarded as the “alien” character of the great mass of the Jewish population. This is constantly brought home to the Poles by the fact that the majority of the Jews affect a distinctive dress, observe the Sabbath on Saturday, conduct business on Sunday, have separate dietary laws, wear long beards, and speak a language of their own. The basis of this language is a German dialect, and the fact that Germany was, and still is, looked upon by the Poles as an enemy country, renders this vernacular especially unpopular. The concentration of the Jews in separate districts or quarters in Polish cities also emphasizes the line of demarcation separating them from other citizens.

14. The strained relations between the Jews and non-Jews have been further increased, not only by the Great War, during which Poland was the battleground for the Russian, German, and Austrian armies, but also by the present conflicts with the Bolsheviks and the Ukrainians. The economic condition of Poland is at its lowest ebb. Manufacturing and commerce have virtually ceased. The shortage, the high price, and the imperfect distribution of food, are a dangerous menace to the health and welfare of the urban population. As a result, hundreds of thousands are suffering from hunger and are but half-clad, while thousands are dying of disease and starvation. The cessation of commerce is particularly felt by the Jewish population, who are almost entirely dependent upon it. Owing to the conditions described, prices have doubled and tripled, and the population has become irritated against the Jewish traders, whom it blames for the abnormal increase thus occasioned.

15. The great majority of Jews in Poland belong to separate Jewish political parties. The largest of these are the Orthodox, the Zionist, and the National. Since the Jews form separate political groups it is probable that some of the Polish discrimination against them is political rather than antisemitic in character. The dominant Polish parties give to their supporters government positions and government patronage. It is to be hoped, however, that the Polish majority will not follow this system in the case of positions which are not essentially political. There should be no discrimination in the choice of professors and teachers, nor in the selection of railroad employees, policemen and firemen, or the incumbents of any other positions which are placed under the civil service in England and the United States. Like other democracies, Poland must realize that these positions must not be drawn into politics. Efficiency can only be attained if the best men are employed, irrespective of party or religion.

16. The relations between the Jews and non-Jews will undoubtedly improve in a strong democratic Poland. To hasten this there should be reconciliation and cooperation between the 86% Christians and the 14% Jews. The 86% must realize that they can not present a solid front against their neighbors if one-seventh of the population is discontented, fear-stricken, and inactive. The minority must be encouraged to participate with their whole strength and influence in making Poland the great unified country that is required in Central Europe to combat the tremendous dangers that confront it. Poland must promptly develop its full strength, and by its conduct first merit and then receive the unstinted moral, financial, and economic support of all the world, which will insure the future success of the Republic.

17. It was impossible for the Mission, during the two months it was in Poland, to do more than acquaint itself with the general condition of the people. To formulate a solution of the Jewish problem will necessitate a careful and broad study, not only of the economic condition of the Jews, but also of the exact requirements of Poland. These requirements will not be definitely known prior to the fixation of Polish boundaries, and the final regulation of Polish relations with Russia, with which the largest share of trade was previously conducted. It is recommended that the League of Nations, or the larger nations interested in this problem, send to Poland a Commission consisting of recognized industrial, educational, agricultural, economic, and vocational experts, which should remain there as long as necessary to examine the problem at its source.

18. This Commission should devise a plan by which the Jews in Poland can secure the same economic and social opportunities as are enjoyed by their coreligionists in other free countries. A new Polish constitution is now in the making. The generous scope of this national instrument has already been indicated by the special treaty with the Allied and Associated Powers, in which Poland has affirmed its fidelity to the principles of liberty and justice and the rights of minorities, and we may be certain that Poland will be faithful to its pledge, which is so conspicuously in harmony with the nation’s best traditions. A new life will thus be opened to the Jews and it will be the task of the proposed Commission to fit them to profit thereby and to win the same appreciation gained by their coreligionists elsewhere as a valued asset to the Commonwealths in which they reside. The friends of the Jews in America, England, and elsewhere, who have already evinced such great interest in their welfare, will enthusiastically grasp the opportunity to cooperate in working out any good solution that such a Commission may propound. The fact that it may take one or two generations to reach the goal must not be discouraging.

19. All citizens of Poland should realize that they must live together. They can not be divorced from each other by force or by any court of law. When this idea is once thoroughly comprehended, every effort will necessarily be directed toward a better understanding and the amelioration of existing conditions, rather than toward augmenting antipathy and discontent. The Polish nation must see that its worst enemies are those who encourage this internal strife. A house divided against itself can not stand. There must be but one class of citizens in Poland, all members of which enjoy equal rights and render equal duties.

Respectfully submitted,

Henry Morgenthau

[Enclosure 2]

Report of Gen. Edgar Jadwin, U.S.A., and Mr. Homer H. Johnson, of the Mission to Poland, to the Commission to Negotiate Peace

Paris, October 31, 1919.

Gentlemen: 1. The Mission to Poland (consisting of Mr. Henry Morgenthau, Brigadier General Edgar Jadwin, and Mr. Homer H. Johnson) was named for the purpose of carrying out an investigation of questions touching the relations between the Jewish and the non-Jewish elements in the Republic. Accompanied by its working personnel, the Mission remained in Poland from July 13, 1919 to September 13, 1919, and visited the scenes of the most widely reported excesses, studied economic conditions in the local centers of production and distribution, consulted Polish statesmen and Jewish men of affairs, observed living conditions among the common people, associated with officers of the army, and, considering always the historical environment influencing the nature, aims, and disposition of the Polish nation, endeavored to arrive at a just understanding of the present relations between the component elements of the Republic. The Mission owes its thanks to General Pilsudski, the Chief of State, Mr. Paderewski, President of the Council of Ministers, and to the Polish authorities in general for the facilities contributed toward the execution of its task, and is also indebted to Mr. Hugh Gibson, American Minister to Poland, for his aid. In all localities visited, the Jewish communities extended to the Mission their full confidence and cooperation.

It should be borne in mind that most of the time of the Mission in Poland was taken up in the examination of complaints made by or in behalf of Jewish citizens of Poland, and that the material as to excesses is largely based on ex parte statements. While it was the original intention of the Mission to give the Polish Government an opportunity for detailed rebuttal, the relatively small extent of the excesses themselves, as compared with the larger elements contributing to antisemitism, and the importance of a remedy, seemed to make such rebuttal unnecessary. Within the boundaries of Congress Poland only 18 Jews lost their lives, while in the whole territory now controlled or occupied by the Polish Republic the grand total of deaths from excesses in which antisemitism was a factor has not exceeded 300.

We were able to arrive at our conclusions from the data furnished by Jewish sources, from answers to specific questions addressed to various Polish Ministries, from many conferences with other Polish citizens, and from utterances in the Polish press, and believe that those sources sufficiently disclosed the nature and causes of anti-Jewish disturbances without further pro-Polish evidence.

After the return of the Mission to Paris its members were unable to consult together on account of the absence of General Jadwin on other duty in southern Russia. Mr. Morgenthau, before leaving Paris, submitted a report representing his views of the situation, and the other members, in his absence, have prepared these considerations, which while differing but slightly from Mr. Morgenthau’s, have been put in the form of a complete report as leading up to conclusions which differ from those of Mr. Morgenthau.

2. Polish opinion characterizes the traditional attitude of Poland toward the Jews as one of tolerance. When the Jews in Western Europe fell a prey to persecutions induced by the fresh wave of fanaticism incident to the Crusades, they migrated in large numbers to Poland as a place of refuge, where the Jewish communities received numerous special privileges, and possessed almost complete local government. This internal independence lasted until early in the 19th century, when it was finally so reduced as to apply to religious and educational matters only. The memory of former independence within the limits of the State plays a considerable role in the present aspirations of certain Jewish parties for autonomy with the right to receive and expend a pro rata part of State revenue. The traditional concentration of the Jews in their communities, due to the necessity of maintaining close connection with the synagogue, has given further impetus to the spirit of separatism and cleavage from the rest of the population, which aggravates the Jewish question at the moment. It is frequently alleged that even in the Middle Ages Jewish separatism, commercial competition, and acquisitiveness aroused a certain irritation among the Polish masses, which has persisted as an inherited prejudice to the present day.

With the accession of Nicholas I (1825), persecution of the Jews began with the official sanction of the Russian Empire, and continued until Nicholas was succeeded by Alexander II. In harmony with the latter’s liberal policy, decrees were published in 1862 completely emancipating the Jews, but after the reaction from the insurrection of 1863, in which, at least in Warsaw, many Jews fought shoulder to shoulder with the Poles, these laws became a dead letter. Though frequently invoked as a proof of Polish tolerance, they have provided since that time no essential guarantees of Jewish rights. During the second half of the 19th century conditions in Poland were further complicated by the rigid enforcement of the Pale of Settlement. The original prohibition to settle outside the Pale had been so modified under Alexander II as to allow wealthy Jewish merchants, Jewish holders of university degrees, and Jewish artisans, to reside in the interior provinces of Russia. This concession was counterbalanced by the laws of May, 1882, forbidding Jews to reside in the country districts and small towns of the Pale, and crowding them into the cities where their coreligionists were already congested. At the same time, the expulsion of Jewish artisans from Moscow aggravated the abnormal concentration of this section. The result of these conditions was a sharpening of competition between Jew and non-Jew in the districts where both elements lived side by side. The lack of opportunity for the Jew to engage in production drove him into small trading, a business already overflowing and incapable of providing a livelihood for even a small number of newcomers. Even before the war, the mass of Polish Jewry had to struggle for their daily bread, and, in addition to commercial rivalry, popular resentment against them was further accentuated by their religious separatism and their differences in dress, dietary habits, and Sabbath observances.

3. To the basic factors of the present situation must be added the cross-currents of factional aspirations and international intrigue caused by the Great War. During the German occupation of Poland, the Germanic character of the Yiddish vernacular and the readiness of certain Jewish elements to enter into relations with the winning side, induced the enemy to employ Jews as agents for various purposes, and to grant the Jewish population not only exceptional protection, but also the promise of autonomy. It is alleged that the Jews were active in speculation in foodstuffs, which was encouraged by the armies of occupation with a view to facilitating export to Germany and Austria. Notwithstanding the patriotic attitude assumed by many prominent Jews, the number of Hebrews employed by the German forces, and occasional cases of denunciation by Jews added fuel to the flame of prejudice. A sensitive Polish nationalism has been resentful of any self-assertion from a minority whose very language recalls the heavy hand of the oppressor.

It is not merely for his alleged German sympathies that the Jew is regarded with antipathy, but also for his supposed relations with the Bolsheviks. The Polish masses and soldiery who have come in contact with Bolshevism class the Jews as its supporters, and at Pinsk, Lida and Wilno, where serious excesses occurred concurrently with military operations, their [this?] argument was in each case advanced by local military authorities in partial explanation of the occurrences. It is also often asserted that the chiefs of the Bolshevist movement in Russia are Jews of Poland or Lithuania and there is no doubt that they played a prominent part in the Bolshevik government of such cities as Wilno, Lida and Minsk before the capture of these cities by the Polish Army. The programme of the Jewish Socialists belonging to the Bund Party is also adduced as a proof of Jewish sympathy with the Bolsheviks, though since the Russian revolution the Bund has allied itself with the moderate element (Mensheviki) among the Russian Socialists. It may be questioned whether undue arbitrary generalization has not been resorted to by elements hostile to the Jew in defining the Jewish political standpoint. It is no more fair to brand all Jews as Bolsheviks because some of them support the Soviets than to class all Poles as Jew-baiters because some of their military forces, or of their lawless civil elements, have occasionally been guilty of depredations and violence.

The alien sympathies attributed to the Jew vary with the racial problems in different sections of the country. Under the Austrian regime the situation of the Jews in Galicia had been favorable. But when the Hapsburg Monarchy crumbled, and the struggle broke out between Pole and Ukrainian for the possession of Lemberg and Eastern Galicia, the neutrality professed by a portion of the Jewish population resulted in increased hostility toward the Jew. The waiting game dictated at this juncture by the Jewish sense of expediency was interpreted by the Poles as Ukrainian partisanship. The disorders of November 21st to 23rd in Lemberg became, like the excesses in Lithuania, a weapon of foreign anti-Polish propaganda. The Press Bureau of the Central Powers, in whose interest it lay to discredit the Polish Republic before the world, permitted the publication of articles like that in the New Freie Presse of November 30th, 1918, in which an eye-witness estimated the number of victims between 2500 and 3000 although the extreme number furnished by the Local Jewish committee was 76.

As the result of the war, the natural depression of industry and commercial life has also become a peculiar incident of antisemitism. The use of the country as a battlefield by foreign armies, who requisitioned and plundered all available material, who [sic] made it difficult for the Jewish merchant, first, to secure goods with which to deal, and second, to charge other than high prices for them. When the merchant is able to secure a stock of goods the very fact that he has them in his possession, and that he is compelled to charge abnormal prices, tends to the popular conviction that he is a profiteer. The prevailing monetary insecurity also renders barter necessary and merchandising difficult, while the Jewish merchant, thus hampered in his business, is met by the increasing prejudice growing out of the abnormal conditions of war under which his trading must be carried on.

Some Poles have stated that the Jews permit a different standard of business deportment in dealings with non-Jews, and that they are thus, outside of passing conditions, responsible for existing prejudice. This is vigorously denied by the Jews. Furthermore the use of economic questions with racial attachments for political arguments contributes to perpetuating an issue which, as a result of passing circumstances should disappear with renewed economic activity.

4. The modern Polish state consists, or may consist when its boundaries are fixed of five distinct sections: Congress Poland, Poznania, Galicia (Eastern and Western), and portions of Lithuania and White Russia, Minsk, Grodno, Volhynia, and part of Vitebsk. The proportion of Jews varies from less than 1% in the immediate vicinity of the Prussian boundary to 75% in the White Russian city of Pinsk. Out of 441 census divisions, there are about thirteen in which the Jews exceed 20% of the population. The old Russian provinces of Minsk and Volhynia have the largest percentage of Jewish inhabitants. In general, the percentage of Jews increases toward the eastward, and with the exception of Warsaw, Lodz and some smaller cities in Congress Poland, is largest in the region running northeast from Warsaw to Wilno, and in the district extending south from Minsk across the Prypec toward the Dniester River. This concentration is due to the Russian laws confining the Jews within the provinces making up the river systems of the Dnieper and the Niemen, and to the gradual eviction of the Jews from interior Russian cities into this so-called Pale of Settlement. Except in the cities, the proportion of Jews in Congress Poland does not exceed 10% of the population, and with the cities included about 15% is Jewish.

The percentage of Poles in Congress Poland, except in the cities where Jews have settled, rises [to] about 75%. West of Posen, toward the Prussian boundary, the proportion of Poles shades off to 25% and less. A fairly distinct belt of Polish speaking people extends north to Danzig and the edge of Pomerania. Owing to the extreme variations in the Russian census of 1897 and 1909 for Lithuania and the Ukraine, it is difficult to give accurate figures as to the Polish population east of the Bug River. In Lithuania, with the exception of Wilno and environs, the proportion of Poles nowhere passes 25%. In Wilno itself the Poles are variously estimated at 20% to 43%, with some present claims as high as 55%. In White Russia, on the contrary, the Polish population is extremely small, especially in the province of Minsk, where it does not exceed 10%, although the city of Minsk has about 25%. In western Galicia, centering about Cracow, the Poles reach 75%, while in eastern Galicia they share the territory about equally with the Ukrainians, though retaining considerable superiority in the city of Lemberg itself. There has been a distinct eastward drift to Polish emigration, so that Polish infiltrations appear as far east as Kiev and the Province of Mohilev. Owing to peculiar agrarian conditions, the Poles before the war held nearly half of all real estate in Lithuania and Ukraine.

It will thus be seen that the percentage of population in the various sections of what is now Poland, or what may be Poland, adds to the general complexity of the influences entering into the problem of antisemitism. Naturally the relations in the eastern districts now held by Poland are affected not only by the percentage of Jews, but by the small proportion of Polish inhabitants in these sections. The attitude of the various elements of the population and the play of sentiment as to the political future of the country further contribute to this puzzling complexity. In spite of considerable agitation, no serious difficulty exists in Posen, and even in Congress Poland, there is little disturbance of fundamental relations. But in view of the uncertainty as to whether the regions in the East are to be Polish, Russian, or independent, it is readily seen that the relation of the Jew to the eventual political disposition of these territories is still an irritating element. These same problems are to some extent inherent in every other country where the Jewish character and habits develop a racial solidarity, necessarily accompanied by an economic and social intermingling with the other elements of the population.

5. The Jewish situation is rendered more difficult by the efforts of certain malicious German influences to further their Eastern projects by discrediting Poland financially and otherwise. It is not to the interest of the German State to allow Poland to become a powerful and prosperous competitor, since Poland is more favorably situated to act as a center of exchange between Russia and the West. There are also conservative elements among Russian statesmen who are equally anxious to prevent foreign financial aid to Poland and are using criticism of the Polish State as a weapon to forestall the assistance of the Allied and Associated Powers. If Poland is to become a firmly established State, the needs of the Republic must be considered from the angle of Polish national aspirations and rights, and not simply on the basis of the purposes of its temporarily paralyzed neighbors to the East and West.

In common with all free governments of the world, Poland is faced with the danger of the political and international propaganda, to which the war has given rise. The coloring, the suppression, and the invention of news, the subornation of newspapers by many different methods, and the poisoning by secret influences of the instruments affecting public opinion, in short, all the methods of malevolent propaganda are a menace from which Poland is a notable sufferer. This applies to propaganda both at home and from abroad. While the Polish Press as a whole may not be charged with irresponsibility, it has in general gone to the extreme of political propriety, and many of its organs have passed far beyond that limit, to the great detriment of their country.

6. Poland is beset by the confusion of ideas and the degeneration of popular morale caused by decades of political tyranny and made acute by five years of war. For over one hundred years all sections of Poland have been ruled by despotisms of varying severity, and the people at large have been accustomed to identify the Government, not with the manifestation of majority opinion, but with personal rule by ukase and decree. The Jews suffer from the fact that the Polish Government, substituting popular government for despotic rule, lacks the will or the power to protect them, and have been ready to invoke external aid in order to exact from the Polish authorities protection of themselves not as a minority, but because of; their racial allegiance. Some representatives of the Jewish national movement who have been conspicuously active refuse to subordinate the Jewish question to the general needs of the Polish State. The fault in this regard does not lie entirely on the Jewish side, since the question once raised was eagerly picked up by the National Democratic Party. The voluntary separation of the Jew from purely Polish interests has led, in localities where other problems of nationality exist, to arbitrary identification of the Jews with anti-Polish elements. So long as nationality is an issue, the Jew who does not declare himself Polish is regarded as the ally of any visible alien factor. On the other hand, in view of the uncertainty of the final disposition of White Russia, Lithuania, and Galicia, the difficulties besetting the Jews in these regions have been undeniably very great. Yet, since the Jews are enjoying the protection of the growing Polish State, the Poles claim that they owe active personal support to the Government that ensures them liberty and commercial opportunity. The numerical inferiority of the Jews in what is undeniably Poland has at the same time proved no check to their political assertiveness. The opportunity to profit by an occasional balance of power claimed to excuse the maintenance of a Jewish national party does not appear to justify perpetuating so great an irritation and such a separation of the Jews from the customary divisions of modern politics.

We may here refer with propriety to the report of the Inter-Allied Commission on Poland, of which Professor E. H. Lord and General Kernan were the American members, and to whose statements on the Polish problem it is desired to invite special attention. The account of the Jewish parties supplied by the Italian member of that Commission has been found very helpful and substantially accurate. He invited the most important parties to submit any extensions or corrections which they desired to make, but no further information was supplied. As hereafter appears, most of the questions raised and of the suggestions made in the Report on Poland have been met, in our judgment, by the free acceptance of the Minorities Treaty by the Polish Government and people.

We have, however, found some evidence of a disposition both in Poland and abroad to keep alive the controversy on the possible theory that focusing attention upon Poland will promote better treatment of the Jew. We feel that this doctrine of controversialism is founded on extremely dubious grounds, and that there should be no Jewish problem, aside from the general responsibility to the fundamental provisions which the Poles have agreed shall become part of their policy toward minorities. The ideal should be to have one and only one class of citizens politically with complete freedom in religious matters.

7. The question of popular education presents some possible difficulty. From American experience, it is concluded that the public school, with universal instruction in the national vernacular, is one of the strongest forces toward the creation of a homogeneous body of citizens, speaking one language and expressing themselves on the basis of a common complex of social and political notions however much they differ on religious and cultural questions. In order that the Jew may fully enjoy his privileges and faithfully fulfill his obligations as a citizen, he must understand them in the same sense as his Polish neighbor. It is by means of public schools that Poland will lose its approximate 85% of illiterates, and teach its people not only common school subjects, but also the great principles of liberty and the rights of man, and by raising the level of popular knowledge arrive at a point where it can draw its State officials from the people at large, who will, by association in their school years, have acquired a common understanding impervious to propaganda or prejudice. While, therefore, the adoption of the treaty was essential to the integrity of Poland, it will in carrying out the educational paragraphs be well for Poles and Jews to keep in mind American experience in public school development, and carefully to weigh the question, whether the permanency of the separate school plan will be advisable.

8. As to specific cases of violence leading to loss of life we invite attention to Article 6 of Mr. Morgenthau’s report, where the main facts are stated. Some additional considerations must be further recorded and especially that the excesses mostly took place either when the Republic was in process of organization or under the stress of military operations. For example, the outbreak in Kielce occurred on the day of the Armistice, Nov. 11, 1918. A Jewish meeting called in support of Jewish nationalism, which was easily rumored to be in opposition to Polish national independence, was broken up with fatal results to four people and injury to many others just after the city had been evacuated by the Austrian troops and before any Polish authorities existed to organize a service of security. At Lemberg while the outbreaks occurred a little later, Nov. 21–23, 1918, it was at the end of hostilities between the Polish and Ukrainian elements of the population.

The Pinsk outrage, April 5, 1919, was 30 days after the capture of the town from the Bolsheviks by the Poles, but was a purely military affair. The town commander with judgment unbalanced by fear of a Bolshevik uprising of which he had been forewarned by two Jewish soldier informers sought to terrorize the Jewish population (about 75% of the whole) by the execution of 35 Jewish citizens without investigation or trial, by imprisoning and beating others and by wholesale threats against all Jews. No share in this action can be attributed to any military official higher up, to any of the Polish civil officials, or to the few Poles resident in that district of White Russia.

The Czestochowa riots on May 27, 1919, while based on the supposed shooting of a Polish soldier by a Jew was not connected with a military operation and occurred after both military and civil government had been established. Only after five deaths was the outbreak arrested. These five deaths are the only fatalities from mob violence in Congress Poland discovered or reported to us since the establishment of a stable government in the Republic.

The military operations of the Polish army in the taking of Lida (April 17, 1919) of Wilno (April 21, 1919) and of Minsk (Aug. 8, 1919) in consideration of the facts of its organization, that it was still poorly organized, unequipped, under-officered and undisciplined would not have been so noticeably irregular even though civilian deaths were considerable and robberies large, except for the fact that those killed and robbed were practically all Jews. Nor is it explained by the fact that most of the shops in those cities were Jewish. The fact that there were some non-Jewish establishments and that none of them were disturbed shows an intelligent and intentional discrimination on the part of the lawless element in the army disclosing a racial antipathy made more patent by the desire to rob and pillage, which was apparently felt not to be wrong or at least not to be severely punished by superiors. In Wilno there was active street fighting for three days, and while the army lost 33 the civilian loss was 65. But the civilians were all Jews and many others were thereafter deported and subject to hardships which it is hard to justify by military practice. In support of the conviction that there had been active sympathy with the Bolsheviks by Jews and sniping by them during the street fighting we had many statements of eye witnesses presented to us. There can be no doubt that in a highly charged atmosphere there was quite enough fault on both sides to explain the adherence to the every-day practices of Russian civil warfare, as it is reported to us in this almost civil strife on Russian territory. No one would attempt to justify it. General Jadwin was present at the taking of Minsk and a personal witness to the strenuous efforts of the military authorities toward preventing acts of violence. The results showed definite progress among the military in the discipline of the army in the conception of their duty toward the civilian population and in their ability to carry it out. Proportionately to the population only about 20% as many were killed as at Wilno. A large percentage of those were in the suburbs and out of reach of the military patrols in the city. Part of those in the town were the result of bystanders’ statements that shots directed at the entering troops had come from a certain meetinghouse in which Jews had congregated and five of them were killed. Reported Bolshevik activity and sniping with the desire to rob explain most of the cases except the reprehensible unbalanced conduct of one petty officer who killed nine. Many of the offenders were arrested and six of them were sentenced to be shot.

Following the Minsk experience, improvement was made in the technique of handling patrols so that further reports from Rowno and Bobruisk subsequently captured by the Poles indicate more successful precautions against maltreatment of the Jewish population.

In practically all of these cases inquiries have been regularly undertaken by the military authorities by the civil government of Poland, and in several by direct Diet committees. The local civil authorities have also followed the usual processes of criminal inquiry and the cases are in various stages of development. In several the inquiry has been followed by the appropriation of damages to those who have suffered loss.

Payments had begun to be made in Wilno, Pinsk, and Lemberg before our departure from Poland. If complaints as to slowness and uncertainty of military and government punishment and relief were heard as they were it seemed nevertheless to indicate that orderly process of government was in operation. With a state of war in the land and the many vexing problems incident to Poland’s situation, we could not find substantial ground of criticism of the methods of prevention and relief for an altogether unhappy situation. Patience and forbearance must be administered to all sides of the question, with honest effort to recover their war-torn country as soon as possible. It will be a difficult matter to reassure the citizens of Poland that the outside world will be as prompt and efficient in doing its duty—to make the world safe for Poland and all other struggling democracies.

9. We are of the opinion, in view of the previous training of the Polish soldiery in the German, Austrian and Russian armies, the eastern low valuation of human life, the want of food and clothing which had accompanied the breaking up of the Central Powers, and the universal tenseness of popular nerves worn by the vicissitudes of war, that the antagonism felt by the Polish military toward the Jews and resulting in depredation and violence against them is not a matter of surprise, reprehensible and regrettable as it is. The habits of military warfare still obtaining in the civil war in Russia, and these military excesses in Poland, aggravated as they were by civilian mobs, thoroughly justified the fear and anxiety expressed by many Jews lest the Poles had adopted Czarist and Bolshevik precedents of solving any question, including that of Jewish prejudice, by a process of terror and extermination. It is to the credit of the Polish State that it has apparently passed through this crisis of organization, though still under the baneful influence of active warfare, without realizing this sinister expectation. We were assured by many representative Jewish delegations that while they were disturbed by the anti-Jewish feeling still inconveniently and unjustly exhibited, they did not fear for their lives or liberty; that they recognize their full duty as Polish citizens with all the responsibilities and privileges that pertain thereto; that all citizens are subject to the rule of the majority in which any minority must acquiesce, and that the only remedy beyond this is the appeal to the conscience of the majority and its sense of justice and fair play. This uniting in the making, ratification, and execution of this treaty, with its appeal to the League of Nations, is a credit to Jew and non-Jew alike, and barring the accident of an outside conflagration, is the best of auguries for Poland’s future success.

10. While it is our opinion that a return to normal conditions in Poland will remove most of the danger of the Jewish question, it is recognized that this process of restoration is not solely dependent on the goodwill and exertions of the Poles themselves. The attention of Poland must be diverted from waging war, and the only means toward this end is the reestablishment of internal peace in Russia. Until this result is obtained, Poland remains with boundaries undetermined, forced to hold and administer a large territory, the inhabitants of which as yet have no fixed nationality. As long as Poland wages war the Republic is a prey to militaristic methods and open to the peril of direct action. Until its army is reduced to a peace footing, the problem of overpopulation and underemployment cannot be solved. While a third of the meager income of the State is expended for military purposes, adequate attention cannot be devoted to internal reconstruction. Until Russia is at peace, Poland lacks her full field for trade and exchange, and therefore cannot regain her economic equilibrium, while an opportunity for emigration to an open and liberal Russia would provide an outlet for the surplus population of the Republic. With a stable Government in Russia firmly allied in principle with the Allied and Associated Powers, an end would be made to the German intrigue that is seeking to substitute Russia for Austria-Hungary as a field of exploitation and accordingly strives to discredit Poland as a dangerous competitor. In fact protection afforded minorities such as before us in this investigation may well bring up the Russian condition where this problem is the protection of the majority against a minority based on a difference in social philosophy and wielding power by seizure of the instruments of war and by the use of most elementary forms of force and fear. Is not the duty of the nations as clear to determine the rule of the majority against despotism whether one or many, thus preserving domestic tranquility as well as freedom from foreign invasion? Is not the effect of domestic disorder in Russia upon Poland and upon the Peace of the World quite as important a subject for regulation by the Nations as in [is?] the limitation upon the majority’s treatment of minorities? Is not the solidarity of Nations shown quite as much by one as the other and are they not both requisite for future peace? The foundation of an enduring government in Russia depends on the certainty that no minority, whether autocratic or Bolshevistic, shall ever be able to exploit the inertia of the masses in overthrowing any system of democracy that may be established within its boundaries. It is to the interest of the world that this internal security shall be perpetuated, and the rise of a powerful democracy on the eastern frontier of Poland will insure the safety and freedom of action of the Republic. In short, once the military threat against Poland is removed and the territorial uncertainty of the Republic is ended, the nation will be able to concentrate its energies on internal problems, and, by the course of natural development, create a governmental system insuring equality, protection, and prosperity to all elements of its population. The Mission thoroughly believes that Poland has the raw materials of citizenship quite equal to this accomplishment.

11. By way of summary, we find that beginning with the armistice, about November 11, 1918, and for six months and more during the establishment of orderly government in Poland, many regrettable incidents took place throughout both Congress Poland and the regions the future of which is still in doubt. The occurrence[s] in Congress Poland were not so serious in number of deaths, but there have been violent collisions accompanied by riots, beatings, and other assaults which are apparently traceable in large part to anti-Jewish prejudice. In every case they have been repressed by either the military or the civil authorities, but only after grievous results. In the territory occupied or invaded by Polish troops, civilian mobs have followed the soldiery, and the two elements have engaged in robbery of shops and dwellings, and in cases where resistance was offered, in assaulting and killing the owners or occupants. The circumstances of some of these incidents have been aggravated by intoxication due to the looting of liquor stores, with the usual adjuncts of criminal irresponsibility and mob rage. We believe that none of these excesses were instigated or approved by any responsible governmental authority, civil or military. We find, on the other hand, that the history and the attitude of the Jews, complicated by abnormal economic and political conditions produced by the war, have fed the flame of antisemitism at a critical moment. It is believed, however, that the gradual amelioration of conditions during the last eleven months gives great promise for the future of the Polish Republic as a stable democracy.

12. In spite of the existing antisemitism arising from very diverse factors we are convinced that religious differences as such play therein a relatively slight role, and that the Polish nation is disposed to religious tolerance and self-control in religious disagreements. The ending of the war, the removal of external menace, and the revival of industry will reduce the present common irritation caused by abnormal conditions.

Jewish business men have also assured us that with the restoration of trade, industry, and banking, the Poles will cease to employ economic pressure as a political weapon.

13. In addition to the disposition toward tolerance evinced in the presence of violent party controversy and active propaganda from abroad, Poland has accepted the Minorities Clause of the Treaty of Versailles, guaranteeing to all citizens security of life and property and equal protection of the laws. Despite dissatisfaction with some stipulations of this Treaty, a determination has been expressed by prominent leaders of even the extremes in all political camps to execute it faithfully.

14. The duties of the outside world toward Poland are:

(a) To establish the territorial extent of the Polish State. Should any of the eastern country which contains the largest proportion of Jews, revert to Russia, the problem thus transferred can be dealt with by the League of Nations.

(b) To protect Poland from the menace of external interference by the application of Article 10 of the Covenant of the League of Nations.

(c) To further by means of judiciously administered external help the recovery of Poland from five years of war. This material aid, in the nature of food, clothing, and raw materials, should not be gratuitously furnished or so distributed as to overtax the national credit or to pauperize the population. In accordance with President Wilson’s speech of January 8, 1918,³⁵ Poland should be freed from the limitation of all economic barriers and raised to a position where it can profit by the equality of trade conditions to be established among nations. Since no country can be a good financial risk without domestic tranquility and freedom from invasion, the fear of which may lead to over-expenditure and competitive armament, this security should be provided for the good of Poland and the peace of the world. While we are convinced that Poland will abide by its obligations to preserve order at home, the protection against external interference is the duty of the League of Nations. With political security, industrial peace, and an open market with no foreign debt not offset by foreign receivables, Poland, safeguarded by the League of Nations and abundantly provided as she is with natural assets in property and man-power, becomes an excellent commercial risk for foreign capital.

(d) To study the question of over-population or under-industrialization, not at all local to Poland, but intimately connected with its future. It is not healthy for Poland to pursue a policy of summer emigration to other countries, nor is it desirable that it should be continue [sic] a heavy emigration to America and elsewhere. It is a process from which the nation is still suffering, since it tends to take the strong and leave the less reliant. Furthermore, with the present development of the world, and the beginning of new thoughts in the development of nationalism, if emigration from Poland is to be necessary, the question as to whither and under what conditions it shall be directed becomes peculiarly subject to international solution.

If Poland by her own initiative, or through outside aid, can so speed up and direct her industrial policy as to absorb the potential labor supply, the Republic may solve the question under new conditions of political and economic freedom.

(e) To further the rapid development of Polish education. The safety of the masses from exploitation through the sophistries of monarchism or of anarchism depends on the degree of enlightenment they possess. It is therefore to the advantage of the League of Nations to see instituted a campaign of universal education toward a general understanding of the great ideals of democracy and for the protection of peoples against the agitator or the reactionary who deals in slogans that appeal to any populace untrained to estimate them at their proper value.

(f) To guarantee to Poland the disinterested counsel of the Allied Democracies based on their previous experience. Together with the other free peoples of the world, Poland must henceforth grapple not only with abuses of the outworn autocratic system, but with political corruption, graft, party degeneracy, and yellow journalism joined with paid propaganda. The opportunity of the League of Nations for the comparative study of democratic methods and policies, reinforced by common aims, by the full development of international feeling, and the free exchange of free ideas, will react not only upon Poland but to the general advantage of the entire world. The greatest need at this crisis is the domestic and international application of general principles of democratic government tested by use and beaten out on the anvil of experience. Its highest and broadest attribute is that force shall give way to thought—the rule of reason rather than the reign of terror.

Respectfully submitted,

Edgar Jadwin

Brig. Gen., U.S.A.

Homer H. Johnson

34. Communicated, with attached reports, by the President to the Senate Jan. 15, 1920; printed as S. Doc. No. 177, 66th Cong., 2d sess.
35. Foreign Relations, 1918, Supplement 1, vol. i, p. 12.