860C.4016/516
The Ambassador in Poland ( Biddle ) to the Secretary of State
[Received November 2.]
Sir: Supplementing my despatch No. 187 of October 160 and earlier despatches from this Mission reporting developments affecting the Jewish situation in Poland, I have the honor to inform the Department that it is apparent at Warsaw that the higher officials of the Polish Government are becoming gravely concerned at the reaction in foreign countries, particularly the United States and Great Britain, to the recent increase in the number and seriousness of anti-Semitic incidents in Poland.
In several conversations Colonel Beck61 has given me the very definite impression that he was well aware of the force and significance of the reaction abroad to anti-Jewish activities in Poland, and I have [Page 560] readily observed that he is not personally inclined towards anti-Semitism but, in fact, displays, either as a matter of principle or good politics, a spirit of tolerance and helpfulness in his contacts with Jews. He informed me that his recent trip to Geneva was based to a large extent on a desire to demonstrate as prominently as possible the genuine importance which the Polish Government ascribes to the Jewish problem and its eagerness to find a solution for it by increased emigration.…
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The Prime Minister, General Sławoj-Sładkowski [Skladkowski], spoke62 strongly in a soldierly manner against public disorder and anarchy in the streets, emphasizing that civil violence directed against any one section of the population might, if allowed to develop unchecked, easily be turned against constituted authority and the general order of the country. He went on to stress the necessity of maintaining order and guarding the safety of all citizens in order to ensure the internal and external security of Poland. His remarks were followed, according to my informant, by a strong statement on the part of Eugenjusz Kwiatkowski, Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Finance:
“I am satisfied with the progress that we were making in the economic development of the country. We set for ourselves difficult achievements but the efforts of the people were bringing great results. If peace and unity are maintained at home, we can and will accomplish much. But the disorders, primarily the anti-Jewish activities and the peasant difficulties, have proven very costly to our economy, and I am no longer positive that we can continue to make progress. In the peasant regions the entire field of economic activity has been gravely injured.
“The anti-Semitic activities have threatened our prospects at home and abroad. Tax collections in Jewish districts have declined greatly. The receipts at Brześć Litewskli63 have declined by nearly 70 per cent, since the riots there last May and in many important regions the average decline has been nearly 30 per cent. Our tax income is dependent to a large extent on trade which is controlled by Jewish hands and Jews are avoiding more than ever the payment of taxes since the excesses have become more prevalent. I cannot tell you how difficult it has become for us to facilitate exports, to negotiate on financial matters, and to obtain necessary credits or a foreign loan, particularly with the Anglo-Saxons. Jewish circles in those countries refuse to deal with us as long as these excesses take place. If the present situation continues, I shall find it necessary to resign, since my program has been endangered to a point where success soon will no longer be possible.”
High officials of the Roman Catholic Church in Poland, including the Papal Nuncio, Cardinal Hlond, and other members of the hierarchy, [Page 561] have likewise become concerned with the situation. Since numerous members of the lower clergy, particularly in the so-called Corridor region, have been more or less active leaders in anti-Semitic activities, the attitude of the church authorities is of genuine importance in preventing a continuation of the excesses. I understand that foreign circles brought to the attention of the church at Rome the desirability and even necessity of the Polish hierarchy’s acting in the matter. The present Pope,64 who was for some time Nuncio at Warsaw, is fully conversant with conditions in Poland and is reported to take a deep personal interest in the welfare of the country. The efforts of the church are apparently directed now at restraining anti-Semitic activities and endeavoring to facilitate a long time solution through emigration.
While there is abundant evidence that foreign support of Polish Jewry has brought home to the leaders of Polish life the fact that consideration must be given to the reaction abroad to anti-Semitic activities in Poland, I am not convinced that those leaders are or will be in a position effectively to control the mass feeling against Jews which has been permitted to develop virtually unchecked, if not actually encouraged, since the death of Marshal Pilsudski. The mass of the Polish people, including many of the more intelligent and better informed among them, are too prone to ascribe the ills of the country to an alleged malevolent influence of the Jews to allow foreign influence, an anathema in itself to most Poles, to sway them from an adopted course. And to the rabid or professional anti-Semite in Poland, the exercise of foreign pressure in behalf of Polish Jewry, unless made effective in a completely unobtrusive manner, is likely to serve as an invitation for renewed and more bitter activity. Nevertheless, I feel that the realization on the part of Polish leaders of the importance of considering foreign reaction to excesses in Poland is one of the most hopeful signs in the present situation.
Respectfully yours,