Internal Circular of "The Relief Committee for Polish Jewry" – Jerusalem, 1941 – Early Testimonies on the Nazi ...

Internal Circular of "The Relief Committee for Polish Jewry" – Jerusalem, 1941 – Early Testimonies on the Nazi Atrocities in Occupied Poland
A printed internal circular, issued by "The Relief Committee for Polish Jewry", containing an early report about Poland under the Nazi occupation which was given by "people who came from Poland". Jerusalem, May 1941.
The circular contains an account of the events in occupied Poland, describing the persecution of Jews – the revocation of citizenship, imprisonment in ghettoes, theft of possessions, restriction of movement, and more – as well as the oppression and destruction of the Polish culture – the closing down of universities, newspapers and publishing houses, the theft of works of art, imprisonments and executions, and more. In addition, the circular describes the attitude of the Polish population to the Jews according to their social class.
At the end of the circular, there is a copy of the order of the mayor of Warsaw, from December 18, 1939, which was published in the official newspaper of the Generalgouvernement, regarding the requirement to register all Jewish property, including real estate, personal property and securities. Later, this order made the "orderly" looting of Jewish property by the Nazis much easier.
With the outbreak of World War II and the news that reached Palestine about the situation of the Jews of Poland, the administration of the Jewish Agency chose a Relief Committee for Polish Jewry. There were four committee members, all of them members of the administration of the Jewish Agency: Yitzchak Gruenbaum, Moshe Shapira, Eliyahu Dobkin and Dr. Emil Schmorak. The Committee, which was known as "The Committee of Four" or "The Relief Committee for Polish Jewry", gathered information about the Jews in the ghettoes and tried to assist them by giving them immigration visas and transferring them through European countries to Palestine.
8 pp. (4 stapled leaves), 33 cm. Good-fair condition. Two leaves are detached. Fold lines and creases. A few stains. Tears to the margins and at the center of the fold lines. Pen writing on the margin of the last page.