Central Committee of Polish Jews
Encyclopedia
The Central Committee of Polish Jews also referred to as the Central Committee of Jews in Poland and abbreviated CKŻP, was a state-sponsored political representation of Jews
in Poland
at the end of World War II
. It was established on November 12, 1944, as the successor of the Provisional Central Committee of Polish Jews formed a month earlier under the umbrella of the communist Polish Committee of National Liberation
(PKWN). The CKŻP provided care and assistance to Jews who survived the Holocaust. It legally represented all CKŻP-registered Polish Jews in their dealings with the new government and its agencies. It existed until 1950 when, together with the Jewish Cultural Society, representatives of CKŻP founded the Socio-Cultural Association of Jews in Poland.
The Committee was instrumental in organizing and implementing the free Jewish aliyah
to British Mandate for Palestine, and from mid May 1948, to the newly formed State of Israel. The workers of CKŻP registered 86,000 survivors in January 1946 from across the prewar Polish Second Republic. By the end of summer, the number Jews who signed up had risen to about 205,000–210,000 (240,000 registrations with over 30,000 duplicates). Well over 100,000 refugees (or, about 180,000 according to Engel
), many with working knowledge of Yiddish, came to PRL from the Soviet Union
thanks to a Polish–Soviet repatriation agreement. Gen. Spychalski
signed a decree allowing them to leave Poland without visas or exit permits. Poland was the only Eastern Bloc
country to do so. By the spring of 1947, helped by CKŻP over 150,000 Jews emigrated (additional number, outside of that period). To secure their release, CKŻP collected group testimonies, nevertheless, the Polish decree was easily approved by the Kremlin, seeking to undermine the British influence in the Middle East. The emigration of Jews (known as Berihah
) was motivated primarily by the destruction of Jewish life across the already redrawn Eastern Europe in as much as the raging civil war on Polish lands against the Soviet takeover. Meanwhile, the efforts of a strong Polish-Jewish lobby at the Jewish Agency for Israel
created opportunities for a higher standard of living and special privileges for the immigrants from Poland. Yitzhak Raphael, director of the Immigration Department – who lobbied on behalf of Polish refugees – insisted on their preferential treatment in Israel.
. Accordingly: six seats were given to Jewish communists (the Jewish faction of the Polish Workers' Party
), four seats to Bund
representatives, four seats to Ihud, three seats to Poale Zion
Left (leftist faction of Workers of Zion), three to Poale Zion
Right, and one place to Hashomer Hatzair
. The CKŻP had established nine provincial and seven regional chapters across Poland. Białystok branch of the Central Committee was run by Szymon Datner
. The Committee was chaired by Emil Sommerstein of Ihud, who was replaced in 1946 by Adolf Berman
from Poale Zion Left. Berman was succeeded in 1949 by Hersh Smolar, official representative of the Polish Communist Party (PZPR) in CKŻP. The Central Committee of Polish Jews was discontinued on 29 October 1950 amidst the wave of accusations of ethnic nationalism
by some Jewish officials representing the Stalinists
government; and, a new organization was formed, Towarzystwo Społeczno-Kulturalne Żydów w Polsce (TSKŻ), which at present, is the biggest Jewish organization in Poland with 17 regional chapters.
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
at the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It was established on November 12, 1944, as the successor of the Provisional Central Committee of Polish Jews formed a month earlier under the umbrella of the communist Polish Committee of National Liberation
Polish Committee of National Liberation
The Polish Committee of National Liberation , also known as the Lublin Committee, was a provisional government of Poland, officially proclaimed 21 July 1944 in Chełm under the direction of State National Council in opposition to the Polish government in exile...
(PKWN). The CKŻP provided care and assistance to Jews who survived the Holocaust. It legally represented all CKŻP-registered Polish Jews in their dealings with the new government and its agencies. It existed until 1950 when, together with the Jewish Cultural Society, representatives of CKŻP founded the Socio-Cultural Association of Jews in Poland.
The Committee was instrumental in organizing and implementing the free Jewish aliyah
Aliyah
Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...
to British Mandate for Palestine, and from mid May 1948, to the newly formed State of Israel. The workers of CKŻP registered 86,000 survivors in January 1946 from across the prewar Polish Second Republic. By the end of summer, the number Jews who signed up had risen to about 205,000–210,000 (240,000 registrations with over 30,000 duplicates). Well over 100,000 refugees (or, about 180,000 according to Engel
David Engel
David Engel is an American historian and Professor of Holocaust and Judaic Studies at New York University. Dr. Engel holds a Ph.D...
), many with working knowledge of Yiddish, came to PRL from the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
thanks to a Polish–Soviet repatriation agreement. Gen. Spychalski
Marian Spychalski
Marian "Marek" Spychalski was a Polish architect, military commander, and communist politician.Born to a working-class family in Łódź, he graduated from the Faculty of Architecture at the Warsaw University of Technology in 1931...
signed a decree allowing them to leave Poland without visas or exit permits. Poland was the only Eastern Bloc
Eastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...
country to do so. By the spring of 1947, helped by CKŻP over 150,000 Jews emigrated (additional number, outside of that period). To secure their release, CKŻP collected group testimonies, nevertheless, the Polish decree was easily approved by the Kremlin, seeking to undermine the British influence in the Middle East. The emigration of Jews (known as Berihah
Berihah
Bricha was the underground organized effort that helped Jewish Holocaust survivors escape post-World War II Europe to the British Mandate for Palestine in violation of the White Paper of 1939...
) was motivated primarily by the destruction of Jewish life across the already redrawn Eastern Europe in as much as the raging civil war on Polish lands against the Soviet takeover. Meanwhile, the efforts of a strong Polish-Jewish lobby at the Jewish Agency for Israel
Jewish Agency for Israel
The Jewish Agency for Israel , also known as the Sochnut or JAFI, served as the organization in charge of immigration and absorption of Jews from the Diaspora into the state of Israel.-History:...
created opportunities for a higher standard of living and special privileges for the immigrants from Poland. Yitzhak Raphael, director of the Immigration Department – who lobbied on behalf of Polish refugees – insisted on their preferential treatment in Israel.
Organization
The member composition of the Central Committee was drafted in June 1946 on the basis of a compromise between the already functioning Jewish political parties legalized in the Soviet-controlled People's RepublicPeople's Republic of Poland
The People's Republic of Poland was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1990. Although the Soviet Union took control of the country immediately after the liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944, the name of the state was not changed until eight years later...
. Accordingly: six seats were given to Jewish communists (the Jewish faction of the Polish Workers' Party
Polish Workers' Party
The Polish Workers' Party was a communist party in Poland from 1942 to 1948. It was founded as a reconstitution of the Communist Party of Poland, and merged with the Polish Socialist Party in 1948 to form the Polish United Workers' Party.-History:...
), four seats to Bund
Bund
- Organizations :* German American Bund, a pro-Nazi pre-World War II organisation* General Jewish Labour Bund in Lithuania, Poland and Russia, a political party founded in the Russian Empire* General Jewish Labour Bund in Poland, a political party founded in Poland...
representatives, four seats to Ihud, three seats to Poale Zion
Poale Zion
Poale Zion was a Movement of Marxist Zionist Jewish workers circles founded in various cities of the Russian Empire about the turn of the century after the Bund rejected Zionism in 1901.-Formation and early years:Poale Zion parties and organisations were started across the Jewish diaspora in the...
Left (leftist faction of Workers of Zion), three to Poale Zion
Poale Zion
Poale Zion was a Movement of Marxist Zionist Jewish workers circles founded in various cities of the Russian Empire about the turn of the century after the Bund rejected Zionism in 1901.-Formation and early years:Poale Zion parties and organisations were started across the Jewish diaspora in the...
Right, and one place to Hashomer Hatzair
Hashomer Hatzair
Hashomer Hatzair is a Socialist–Zionist youth movement founded in 1913 in Galicia, Austria-Hungary, and was also the name of the group's political party in the Yishuv in the pre-1948 British Mandate of Palestine...
. The CKŻP had established nine provincial and seven regional chapters across Poland. Białystok branch of the Central Committee was run by Szymon Datner
Szymon Datner
Szymon Datner was a Polish historian of Jewish descent, best known for his studies of Nazi war crimes committed against the Jewish population of the Białystok area after the German attack on the Soviet Union in June 1941.Datner settled into Białystok in 1928...
. The Committee was chaired by Emil Sommerstein of Ihud, who was replaced in 1946 by Adolf Berman
Adolf Berman
-Biography:Born in Warsaw under the Russian Empire , Berman attended the University of Warsaw, where he earned a PhD in philosophy...
from Poale Zion Left. Berman was succeeded in 1949 by Hersh Smolar, official representative of the Polish Communist Party (PZPR) in CKŻP. The Central Committee of Polish Jews was discontinued on 29 October 1950 amidst the wave of accusations of ethnic nationalism
Ethnic nationalism
Ethnic nationalism is a form of nationalism wherein the "nation" is defined in terms of ethnicity. Whatever specific ethnicity is involved, ethnic nationalism always includes some element of descent from previous generations and the implied claim of ethnic essentialism, i.e...
by some Jewish officials representing the Stalinists
Stalinism
Stalinism refers to the ideology that Joseph Stalin conceived and implemented in the Soviet Union, and is generally considered a branch of Marxist–Leninist ideology but considered by some historians to be a significant deviation from this philosophy...
government; and, a new organization was formed, Towarzystwo Społeczno-Kulturalne Żydów w Polsce (TSKŻ), which at present, is the biggest Jewish organization in Poland with 17 regional chapters.