E Tuesday, January 30, 1940 . House of Representatives 0 the Committee on Foreign Affairs Washington, D

e Tuesday, January 30, 1940 . House of Representatives 0 The Committee on Foreign Affairs Washington, D. C.

The committee met at 10 a.m., Honorable Sol Bloom (chairman)

presiding.

The Chairman. The meeting will kindly come to order.

The committee has under consideration three separate bills: H.J.

Res. 412, that was introduced by Mr. Fish; H. J. Res. 430, introduced

S by Mr. Tenerowicz and H. J. Res. 436, that was introduced by Mr.

Alexander.

Mr. Fish has invited several witnesses to appear this morning -o , 0 and he will call his own witnesses. If there are oitr witnesses 0 other than those who were requested to be present by Mr. Fish, will

-4 you kindly give your names and whom you represent to the clerk of

the committee? -1 Mr. Eaton. Are these identical bills?

The Chairman. No. There are three bills but I thought it best

to proceed the same as we did with neutrality and after hearing the

witnesses the committee would determine just what it would like to

do.

Mr. Kee. They are practically identical, I think, Doctor.

Mr. Fish. Mr. Chairman.

U The Chairman. Mr. Fish.

Mr. Fish. Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee. I would

like to make a brief statement in regard to the bill I introduced.

My bill is House Joint Resolution 412 which I introduced on January 9.

It is worded practically the same as a bill introduced in 1924 to

authorize the expenditure of ter millions of dollars for relief of

starving women and children in Germany.

That bill was sent to the Committee on Foreign Affairs. We held extensive hearings on the bill. It was reported out of the committee by a very large vote and was brought up in the House of Representatives

* and passed the House of Representatives by a vote of more than two to one.

I dug up that old 1924 bill and used the same wording except I added: "Through the American National Red Cross or such agency or agencies as the President may designate". I think that is the only difference between the bill for German relief and this bill. The amount of money is the same.

I am convinced that the situation in Poland is far worse than the situation in Germany in 1923 and 1924. The tragedy of this war so far and the tragedy most likely to continue for some time to come, is the deplorable situation among the women and children of Poland.

I think those of you who read today's papers must have been somewhat shocked to find a more or less detailed account of what is going on in that unhappy country.

I want to, first, call the attention of the committee to two important points. This bill has nothing to do with our neutrality.

It has nothing to do with bills such as aid to the Finns or others who may be in a state of war or who may be invaded and so on. This is an outright grant to help the starving women and children of Poland by sending foodstuff and clothing and medical supplies to that country for the purpose of alleviating the suffering of these unfortunate people. It in no way involves our neutrality.

In the second place the issue was raised against the bill of 1924 and undoubtedly will be raised again, that it may not be consistent with the Constitution of the United States to make a grant of ten millions of dollars. That issue was all thrashed out some fifteen or sixteen years ago, both in committee and on the floor of the House.

*;s A *------" - *--- Members then thought it was distinctly constitutional and

precedent was shown where we had done the same thing as far back as

1812 when Congress appropriated $50,000 for relief of people in

Vernuela. At that time there were in the House such men as Madison

and others who had helped frame the Constitution of the United States.

As I say men of that caliber were then in the House and agreed to the

proposition.

But so far as the constitutionality of this bill is concerned

I feel we should let that go over to an executive session and later Ca S on possibly the floor of the House. If we are to err on the consti-

o tutionality toBa ror should i .4tnlyb ga"nge tence h humanity

and the commandments of religion and God. What we must decide first iS

-4 whether there is k need for relief in POladd. Second, is there WtMu m z real distress and are women and children starving in Riand, and will -4 z people die off in large numbers in the next six months and before r- another harvest comes in.

SIf we should decide those conditions do not exist then we should

not consider this bill. But if there is this tragedy in Poland, we,

the richest nation in the world with eighteen billion dollars worth

of gold buried in the ground where it serves no purpose, it aa

?ncU*M f me if these facts are developed by thae witnesses and others who may

appear later on, then we can well afford to take ten million dollars

wrrh of that gold to buy our own foodstuff, of which we have a surplus,

and our own cotton and clothing, etc., and ship it over to tAW6

cghgay as a humanegesture.

Many people in this country wanted to get us into the League

of Nations. Mr. Tinkham and myself opposed that effort. One of the

grounds given at that time why we should enter the League of Nations

was that we must play our part in the world along humantarian lines,

__ __1 _ __ Th^ is the greatest, and I have always believed in doing our part. fail to respond richest nation in the world and its citizens never our part along human- where human sympathies are required. We will do along military lines. tarian lines but I don't believedoing our part bill in no With this statement I shall conclude by saying this is introduced with the same way involves or entangles us in war. It when that country thought that we had in giving relief to Belgium government refuses our found itself under German rule. If the German one shall not urge the cooperation or is opposed to A then I for

passage of this bill. is not unneutral? Mr. Tinkham. Who besides yourself says this unneutral in Mr. Fish. I cannot see how it could be considered is agreeable to it as any possible way, Mr. Tinkham. If Germany possibility of Germany was agreeable to Belgium relief then I see no

violating our neutrality. There is no Mr. Tinkham. I would like to ask another question: to her for about Poland today. The land that was Poland belonged of it is Russia and twenty or twenty five years. Now, however, some a race exist but there some of it is Germany. The Polish people as There are many is no country called "Poland" that exists today. there is no Poland. Poles in Roumania and many Poles in Paris but the Belgian situation The situation is quite different from that of men and women. where the people had lived for centuries as united there is no Poland. By that I mean as a political unit. But today people who formerly In providing relief that relief must be given to and in what is were in Poland but now scattered, as I say, in Russia situation is a little now Germany and Roumania and Paris. I think the

different when you come to examine it closely. in the Mr. Fish. I don't think there is much difference

-.....- O.....-1--- -I. I i 4 Belgium situation because the Belgian Army was driven out of

Belgium and all of Belguim was under the control of Germany.

Mr. Kee. They did have an existing government in Belgium but

there is no Polish government in Poland.

Mr. Fish. None whatever ht It shiL. t ph mR ing aTpplRes

s-e. The existing government of Belgium was in France, quite a few

miles from the Belgium border. I think the cases are quite parallel.

But the question we have to decide here is whether thnen papile,

wVhat,^ thlg-_ *_ t &c .^ 8 r . The information we

have is that out of thirty million people ten million of them are o literally starving to death while we have an abundance hep in America. o Mr. Kee. May we not safely assume th , that condition does

-4. exist. I think we possibly can all agree that the situation you m > have described actually exists there, but isn't the important question -4 z. for us to consider, the question of the method we are to follow to

S get this relief into the hands of those people who need it. As a

practical thing we will be sending commodities to a country that no

longer exists. The money that we appropriate here and the relief we

send may go to aid the oppressor rather than the oppressed.

Mr. Fish. This bill provides that the money appropriated shall

be placed in the hands of the President who will designate any agency

or agencies he deems advisable to distribute it. Now, the President

is not going to turn money over to the Germans for German relief.

It will be done the way it was done in Belgium, through a commission

known as the Polish Relief Commission, which Is already organized,

composed of Americans, and/or through the National American Red

Cross. Now, of course, none of us would vote a dollar if it were to

be turned over to the German government for their own relief.

Mr. Eaton. There seems to be a misapprehension here. Part of

_ I II MI_ [II- I I ii what was Poland is now owned and operated by Russia; part of what

was Poland is now owned and operated by Germany, but a third of Poland

has been set aside into which the Polish people are being herded

and starved and destroyed. Now,Awhich of those three sections are

you proposing to send relief and how are you going to get it there?

The Chairman. May I answer that question by this letter which

I received this morning from Secretary Hull, if you don't mind, Mr.

Fish.

Mr. Fish. Certainly not.

The Chairman. This letter was received this morning from the

Secretary of State to one of the bills we sentup for re-

port. Secretary Hull's reply speaks for all three bills. They all re-

late to Poland?

Mr. Fish. Yes, all relate to Poland. o The Chairman. *January 30, 1940. My dear Mr. Bloom.

This is signed by Cordell Hull.

S"I have received your letter of January 17, 1940, enclosing a

copy of House Joint Resolution 430, introduced by Mr. Tenerowicz,

which proposes that the President be authorized through the American

National Red Cross or such agencies or agency as he may designate,

to purchase food supplies and clothing to an amount not exceeding

* fifteen million dollars, for the relief of the people of Riand.

"You say that the resolution has been referred to the Oommittee

on Foreign Affairs and you ask me to send you a report on the measure.

"I am able to give yo the following information which should be

of assistance to your committee in considering the resolution:

"The American Red Cross is now engaged in providing relief for

the people of German-occupied Poland, having sent representatives to

Germany to investigate their needs and to arrange with the German

aa,_ _ _ _ _~______~______~~~__ authorities for the distribution of relief supplies.

'The German authorities have declined to permit any organization

to conduct relief operations in German-occupied Poland except in

association with the German Red Cross, and the American Red Cross is

so operated.

"The Department has received no intimation from the American Red

Cross of any need or desire on its part for public funds to supple-

ment its own funds for Polish relief. The American Red Cross is

also providing relief for Polish refugees in countries adjacent to

Poland. -0

0 Vith respect to that part of Poland occupied by the forces of

the Soviet Union, I am informed that the Soviet authorities have not

permitted any relief organizations even to send representatives into

z the territory under occupation, to make inquiries as to the welfare -4 S of the inhabitants or as to their needs.

- "If there is any further information which you may desire and

Z which you believe I might be able to furnish your committee with re-

gard to the resolutions, I shall be glad to have you write me again.

Sincerely.yours, Cordell Hull."

Mr. Johnson. He does not say anything about the portion Dr.

Eaton referred to?

The Chairman. That is in Poland.

Mr. Johnson. Is it possible that Poland is controlled partly

by Germany and partly by Russia and while a portion of it may be left

to the Poles, yet it is controlled now by either Germany or Russia.

Do you feel that might be the case in the light of this letter from

Secretary Hull.

Mr. Eaton. But the fiendish proposal of the German government

is to drive out of German controlled Poland all Poles that are starving to death in this little neck of land in between.

The Chairman. All Poles irrespective of their eligious belief?

Mr. Eaton. Yes. It is the most hellish thing that has hap-

pened in modern or ancient history.

Mr. Ford. Doesn't Germany control that area into which they

are sending the Poles?

Mr. Eaton. It pretends it is a sort of quasi-independent

section. It is in reality a broken remanent of all that is left of Poland.

Mr. Johnson. But even that is dominated.

Mr. Eaton. Simply a dump on which they propose to drive the poor

Polish people.

Mr. Tinkham. We may properly draw the conclusion from Mr. Hull's

letter that he is not in favor of this legislation.

The Chairman. Well, no, but there is one thing in the letter,

Mr. Tinkham, and that is he says that from his information he doesn't

believe that they need the relief that these bills are asking for.

I think, however, from the reports received by the newspapers and

the reports that we have through people who have recently come from

Poland that there is a dire need.

Mr. Johnson. He said the American Red Cross had not communioated

any desire, as I understood the letter.

Mr. Richards. Even if we appropriated this money we don't know

whether it could be gotten to the Poles.

The Chairman. Oh, yes, you can. That can be determined from the

American Red Cross officials. I have spoken to different people

connected with that organization and they say they have very fine co-

operation in their relief work in German-occupied Poland. They advise

me their supplies are being distributed according to instructions.

r r------uXu--r -L-ir -_-- -_-L~... ___ I )

Mr. Johnson. Mr. Chairman, let us hear the witnesses who have

been asked to appear this morning. This discussion we are now having

fiould come after the evidence is all in.

The Chairman. Does any member of Congress wish to be heard be-

fore the witnesses are called?

Mr. Monkiewicz. I am here to introduce several witnesses

and if I may be given that permission I would appreciate it.

The Chairman. You shall have that opportunity, Mr. Monkiewicz.

Mr. Fish. Is Mr. Theodore Abel present?

Mr. Abel. Yes, I am here,

The Chairman. Will you come forward, please, and give the

reporter your name and address and the association you are representing

here today?

STATEMENT OF THEODORE ABEL, NEW YORK CITY, PROFESSOR OF SOCIOLOGY, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

Mr. Abel. Mr. Chairman, and gentlemen of the committee. My

name is Theodore Abel. I reside in New York City. I am a professor

of sociology at Columbia University.

I have been abroad recently on behalf of the commission for

Polish relief. My purpose mainly was to coordinate the relief work

among refugees. We have a large share of that work. The English

and some Hungarian organizations are also helping the refugees.

In addition to that my mission was to secure the reaction on the

part of the allied governments as to their possible support.

We realize that the need in Poland will be so great in the long

run that we will probably have to have the same set up as in the case

of Belgium relief. In Belgium the American people contributed about

fifty million dollars and for hundred fifty millions were contributed

by the English, French and Belgium governments, and also the American

f v ( ~ s~YiT-'~~-~" 'L-..-...... I,.~.~~~,._ . _~~_ __ * *\ ,-r *''*. government.

Now, I have had first hand observations of the conditions among

refugees and I can report on that. I also have talked with a number

of people who have just recently come into Roumania after having

escaped from the conditions in Poland.

Mr. Johnson. Was your first hand information received from

refugees in this country?

Mr. Abel. No, in Hungary and Roumania.

Mr. Johnson. You are recently from there?

Mr. Abel. Yes, and I have also talked with our --

Mr. Fish. When did you get back, Mr. Abel?

Mr. Abel. Two or three weeks ago.

SMr. Fish. How long were you there?

SMr. Abel. Two months.

The Chairman. You may proceed, Mr. Abel.

Mr. Abel. I also have talked with Mr. Stephens, who is our

representative in Lithuania, and I had first hand information on the

situation there.

Now, the total number of refugees in the three bordering coun-

tries, that is Lithuania, Roumania and Hungary, is about one hundred

ffty thousand. That includes civilians as well as soldiers.

Mr. Johnson. You mean Polish refugees?

Mr. Abel. Polish refugees. Now, the situation in Lithuania

is aggravated by the fact that of the three hundred thousand inhabitants

of the district ceded to Lithuania, most of those are destitute be-

cause the Lithuanian government has refused to recognize the value of

Polish currency and has deprived most of the Poles of their work.

Now, the commission is taking care, therefore, not only of the

refugees there who natqally w~v have come without anything, but also of a large part of the population.

Now, in Roumania we have set up a relief organization which

functions very adequately. The refugees are distributed --

The Chairman. May I interrupt you for a moment. Whom do you mean

by "we'?

Mr. Abel. I should say the commission for relief -- the American

Commission for Polish Relief.

Mr. Fish. Who are the officers of that association?

, Mr. Abel. The phaidert is Mr. McCormick of Chicago and Dr.

MacCracken is chairman. Dr. MacCracken is of Vassar College. And

S on the board of directors there is Mr. Herbert Hoover, Mrs. Vernon

Kellogg and a number of people who worked in the Belgium relief. The

general secretary is Mr. Maurice Pate who has for a number of years

been engaged in Belgium relief.

The Chairman. How much money have you collected?

r Mr. Abel. Well, we have distributed outside of the value of

clothes that have gone to these various centers, we have distributed

or sent over there about on- hundred thirty two thousand dollars

S in cash. Roumania received forty five thousand dollars; Lithuania

received fifty thousand dollars and twelve thousand dollars were sent

to Hungary. These amounts were in cash. In addition to that twenty

S five thousand dollars in woolen goods, flannels and shoes are now en

route to Bergen for re-shipment either to Lithuania or occupied-Poland.

Fifteen thousand pounds of selected used clothing has been sent to

Roumania and Hungary and fifty five thousand pounds to Lithuania.

In addition to that we have also purchased fifteen thousand

gallons of cod liver oil which is being shipped to Poland.

Mr. Johnson. Pardon me, Mr. Chairman. You say "we". Do you mean

the organization which you represent has done that?

Am - - I Mr. Abel. Yes. I am on the board of directors.

Mr. Johnson. And was your visit to Europe in connecting v1: this relief matter or on other business?

Mr. Abel. I was there to coordinate the refugee relief w r:; behalf of the commission.

Now, besides we have obtained through that coordination, , say the commission has obtained through that coordinatioin whV.:', , I

o able to achieve in Europe, about twice the amount that we ha - : tributed from America from English sources mainly. In thr v r', the English have set up a similar organization called 'th, ! .' .

Relief Fund", presided over by Lord Moyn. They have c 'l:l o. ..' .' one hundred thousand pounds which has already been party ' -- i:,i-:

In additimato that they have contributed a large amount of c. ",;.

The Chairman. Through which agency have they made thl:e - tributions? Is it the same agency with which you are cunwcxv

Mr. Abel. We are all cooperating and the general mnam gi, -,

Lithuania, Roumania and Hungary is in our hands. That. ;, Amerw c representatives are at the head of this relief work.

> The Chairman. Well, do the Russians object In any v , relief that you are giving Lithuania?

Mr. Abel. No. In Lithuania the Lithuanian governor t', .,

The Chairman. I know, but isn't the Russian government. :n c- r there?

Mr. Abel. The Russian government is not in there any m r-. r;y

withdrew and turned that territory over to Lithuania.

The Chairman. May I kAquire as to what assurances, 'f /;:', y , hwe or what means you are taking to assure that nonep f t~ha materials or commodities or funds which you are sending, i .:

fall or are likely to fall into the hFands of the be .. L 'w. ;." .:

!" . ..i_ .... . O . . . such as Russia or Germany or otherwise converted to their own use,

Mr. Abel. The commission is not sending any large shipments to

Poland. We have had Senator Wolcott and Mr. Rhodes, the Quaker

representative in Berlin for some time. We have put definite con-

ditions under which these goods and monies may be distributed. These

conditions are very similar to the ones that the Belgium Relief

Association was operating under. Now, we have had the assurances

coming directly from Mr. Goering that these conditions are acceptable

and that the government is thanking, particularly the Quakers for their willingness to work in Poland.

The Chairman. You said Mr. Goering?

Mr. Abel. Yes. However, Mr. Goering is not the final authority because we have not until now been able to agree on the details of the American control. We insist on absolute American control and we are not going to send anything unless that control is assured. The same position is taken by the British government. The British government is going to make many contributions to the commission provided we achieve that American control.

The Chairman. In what country?

Mr. Abel. In Poland.

The Chairman. Did you hear the letter from Secretary Hull read* here in which he said that this relief must go through Red Cross channels; that that is compulsory on the part of the German government.

Mr. Abel. It is not compulsory except the Red Cross representatives who were in Berlin have agreed on such a condition.

Mr. Johnson. Do you suppose there was a little coercion when they agreed to that.

Mr. Abel. There was a certain amount of urgency. Mr. Swift and Mr. Taylor with whom I talked in Paris as they were on their way shipment back, told me that they were very anxious to have the first

distributed in Poland.

Mr. Johnson. As I understand the supplies that you have sent

up to now have practically all gone to Lithuania and surrounding

countries. You haven't as yet, as I understand, sent any appreciable

amount to Poland?

Mr. Abel. We have only sent fifteen thousand gallons of cod

liver oil, which was urgently needed for the feeding of infants.

Those shipments were assigned to American citizens in Warsaw, privately, and whose job it is to distribute the cod liver among the Polish

Jewish organizations in Warsaw.

is the Mr. Johnson. The only material you have sent to Poland

cod liver oil? we Mr. Abel. Yes. And we shall not send anything more until

are assured of absolute American control.

The Chairman. Have you tried to go into Russi&-occupied Poland?

Mr. Abel. I hate tried to get in there while I was abroad

but I was not able to get permission either by direct negotiations no chance with Moscow or the Embassy in Paris. They claimed there was

relief. of anybody getting in and second, there is no need for

The Chairman. Dr. Eaton, I was going to ask you a question ,

the question about what you spoke with reference to. Do you remember

in reference to this particular tract of land these people are being

herded into.

Mr. Abel. Yes, I know what he is speaking of.

The Chairman. Dr. Eaton, I was just asking a question with re-

ference to that special tract of land in Poland that you mentioned

awhile ago.

Mr. Abel. I would say the principal work for the relief organization in Poland, if they get in there, will be in that portion

that you mentioned because there, first of all, was the major

devastation of the war. It was there the battles were fought. And,

secondly, the people who are driven out of Pomerania and the district

of Posen, amounting to several millions are herded in this territory.

There you have naturally a lack of homes, lack of food and for this reason these people who have had to leave everything,(and I have heard many people who have gone through it say that they have been asked to leave within one hour's notice) so they were unable to take anything with them.

Mr. Johnson. Mr. Chairman, may I ask a question? Even if that one third or the fractional part, or whatever it is, where you say the Poles have been herded into, that is not under the control of the Polish government. The Polish government has moved out of the country and gone to France. That section is dominated and controlled in a governmental way by either Russia or Germany.-

Mr. Abel. By Germany, yes.

Mr. Chiperfield. How large a territory is that?

Mr. Abel. The territory was divided between Germany and Russia.

Half of that part is German, which is one quarter, and has been incorporated in the Reich, and the other half is considered or called the --

Mr. Eaton. Just a slaugibr pen?

Mr. Abel. Yes. In that district there is also this reserva- tion (around Lublin) where the Jews are herded not only from Poland or Polish territory but also from German territory.

Mr. Arnold. Even in this area of government controlled territory?

Mr. Abel. Yes, they are being separated there.

i. -L-. _I Mr. Arnold. Well, are the Lutherans being taken in there too?

Mr. Abel. No.

Mr. Arnold, What are the Germans doing to the Lutherans?

Mr. Abel. Well, the Lutherans who have declared themselves Poles

are considered Poles, but Lutherans, that is people with German names,

if they declare themselves willing to consider themselves Germans

they are accepted as Germans and placed in the special corridors.

They have corridor A, B, C and D for people like that who are con-

sidered of German origin.

Mr. Tinkham. How many Poles are there in Roumania, about?

Mr. Abel. The exact figure is about forty thousand.

Mr. Eaton. Is the Roumanian government doing anything for

them?

Mr. Abel. Well, the Roumanian government is very cooperative

and the King himself has appointed a representative to work with

the commission, supervising the work.

Mr. Eaton. They haven't put up any money?

Mr. Abel. Yes, they did. They owed the Polish government a lot

of money and they are paying a certainrum, one hundred ley a day to

each individual.

Now, the set up of our relief work is such that the refugee c'an

take care of all his needs with that small sum.

Mr. Vorys. How much would that be in our money?

Mr. Abel. A dollar is five hundred leys. That is one fifth of

a dollar; twenty cents. We have set up a social service center

there. For example, a barber shaves a man for three leys, which is

about a half a cent. We have doctors and nurses and tailors and

carpenters and dormitories and dining rooms and social centers and

so on, provided within each of these centers. There are thirty two

j~i.r'W~L~DPs~i .-rL1-~L ~ -Y I set up in Roumania. Now, the commission is trying to do the same thing

in Hungary.

There we have encountered some difficulties because the Hungarian

government is not as cooperative as is the Roumanian government.

Mr. Johnson. Doctor, did you go to Europe for the purpose of

administering relief to Poland and Hungary and the various other

countttes you are interested in?

Mr. Abel. Yes, sir.

Mr. Johnson. And what are the countries that your organization

proposes to administer relief?

Mr. Abel. It is our purpose to furnish relief for Poles.

Mr. Johnson. What is the name of the organization?

Mr. Abel. Commission for Polish Relief, Incorporated.

Mr. Johnson. Did you go into Poland?

Mr. Abel. No, I did not go into Poland.

Mr. Johnson. Why?

Mr. Abel. Because we, as I said before, Senator Walcott and

Mr. Rhoads are already representing the commission.

Mr. Johnson. Did any one go into Poland? Is one permitted to go

in there?

Mr. Abel. Oh, yes. We have had our representatives there for

sometime.

Mr. Johnson. Is he an American or Polish?

Mr. Abel. No, Mr. McDonald, who is a business man, went out of

Warsaw while the skge was on but at our request he returned and re-

presented the commission.

Mr. Johnson. How long were you in Europe on this mission ?

Mr. Abel. Two months.

Mr. Johnson. Well, it strikes me there must have been some

",t" 4%4---. , -116Ar- - . mbw . difficulty about getting into Poland or you would have gone into

Poland if you went over on Polish relief.

Mr. Abel. Well, I had specific tasks to perform in Europe. My

task was to mainly coordinate refugee relief and look into that

matter and, secondly, to consult with the allied governments.

Mr. Johnson. And whom did the organization have representing it

in 'Poland?

Mr. Abel. Senator Walcott and Mr. Rhoads, a Philadelphia merchant.

He is the Quaker about whom I was speaking. The Quakers have offered

their services to the commission and are doing the actual distributing

in Poland. They have already about one hundred volunteers who are

willing to go over and organize relief in Poland. So you see the

organization is set up. All we are waiting for now is the acceptance

of our terms.

Mr. Johnson. From what source have your funds been derived?

By private contribution?

Mr. Abel. Yes. We have had no drive as yet.

Mr. Johnson. What is the total amount collected so far?

Mr. Abel. We have distributed --

Mr. Johnson. In dollars and cents?

Mr. Abel. Approximately one hundred fifty thousand dollars.,

We have distributed one hundred thirty two thousand dollars.

Mr. Fish. You have not started any real campaign as yet, have

you?

Mr. Abel. No, we have not. We are waiting for the opening of

the relief in Poland.

Mr. Fish. So you may have permission to go in there and dis-

tribute it under your own commission instead of the Germans, is that

what you want?

~-I~-~_,.. . ____ Mr. Abel. Yes, sir.

Mr. Johnson. Was your organization perfected through the Red

Cross or is it an independent organization?

Mr. Abel. It is not a part of the Red Cross.

Mr. Johnson. Are you operating through the Red Cross?

Mr. Abel. We are cooperating with them but st up as an

independent organization.

Mr. Fish. What this committee is primarily interested in is

whether there is an immediate need for funds to supply foodstuff and

clothing and medical supplies for the women and children in Poland.

Mr. Abel. Yes. Now, I am basing this mainly on the reports

S of Mr. McDonald who was, as I say, for two months in Poland and Mr.

Morris, the Quaker.

Z Mr. Fish. Will you give us Mr. McDonald's name and address

o J as we may have to send for him?

1> Mr. Abel. Yes, sir. James McDonald. I don't have his address

S right now but he is in Boston. I can send you that.

The Chairman. If you will, please.

Mr. Richards. Let me ask you this following Mr. Fish's sug-

gestion as to whatAthe main point or focal point or object of this

resolution. I think it is generally conceded (I have read a good

deal of newspapers concerning it and have had reports to the effect),

that at most the Germans are only going to allow these people under

their control sufficient food and clothing to keep their bodies and

souls together.

Now, what I amnalnly concerned with is: Suppose we pass this

resolution and furnish ten or fifteen million dollars to the Poles.

You may be able to assure through your organization that that will get

to the Poles, but you are not able to assure this committee that the

l~l -- -- _W-- _ Germans will not cut off a proportionate share of the help they are now giving and that the result will be that this appropriation will aid Germany and not the Poles.

Mr. Abel. We are sure of it for this reason: We are taking the position that we should send to Poland only the things that Poland has always imported. Now, Poland has always had a surplus of food and for that reason we insist that the actual feeding of the population, except for supplementary feeding for infants and nursing mothers, :; should be done by the Germans. In other words, that is the respon- , sibility of the Germans -- their responsibility is to supply food X' for the population.

Now, the things that we are preliminarily requested to send in, because of the needs that have been found by our representatives, is clothing because there you see millions of people have lost every- ting they had and are facing the winter, or have been -- are, un- fortunately facing the winter without any warm clothing. Now, secondly, cod liver oil and condensed milk to feed the nursing mothers and children is badly needed. Now, these are the main items for the present.

Mr. Fish. And medical supplies?

Mr. Abel. Yes, medical supplies. We might have to send in' some other foodstuff as supplementary feeding but there will be no such thing as in Belgium where the actual feeding of the population was done by the commission, because the Belgim did not have the food supply.

Mr. Fish. And cost about one million dollars a day.

Mr. Abel. Yes, about one million dollars a day. Now, our estimates are that within the limits that I just described, the cost per month of Polish relief will be about two million dollars.

u. e ~Jl,~..j\... y,. ..~i'~ Mr. Tenerowicz. I am not a member of the committee but may

I ask the gentleman a question?

The Chairman. Will you give your name to the reporter?

Mr. Tenerowicz. Rudolph Tenerowicz. Do you know whether typhoid and typhus is becoming general in Poland?

Mr. Abel. We have reports that there is typhoid in Poland and that the Germans are doing thBbest they can to check it and control it. There are certain conflicting reports on the situation but I think it stands to reason it is very much in the German interests to check any epidemic.

Mr. Tenerowicz. We have read reports in the papers about Warsaw.

Is there any typhoid in Warsaw that you know of?

Mr. Abel. Yes, yes, there is.

The Chairman. Any further questions?

Mr. Ford. In what country were you born?

Mr. Abel. In Poland.

Mr. Kee. As I understand the situation at the present time, you cannot get into that portion of Poland controlled by Russia at all?

Mr. Abel. That is correct.

Mr. Kee. You cannot secure permission from the Russian government to enter that portion of Poland?

Mr. Abel. Yes, sir.

Mr. Kee. How much of the area of Poland does that include?

Mr. Abel. Well, that includes practically one half. It includes the agricultural portion of Poland, which means that outside of the largest cities like Lemburg and other similar cities the population is peasant.

Mr. Kee. Sorone of this contemplated relief, under present

c- - conditions can be sent into that section of Poland?

Mr. Abel. No.

Mr. Kee. And as to the other part that is entirely under the

control of Germany and you haven't as yet been able to arrange terms

under which youcan send anything into that section?

Mr. Abel. That is right.

Mr. Kee. So up to date your relief efforts have been confined

to the refugees who have been able to cross the border an get into

these outside countries?

Mr. Abel. Yes.

0I Mr. Kee. But you hope to make arrangements with Germany so as

to furnish to this section that they have under control certain

I$' commodities?

Mr. Abel. That is right, yes, sir.

Mr. Kee. Now, the main question is: Do you think that you

can give assurance that if these supplies and if this relief is sent

into that section under German control that it will actually reach

the people who need it and not go into the hands or benefit those

epeople who really have control over the lives and destinies of these

Polish people.

Mr. Abel. Well, naturally, that is our principal intention. '

We don't intend to carry on relief work nor ask the American people

to contribute money unless we are absolutely sure that we can operate

under the same conditions as we operated in Belgium. Our experience

there has shown that nearly ninety five per cent of what has been sent

over actually reaches the people.

Now, if we can get the same conditions and have the same super-

vision, which means the goods will be delivered in sealed cars to our representatives who are Americans in Poland and distributed then to the

~:7~~~~"*LW-r-lrlll.:iYI-~- L- I. L various organizations, also by Americans, and each recipient will sign a receipt for the goods he receives, so we have an absolute check going clear down to the person who gets it. Unless we can have that set up we do not plan to operate in Poland.

Mr. Fish. I understand that that is the definite conclusion your organization has reached. And that organization is headed by

Mr. MacCracken, who comes from my district, by the way, and who is a very strong leader of the opposition party but nevertheless you have come to that conclusion, that you don't want money, you are not going to ask for money or ask Congress for anything toward Polish relief until you have definite assurance you can operate on the same basis you operated in Belgium?

Mr. Abel. Precisely.

The Chairman. How many different organizations are there doing similar work to your organization in this country?

Mr. Abel. In this country?

The Chairman. Are there many?

Mr. Abel. No, not many. Well, the Polish groups in this country have been sending money to various places for refugee work, to Hungary and Roumania and Lithuania.

The Chairman. To whom do they send it?

Mr. Abel. Partly through the commission and partly directly.

Through the commission for Polish relief and partly directly.

Mr. Burgin. Do I understand you to say they have the basic necessities in Poland? Do they have sufficient food?

Mr. Abel. Well, we take the position that they should have the basic needs. We trust that the Germans are not going to denude Poland of all its food supply. Since Poland always had enough food it is the

German:. government's obligation to feed the people.

I_~~~~~~_~_ _~ ~~.,, 12.Bur, n

1l'Ir.Abr'l. c c ,vt s 1 rii- rr:oe have soared anK tho Gcnevrirrin- i-r, ncs troT, r~ -'lct ' c'1ns o'food stuffss. bt thnrr n. , 'r " p0 ' i oi i'OO the Gor.ons are talrirvn i t of '9arv]o

The Pc.stJ- AatP ~vr >ivi1 ra to;'u ' '1o o e . U hrc r ' nths thr' e should n- t be anv actual! Unvt; or - r hnrenr :t hrF: country, Ox- cius :ve, ,, e 1 A t'rnrul, com-In tel-t G (,)CVoef eanwS; "Iho havre lO,t eVerTh n r1,o h31, tc br oustai nod,] b1; char',,

~hr' Cha,)iAnnman. ltd thn ene'ntn' oF thUse role?

Mr. Ab ,. .elV I oI , t;iato th,?t, theP; istl be several, s1l1ll- ons.

At Ieast throc mil.1--ons because tLhe: Polilsh roxut.lon of western Poland now tncnr-,-oratcr i,n thr 1RPTRch i whnl esttl be *Lnf: driven out lnto th-1s territorv that is CjSu.eosrOnr no)t tro hcv, been incorporate in the

Rech.

Mr . Burr n. n tht, aouts t' t;rrt'r milon r1coie of

Germany-)ccu-IIcd Polarndl, isq that ccrnrct?' There are about twenty mili -jon 1oo -!n tl-)o u ed Ur-rnnnterritory?

Ar.Abel. Yes.

Mr. Bur 7,An. Can th 'r rrnvirth thensves w' h suffic rent food

In this rrescrbhod area.

Mr. Abel. Yes. The ocronturaltrrs .y un .ble to take cut or cannot take out all of the fGle supply In a rush, so there is st.ll food :n Plnd f (rthe resent and some people have found work or are s';1.l.. cent .nunc t-, rl c. Then ai reat mvny people are taken in by the Gorevnmn lab-r bnettal' orn o ron.

Well" I estimate lhot rut of th(?se twenty nil LI-on at least tio nr three renlon)eoof are Orr~lc cestltutt because they have been dorT-.vr1 rI-' thinrnd hosi h-Vr boon -)rlo2ivdf all smr'ns of suipcrt r~n~ p ~l V1 ~ pb

Che. rt 'HofC D ~f , t' e pV t r t v y r to0 you for comI ~~hr re m v u I. he b(rno!'4t r)" VOur aPd VlCcand

exnr.ocoW, thank- you veryrVCOryiW iuch.

Mr. Ahs I I hqnvs, , 'o.few ,om'rtn wh oh I would 1 Ike to submit for the record.

'Ile Chalriitn. -thith,ecf (-on th, Drtnr's reports will be received bir th- cortt-r.

(The rcnorts referred, by . Abel are as, follows: NEWIS BUJLL , T r I "

COMMISSION FOR POLISH RELIEF, INC. ?" "'I:T '

October 20j )",?

This is the first cf a series of N,-; w: on will be issued from national headquarters .,f4 .. Polish Relief.

By way of introduction, the Commtolsrn *s, " ' which represents a strictly neutral, entirely hu,n:.' was formed because numbers of Americans had expr;:-I .. relieve the suffering of the Polish people; 1 - four neutral countries surrounding Poland - P,:n'., : ; * Lithuania, and Latvia; 2 - among the homeless s:nd1 . ' occupied Poland; 3 - and eventually among the h"-r" '. Russian occupied Poland.

We were incorporated on September 25th, 2:'' tion number, in conformity with the Neutrality Act, of State, is No. 10, and under this registrnt.n, - to solicit funds for Polish relief.

Besides the funds which we raise thrn. : : committees over the country, the CPR, through ltn /:::1 tives in Poland and the countries surrounding Po.: ' channels for the administration of relief; and '::;.i; American and other groups in the United StNtes rn:' ;-- for use through the above neutral American ,ch:n*I.

Our first aid has been given, and i3 urnw '. A. , Polish refugees in Roumania, where Mr. Paul Super I . . representative. Mr. Super, an executive of spc- "i:, . lished relief stations at a number of points in i,.;:::.' daily cable reports on his work. In Roum.-ana M1r., :i network of relief for 30,000 civilian refugees at t:..'. points.

Estimated Number of Refuge?s byu ,:.;' Civil M tilitayt Roumania 30,000 24,000 ,t

Hungary 10,000* 35,000 10/5

Lithuania 3,500 14,000 10/7

Latvia 400 1,600 10/

*Taking all sources, probably n,;!r.-

We have just been advised by c,-bl' thi, ntt . day in Budapest, Hungary, where he is i:mn:dlat , .. ': among the Polish refugees in Hungary. Thr !iu;r' jr .u very hospitable to Polish refugees and has, as :',- of caring for them. However, we are lookin- h. ! .' where our assistance may be necess,'ry '!rwnd -.W repatriating these refugees to their hor,'-,.

* 8I % -- (. -

Wa were advised by cable from Berlin Wodnesday that Howard W. Elkinton, one of our representatives, had been injured in an automobile accident and suffered a broken collar bone and a possible hip injury. Mr. Fikinton was travelling with two other American representatives of the Commission for Polish Relief, namely Homer L. Morris and William C. McDonald, and they were accompanied by a delegate of the German Foreign Office. The three American representatives had secured the permission of the German Government to administer relief in German occupied Poland, and were proceeding from Berlin to Warsaw when the official car accom- panying them was wrecked. Mr. Elkinton is in a hospital in Berlin, where he will remain for several weeks. None of the others were injured.

A cable received by the Commission for Polish Relief yesterday advised that representatives McDonald and Morris, making a second start, would leave Berlin this morning for Warsaw, to organize immediate relief for the refugees there.

Our most reliable present information reports half the city of Warsaw in ashes; some 600,000 of its population scattered and homeless and in tragic need. As soon as Mr. Morris and Mr. McDonald are established in Warsaw, further members of the Commission will go from the United States to join them.

At present we aro making no organized large drive. We are getting set up promptly in Europe and gradually working out a country- wide organization in the United States. We want to let it be known, through regional and local committees now being formed, that the Com- mission for Polish Relief will endeavor to put to the most effective use possible, any gift, large or small, offered for this urgently necessary work, that our help will be for all sufferers from the war without any distinction of race or creed.

p: i,

* *. ^ . .f «v -. '

NE WS B U L L E T I N N0. 2

COMMISSION FOR POLISH RELIEF, INC. 57 East 36th Street, New York

...... ______. October 29, 1939

Chairman: Treasurer: Henry Noble MacCracken Frederic C. Walcott Vice-Chairman: Secretary: Mrs. Vernon Kellogg Maurice Pate Directors: Theodore Abel Henry Noble MacCracken Herbert L. Satterlee Robert Woods Bliss Chauncey McCormick Ernest Schelling Merian C. Cooper Mrs. Wm. Brown Meloney Edwin P. Shattuck John H. Finley Rev. W.Coleman Nevils, S J Lewis L. Strauss Mrs. Vernon Kellogg Mrs. Guido Pantaleoni, Jr. Frederic C. Walcott Eric P. Kelly Maurice Pate Thomas J. Watson

National Headquarters now at 37 East 36th Street, New York City Our offices have been moved into a building at the above address, a house generously given to the Commission free of charge for one year by one of our directors, Mr. Herbert L. Satterlee. At the same time Mr. and Mrs. Satterlee have made a generous donation.

The offices of the New York City Committee of the Commission for Polish Relief will be located on the first two floors in this building. The upper floors will be used for the headquarters of the National committee and for the organization which handles the administration of relief.

First News from Warsaw A cable from Berlin, from our representatives, Mr. William C. McDonald and Mr. Homer C. Morris, proved to be the first report to the outside world of conditions in Warsaw since its capitulation. It gives a picture of Warsaw as a city with more than half its buildings destroyed or badly damaged and with its people desperately in need of woolen goods, blankets and warm clothing. Comparative order has been restored there. The German government expects to provide certain food relief; it is giving bread and soup rations to 250,000 Poles and Germans and bread alone to 300,000. But supplies of milk and cod liver oil for children, and medical supplies for the sick must be furnished from,outside sources. Poland's normal annual importation of $40,000,000 of woolen and cotton goods is now cut off. The most important immediate field of work for the Commission will be the shipping of woolen goods.

News from Bucharest , Roumania Cable advices from Bucharest state that we are giving daily aid to 10,000 of the 30,000 civilian Polish refugees now in Roumania. Those who still have some means are temporarily able to take care of themselves. Food and lodging have been the first necessities, but as winter approaches the need fcr clothing is most urgent. Many people who fled from their homes in the warm September days have nothing but the clothing on their backs.

>1. ------

The following figures, cabled to us from Bucharest by Mr. Supor, are of interest:

(1) about 35% of the refugees come from what is now Russian occupied Poland 65% had their homes in what is now German occupied Poland (2) about 95% of the refugees are Christian Poles 5% are of the Jewish faith there are only a few Ukrainians and other nationalities.

According to Mr. Super, most of the refugees would like to return to their homes but are afraid to-do so. Every effort will be made to repatriate eventually, those coming from German occupied Poland, but this will be a matter of months.

News from Budapest, Hungary Leaving the work in Roumania under the charge of Mr. Brown, Mr. Super, since the beginning of this week, has been in Budapest, to assist in the organization of relief in Hungary. He reports that the Hungarians, like the Roumanians, have shown great kindness to the in- pouring refugees. He says, however, that local resources are utterly * unequal to the task presented by the 20,000 Polish civilian refugees and 30,000 destitute Polish soldiers.

Gravest Refugee Problem - Wilna

In the confusion of the rapidly moving war the largest number c of refugees have pushed up into northeast Poland. It is estimated that 3 as many as one hundred thousand refugees, caught between German and Russian forces, moved on into the vicinity of Wilna. Then the city of Wilna was occupied by Russian troops. New it is to be turned over to Lithuania. This great mass of refugees in northeast Poland, preferring to be in Lithuania rather than under Russian rule when the new line of demarcation is finally established, have surged toward Lithuania.

There were already in small Lithuania 17,500 Polish civilian refugees and disarmed soldiers. When another 100,000 destitute and homeless people swell this previous figure, a great emergency problem has to be met and met very promptly. Lithuania, as a small country, can do very little to cope with this immense problem.

Foreseeing needs in this field the Commission for Polish relief has two Americans, Mr. Dorsey Stephens and Mr. Gilbert Redfern already in Europe, on their way to Kovno. From Kevno they will go on to Wilna.

Organization of Local Committees A New York Committee has just been formed, with Col. William J. Donovan as Chairman, Mr. Thomas S. Lament, Jr., as Treasurer, and Mrs. Guido Pantaleoni, Jr. as Executive Secretary. 35-

' . This New York Committee to gather initial contributions is putting on a concert in Carnegie Hall November 14th, with Arturo Rubinstein and Jan Kiepura - the program is the gift of these great Polish artists. This concert will be a brilliant occasion, and promises to brir. in a substantial sum. Burden Littell will have tickets on sale November 1st at Bonwit-Teller's and Carnegie Hall. Chicago has organized with Mr. Chauncey McCormick, as Chair- man, andrMr. Charles S. Dewey, as Treasurer, headquarters at 410 North Michigan Avenue. The Chicago committee plans a benefit concert. There is already a committee in Southern California, under the sponsorship of Mr. Merian C. Cooper and John Speaks, with headquarters at 8853 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood, and Monterey County is Working under Mrs. Caroline Pickett. Philadelphia, Washington and Boston expect to have their committees within a few days. Many committees will adopt this benefit concert idea as a fine way of announcing their existence. President Roosevelt's Statement on Relief On October 12th the President made a statement urging the coordination of all relief activities. This applies to the raising of funds in this country, and the carrying on of relief operations in countries abroad. This is a very timely statement. Relief, to be efficient, must be administered in a business-like way and with the utmost economy, so that as near as possible the entire value of the donor's gift goes to the help of the destitute who the donor wishes to help. The carrying out of this policy is the basic principle on which the Commission for Polish Relief is founded. SCoperation with the American Red Cross We are sometimes asked how our work fits in with that of the American Red Cross. Since the inception of the Commission for Polish Relief we have been frequently exchanging information with the national Headquarters of the American Red Cross in the spirit of fullest cooperation. As our committees gradually develop over the country we wish, in each locality, to have the same spirit of cooperation. The Commission for Polish Relief is specializing in relief among the refugees in the neutral countries surrounding Poland, and hopes eventually to bring aid in some forms to the population of occupied Poland. We are raising our funds in a quiet way, among those groups of Americans and Polish-Americans who have an especial interest in helping the people in the particular field in which we are working. COMMISSION FOR POLISH RELIEF, Inc.

....._____. , 1 __ , NE WS B ULLETIN N0. 3

COMMISSION FOR POLISH RELIEF, INC. 37 East 36th Street, New York November 10, 1939.

Chairman: Directo:rs: Henry Noble MacCracken Theodore Abel -ev.W.Coleman Nevils, Vice-Chairman: Robert Woods Bliss S.J. Mrs, Vernon Kellogg Mrs. Edward Bok Mrs.Guido Pnitalecni,Jr. President: Merian C. Cooper Maurice Pete Chauncey McCormick William J. Donovan Edgar Rickard Vice-President & Secretary: John H. Finley Herbert L.Satterlee Maurice Pate Herbert Hoover Ernest Schelling Assistant Secretary: Mrs.Vernon Kellogg Edwin P. Shattuck Columba P. Murray Eric P. Kelly Alfred E. Smith Treasurer: Henry Noble MacCracken Lewis L. Strauss Frederic C. Walcott Chauncey McCormick Frederic C. Walcott Assistant Treasurer: Mrs. Wm.Brown Meloney Thomas J. Watson Gordon Brown Counsel: Edwin P. Shattuck

Prompt Action Necessary The offices at our National Headquarters have been functioning con- tinuously from nine in the morning until eleven at night, seven days a week. In the emergencies which we wish to help meet, every day and every hour count. The distressing news in cables received from abroad keep us consistently alert as to the prompt way in which relief must be worked out for the millions of people involved. Gifts A steady stream of gifts is coming into headquarters, ranging from $1.00 to $2,500, each giving according to his means. One gift was from a lady who has a farm; learning that blankets and other woolen items are so badly needed in Poland, this contributor sent us the check which she had received for the cut of wool from her sheep. Departures Saturday On the S.S. REX, on Saturday, November llth, three of our men are sailing: Mr. Frederic C. Walcott, our Treasurer; Mr. J. Edgar Rhoads and Mr. Arthur Gamble. The latter two gentlemen have been assigned by the American Society of Friends for eventual work in German-occupied Poland. Mr. J. Edgar Rhoads will be the Chief of the Mission in Poland. These gentlemen reach Italy on the 18th and will fly from there to Berlin by plane. On the same boat will sail Father Justin Figas, a well-known humanitarian of the Franciscan Order. Father Figas, cooperating in our work, will visit Hungary and Roumania to ascertain conditions in thoso countries.

4, ft I . Roumania

Our relief organization is set up in Roumania along the following lines: Mr. Paul Super is in charge. At each feeding and welfare station there is one Polisn and one Roumanian Delegate. The Roumanians themselves give some aid, but the problem of caring for the refugees is so vast that the greater part of the help must come through funds placed at the disposition of Mr. Super, who, in turn, passes these along either as money or in consignments of foodstuffs to the Polish delegates who collaborate with him at each point. Mr. Super has received backing from many sources and all reports which we have from Roumania are that he is doing a splendid piece of work. Hungary

The first outside help for refugees was organized in Roumania and most funds went there in the early stages of the emergency. Now it appears there are more urgent needs to be met in Hungary. In both Roumania and Hungary the hospitality of the local people has been un- usual. The Roumanians and the Hungarians have opened their modest homes to provide shelter for thousands of people. But the demands for food and clothing among the refugees is so great that it is beyond the means of the simple people, who give this shelter, to provide food.

Two things we, as Americans, may not realize:

1. The average family in countries like Roumania and Hungary can barely make enough to provide for the most humble existence.

2. People in those countries are heavily taxed and today they live constantly in a state of tension as to where their future lies in a troubled Europe.

As regards the latter point, here is where the constant supervision of a level-headed American representative of the Commission brings steadiness and order into operations. Not only the refugees, but the natives of Hungary and Roumania live in uncertainty. Our American representatives abroad know that they have a great and strong country behind them, and homes and friends to whom they may return here; and can therefore do their work in a secure and balanced way.

Lithuania

Our American delegates, Mr. Dorsey Stephens and Mr. Gilbert Redfern, reached Vilna, Lithuania on November 4th, shortly after the occupation of the city by Lithuanian troops. They found appalling conditions in Vilna (population about 200,000) where 23,000 refugees have sought refuge. Of this number 18,000 are destitute, requiring immediate assistance. Fifty-five per cent. of the refugees are Jewish. A citizens' committee is furnishing one meal daily at soup kitchens to about 5,000 of the destitute.

The tragedy of Vilna lies not only in the refugees, but in the enormous dislocation which hJs occurred through the stoppage of all factories and business. Several tens of thousands of people have been thrown out of work; the value of Polish currency, which formerly

1. '1.. . . i ... ii III' i- ... . - - - ... .. -3-

existed there and in which people had their savings, has collapsed. There are long bread lines in Vilna and the city is threatened with serious social disorders unless outside help is soon forthcoming. We have made an immediate cable remittance to help maintain the soup kitchens in Vilna. Mr. Stephens and Mr. Redfern underline the same faot regarding Lithuania, which Mr. Super has constantly pointed out regarding Roumania and Hungary. Namely, that the local people, in spite of their own poverty, are doing all they can for the refugees. The Government of Lithuania, a small country of only 3,000,000 is already under great strain and is doing everything it possibly can, but with fifty thousand refugees thrust upon it overnight, it is impossible to cope with the situation.

Receiving Value for American Dollars

In remittances which we make to Roumania, Hungary and Lithuania, our American representatives make very favorable arrangements with the local government for conversion. All of these Governments have blocked currencies which can be obtained through special negotiations and by arrangements with the Governments in each country, at a low cost. Of course this is possible only for relief funds; we cannot help those wishing to send similar individual remittances which naturally must go through banking channels. In some cases we obtain rates as much as twenty per cent. more favorable than those which can be secured by business firms. This is only one of the advantages of a certain cen- tralization and coordination of relief activities.

Local Committees

The Washington, D. 0. Committee:

Chairman, pro tem, Philip Marshall Brown; Executive Vice-Chairman, Mrs. Frank Simonds; Vice-Chairman, Robert Woods Bliss; Treasurer, Edward Burling, Jr.;

held a first informal meeting on November 8th, at 3108 P. Street, the Committee's headquarters, starting off with unsolicited gifts amounting to $1200.

The Philadelphia Committee is being formed under the Honorary Chairmenship of: Hon. Robert Von Moschzisker; Mrs. Robert Von Moschzisker; and Mrs. Edward Bok, Mr. Richard Tobin has accepted the chairmanship of the San Francisco Committee. New York Benefit Concert The first fund raising effort of the New York Committee of the Com- mission for Polish Relief is a concert to be held at Carnegie Hall, Tuesday evening, Novumber 14th. Artur Rubinstein and Jan Kiepura, noted Polish artists, have donated their services for the occasion. The program will be predominantly Polish, ending with a Polish religious hymn to be sung by the one hundred voice Schola Cantorum Chorus. Proceeds from the concert will be turned over to the Commission. SE W S B UL LETI N N 0. 4

COMMISSION FOR POLISH RELIEF, INC. 37 East 36th Street, New York November 22, 1939

Chairman: Directo rs: Henry Noble MacCracken Theodore Abel A-ev.W.Coleman Nevils, Vice-Chairman: Robert Woods Bliss S.J. Mrs. Vernon Kellogg Mrs. Edward Bok Mrs. Guido RantalecrJJr. President: Merian C. Cooper Maurice Pate Chauncey McCormick William J. Donovan Edgar Rickard Vice-President & Secretary: John H. Finley Herbert L.Satterlee Maurice Pate Herbert Hoover Ernest Schelling Assistant Secretary: Mrs. Vernon Kellogg Edwin P. Shattuck Columba P. Murray Eric P. Kelly Alfred E. Smith Treasurer: Henry Noble MacCracken Lewis L. Strauss Frederic C. Walcott Chauncey McCormick, Frederic C. Walcott Assistant Treasurer: Mrs.Wm.Brown Meloney Thomas J. Watson Gordon Brown Counsel: Edwin P. Shattuck

WII I- LIII--r~LI- - -- L-l-C __ ___ -- EUROPEAN NEWS

Path Opened for Relief in Occupied Poland -

Approval was granted this week by the German government to the Commission to carry on non-sectarian relief work in German-occupied Poland. This is expected to greatly facilitate arrangements to be made for such relief by Frederic C. Walcott, J. Edgar Rhoads, and Arthur Gamble, reaching Berlin Thursday, November 23rd. W. C. McDonald, who, together with Mr. Homer Morris, has conducted the negotiations in Berlin, will sail from Genoa to the United States on November 24th to report to the Commission.

Another Link with EuroFe -

Mr. Theodore Abel, member of the Board of Directors of the Commission, has undertaken at his own expense an inspection trip and sailed from New York Sunday, November 19th, on the S.S. Saturnia to Europe. In Europe he will visit France, Hungary, and Roumania. In France he will take up with the Polish government the matter of coordination of relief for Polish refugees in neutral countries. In Hungary and Roumania Mr. Abel will meet our representative, Mr. Paul Super.

Roumania and Hungary -

Mr. Paul Super, in charge of our work in Hungary and Roumania, reports an important accomplishment in arranging that two representatives of each organization working for refugees in those countries shall meet every Wednesday to discuss mutual problems, plan mutual trips, and pool resources and responsibilities. These organizations are - The Red Cross, Hungarian Polish Society, Y. M. C. A., and the Polish Ministry, cooperating with the Commission for Polish Relief.

I * I A

AIL- I - -JL a _ Twenty well-organized relief centers for refugees have already been set up by the Commission for Polish Relief in Roumania, Mr. Super cables. A physician is on the staff in each center to minister to those physically ill as a result of exposure, undernourishment, or other causes. Letters of appreciation from the Polish Premier and Finance and Social Welfare Ministers have been received by Mr. Super, who expressed the wish that those who have contributed funds to the Commission could see the quick and concrete results being achieved by our Relief Administration in Bucharest.

Lithuania -

A cable received today by the Commission from its representative in Lithuania, Dorsey Stephens, states that he has received direct news from Gilbert Redfern, acting for the Commission in Wilna. The situation there is becoming desperate. This city, already in serious straits because of the collapse of Polish currency, finds itself with the additional burden of 23,000 refugees, the majority absolutely destitute. We have sent funds to Lithuania to help maintain emergency soup stations for refugees.

- Refugees - (most recent figures received)

Hungary - Soldiers Civilians Total 4100. - 20),00" 61,000

Roumania - 20,000 20,000 40,000

Lithuania - 14,000 30,000 44,000

Latvia - 2,000 _.. 2,500 77 C7o. S00 Total 147,500

Passage through englishh Blockade Granted -

We received news today that the British Government, cognizant of the needs in German-occupicd Poland, will permit passage through the English blockade of clothing and certain other items for the war- stricken population in need in this territory. This permission is granted to the Commission for Polish Relief on condition that the German Government respect American ownership of such goods up to time of distribution and that the Commission guarantee all goods distributed will go to the neediest of the civilian population.

Encouraging Comment -

Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, in her column MY DAY of November 14th gave the" following generous endorsement of the Commission's work: I was very glad to see that a committee had been set up again, with Dr. Henry MacCracken as chairman, which will undertake relief work for the Poles. At first it will be largely among Polish refugees in other countries, and later it is hoped work may be done in Poland. I hope that everyone who can will help this committee. It should inspire every confidence because of past experience in this work."

0 *, ,* i . . , , , , , N, -3-

UN ITED STATES

California -

The Hollywood Committee, for Southern California, (8853 Sunset Boulevard), the first in this country to organize, is at present, through publicity and appeal, working to enlist the support of Women's Clubs of Southern California.

The San Francisco Committee, for Northern California, (The Hibernia Bank), is beginning its organization with Richard Tobin as Chairman, Charles Blythe and George Creel as Vice-Chairman, J. O.Tobin, acting Treasurer.

The first reported activity in Northern California is the Monterey County Committee's benefit, November 19th, at Carmel, for which Dorothy Crawford, internationally known actress, generously contributed the program. The Committee: Mrs. Caroline Pickit, Mrs. Robinson Jeffers, Noel Sullivan, Mrs. Frederick Ingalls, Judge Bartelme, Miss Jean Kellogg, were enthusiastically supported by this small community and are sending a substantial sum to the San Francisco Committee for transmission to New York.

Connecticut -

New Haven (208 Saint Ronan Street) - Chairman, Mrs. Patrick C. Hill; Vice-Chairman, Morris Tyler; Treasurer, Edward M. Gaillard. This wire, November 20th, reports its initial effort:

"Concert huge success. Rubinstein, as usual, played brilliantly; house completely filled. Have taken in more than $750. clear profit. Holding this amount for few days hoping little more may come in."

Washington, D. C. -

Washington (3108 P Street) reports the following new members: Albert W. Atwood, Lamot F. Belin, Mrs. Peyton Dunn, Robert Guggenheim, Mrs, James L. Houghteling, Mrs. Reeve Lewis, Mrs. Henry Leonard, Irvin Laughlin, Rev. Albert J. McCartney, John S. McClure, Mrs. Edward B. McLean, Duncan Phillips, Mrs. Mahlon Pitney, Thomas Riggs, Mrs. Owen Roberts, George Rublee, Marcy Sperry. This Committee is giving valu- able assistance to the Division of Committee Organization by suggest- ing members for Committees in other areas and through personal letters, etc., preparing the way for their formation.

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The Washington Committee is turning in its first gifts to the national headquarters - $1500.

Idaho -

From Kellogg - Stanly A. Easton, President of Bunker Hill and Sullivan Mines, will organize that State for us.

Illinois -

The Chicago Committee (410 North Michigan Avenue) is making headway, having already secured the following members: Senator Otis Glenn, Mr. and Mrs. C. B. Goodspeed, Mr. and Mrs. W. B. Wolf, Mr. and Mrs. H. S. Stone, Mr. and Mrs. H. B. Erminger, Jr., Mrs. Donald M. Ryerson, Mr. Gall Borden, Mr. and Mrs. Howard Linn, Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery Orr, Mr. Herman Waldeck, Mr. and Mrs. M. K. Reckord, Mrs. Emmons Blaine, Mr. and Mrs. W. R. Kirk, Countess Gloria Potocka, Mrs. A. H. Patterson, Mrs. Robert Pirie, Mr. and Mrs. William C.Boyden, Dr. Preston Bradley, Mr. A. H. Kulikowski, Mr. Horace J. Bridges, Mr. Brode B. Davis, Rev. Robert B. Stewart, Mrs. Barrett Wendoll, Mr. Robert S. Duncan Mr. Charles S. Dewey (Chairman of Finance Committee and Treasurer and Mr. Chauncey McCormick (Chairman of the Chicago Committee).

Maine -

The Bar Harbor Committee, through its Treasurer, Dr. Stanley Novak, has sent in $3000., which will be put to immediate use in German-occupied Poland.

Massachusetts -

Boston is being organized with Timothee Adamowski as Chairman. Pennsylvania -

Philadelphia Committee (Curtis Institute of Music) is organizing with Mrs. Edward Bok, Chairman; Vice-Chairman, Charles J. Rhoads; Treasurer, Girard Trust Company; Mrs. Francis Biddle, Dr. Leon J. Kolankowiecz, Miss Bertha Von Moschzisker.

New York -

New York City Committee (37 East 36th Street) - Chairman, Colonel William J.Donovan; Vice-Chairman, Mrs. Charles A. Lindley; Executive Secretary, Mrs. Guido Pantaleoni, Jr.; Treasurer, Willis H. Booth; Hugh Gibson, J. Robert Ruben.

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First Benefit Concert - The extraordinary success of the first large concert to be geiFn by a local committee of the Commission for Polish Relief should encourage and inspire other local committees which are planning similar benefit performances. This first concert,arrangements for which were started only two weeks before the performance, packed Carnegie Hall in New York; even standing room was sold out half an hour before the concert began. Two of the world's outstanding artists - Artur Rubinstein and Jan Kiepura - contributed their services to the Commission through the New York Concert Committee, headed by Mrs. Dudley Wolfe, and their program, made up largely of Polish music, stirred the capacity audience to great enthusiasm. As the Arrangements Committee all worked on a voluntary basis, a large part of the proceeds will remain for the benefit of the Commission for Polish Relief. Nearly $9,000. net will be available for relief work.

The Concert Fund of the New York City Committee is pleased to announce the receipt of checks in the amount of $1,125. from Mrs. George H. Burr,

Concert Committee - Mrs. Dudley Wolfe, Chairman; Thomas S. Lamont, ~reasurer; Mrs. O'Donnell Hoover, Mrs. Charles A. Lindley, Mrs. Dudley Cates, Mrs. Emmot Caldwell, Miss Maryla Lednicka, Mme. Zofia Kochanska, and Mrs. Guido Pantaleoni, Jr.

New Jersey -

The Princeton Players will give two performances during January for the Commission.

The first three days of this week contributions made to the Commission from all sources totalled $23,371.

If, set against vast misery, remittances seem small, bulletin readers will remember: 1) that our work of raising funds is only starting, and 2) the amounts so far received represent spontaneous support, since the Commission, wishing to give the Community Chest and the Red Cross enrollment drives right of way, postponed, for this month, its appeal.

The generous cooperation of certain Polish-American groups who early and effectively organized to aid suffering millions of their homeland has therefore been particularly important.

-- B- TI-,L 14. COMMISSION FOR POLISH RELIEF, INC. 37 East 36th Street, New York

December 29, 1939 - 1 ." Chairman: Directors Henry Noble MacCracken Theodore Abel Rev.W.Coleman Nevils', Vice-Chairman: Robert Woods Bliss S.J. Mrs. Vernon Kellogg Mrs. Edward Bok Mrs.uiddo Pantaleoni,Jr. President: Merian C. Cooper Maurice Pate Chauncey McCormick William J.Donovan Edgar Rickard Vice-President & Secretary: John H. Finley Herbert L.Satterlee Maurice Pate Herbert Hoover Edwin P. Shattuck Assistant Secretary: Mrs. Vernon Kellogg Alfred E. Smith Columba P.Murray, Jr. Eric P. Kelly Lewis L. Strauss Treasurer: Henry Noble MacCracken Frederic C. Walcott Frederic C. Walcott Chauncey McCormick Thomas J. Watson Assistant Treasurer: Mrs.Wm.Brown Meloney Gordon Brown Counsel: Edwin P. Shattuck

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EUR 0PEAN NEWS

Relief Work in Occupied Poland -

The exact position with regard to relief in occupied Poland is as follows:

On November 19th we received word to the effect that the German Government in principle had agreed to the relief activity of the Com- mission for Polish Relief in occupied Poland. Nine days later our Treasurer, Mr. Frederic C. Walcott, and Mr. Rhoads and Mr. Gamble (of the Friends Service Committee) reached Berlin to negotiate with the German Government for a complete written agreement covering the relief operation in occupied Poland. The agreement so far obtained would permit our relief work in the occupied territory. However, our representatives in Berlin are still negotiating certain points, to secure satisfactory representation in the field.

Meanwhile, we have already started certain relief supplies, now en route to occupied Poland. The first shipment of 15,000 gallons of cod liver oil, purchased in Norway and destined for needy children in the city of Warsaw, is now due at Stettin, This is to be shortly followed by shipments of woolen goods and clothing.

We would like to establish one point clearly: The executives and the field representatives of the Commission for Polish Relief have had wide and varied experience in the technique of relief. Most of our staff have previously served in either tho Commission for Relief in

r ~S - 2

Belgium or the American Relief Administration - n:-;, , this experience is being used in our present r ~e1-;?'' give this definite assurance to our donors and sup, r "r" relief goods which we distribute will go to th n:dy,j u' fairly. Some of' us have previously worked in rLl' ,;I- the Germans and have found them to be exact in cirry:, agreements.

An Interesting Fact about Cod Liver Oil -

To normal human beings, cod liver oil may noto, . But to hundreds of thousands of people, cod liver 1 : essence of sunshine, vitamins, and strength " which : , Previous to the present war, Poland imported annual' of cod liver oil at a cost of $1.00 per gallon, or a 'i,-, The needs today will be greater than before. From nw .: the war, except for the help which the Commission givo,,. . . it probably would be impossible for Poland to import. This is just one of a number of items which we will t 4 in our special program of aid to children and mother. stuffs in this program will eventually be cocon, ri-, o and dried and salted fish, which Poland previou2iy,1: ,,, quantities from the Scandinavian countries.

Wool and Cotton -

r' ~ Poland normally imported all of its cotton an'd ;.r:' S its wool. For the hundreds of thousands of peoplee , ,:; who lost their homes through fire and bombardment, wr', *i* and blankets are a matter of first necessity. Polan ' , ed over $40,000,000. of wool and cotton a year frcr th" today this import has ceased completely.

Roumania and Hungary -

rS Our work under Mr. Super in Roumania is now rr':., t .- . Father Justin M. Figas (of Buffalo, New York), who thai,, the United States, reports that he has visited with:r. «mlgefugee stations in Bucharest and fourteen camps a:' rr- 'W different towns and country places, in other parts 'f, , ',. ustin writes: "Much credit should be given to Mr. r1,;:- of the Commission for Polish Relief, who has crganli:' . " . experts to handle the relief situation."

We would like to furnish Mr. Super over the, nr1xt combined budget of $30,000. to $40,000. a month for h!,KI and Hungary. Mr. Super is able, both in securing :.r' . .: making business-like arrangements. For each dollar w4 .' ... help in securing several dollars of aid from Europsen' ,-" . . , besides this, he has worked out plans with the Gover::m,.rr , ' Roumania and in Hungary, to secure especially favoran i '- ' change on the money which we cable to him. In Hungnry, '. operates with existing local agencies and has butlt i.; :- . ...,* , of swietlica (hearths). These are centers in refug*,- o 1 people may come for help and advice, for medical 'arc, : : . ending of morale.

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home surrounditngb The average person, uprooted from his or her is "morally lost. In the hearth centers in Roumania and Hungary, who assist these people. Many of the civilian Mr. Super has leaders others, parti- go on to other Balkan countries and to Franco; refugees Poland, continue to cularly the intelligentsia from Russian-occupied A few of the refugees hp to return cross the border into Roumania. occupations in their to their homes in Poland; others are trying to find new surroundings. are cut off from The plight of these people is pitiful. They families; they havo no their country, from any news whatever of their Mr. Super deserves all future before them. In carrying out his task, the backing which we can give him.

Lithuania - prevail to- In the entire refugee picture, the saddest conditions representatives city of Vilna, Lithuania. When our American day in the had just taken reached Vilna on November 4th, the Lithuanian Government forces. They found a over the stricken city from the occupying Russian during the ttie of which had been quickly denuded of its supplies city of 225,000, Soviet military occupation. Vilna, with a population off from all of its brought into the small country of Lithuania and cut a state of complete econo- previous trade channels with Poland, was in mic collapse. from various T" On top of this grievous situation, 25,000 refugees estimate that half of S parts of Poland had poured into the city. We plus 20,000 of the the normal population of Vilna, or 100,000 people, today destitute. above refugees, making a total of 120,000 people, are

Here is where the great and most effective help of the Commission month we have for Polish Relief may be given today. Within the last used for the cabled $25,000. to Lithuania. This is being immediately S maintenance of public soup kitchens in Vilna, where our representative, Mr. Gilbert Redfern, is now permanently located. have Besides cash, we and the Polish National Council of New York made and are making important shipments of clothing to Lithuania.

It will be of interest to Americans to know that for every dollar of help which we are giving from America, Lithuanian, Polish, and relief sources are giving many times this amount. A further English to our interesting fact is this: that the contributions which we mak all Americans in the field are used by them to secure support from other European sources.

In a way, considering its resources, the United States is far behind One in meeting worthy humanitarian needs in other parts of the world. to date raised private agency in England - The Polish Relief Fund - has over $200,000. in volunteer subscriptions for assistance to the refugees. of new Besides this, the Polish Relief Fund has gathered large amounts

D 8. - 1 1 -; ------P_ and selected used clothing. This English clothing and a certain part of the funds raised in England are sent to the American representatives of the Commission for Polish Relief for distribution. Of course, we see to it that the recipients of this relief are informed accordingly.

The Tragedies of War -

Direct from Lithuania we receive letters which tQll their own story. Following are extracts from two such letters:

From Mrs. R. -

"My husband, a Colonel Doctor of the Polish army, is now dead or interned somewhere in Russia; my son, a young Lieutenant, has either fallen in war or been captured by the Germans. I am left alone in Vilna with my children, selling my last things and having to feed six persons. If you could help me in securing any work under your American representative in Lithuania, I would be thankful to you all of my life."

From Countess D, a refugee in Kaunas, Lithuania -

"Will this ever roach you, and if so, will you be able to extend a helping hand to three stranded waifs, homeless and penniless? If only we could reach America, we would uork our heads and hands eff for our daily bread.

"We are homeless and all so hopelessly worn out and tired by all we have been through. We have lost all we possessed and those we loved best. My daughter, who married only in June, is awaiting her first baby. She is so underfed and so weak that I don't know how she will ever be able to give life to this poor child."

These tragedies are typical of those of hundreds of thousands of other people to whom we hope to bring some meager measure of help.

New Representatives in Europe -

In order to ship relief supplies there are certain formalities which we must carry out, not only with the German Government but also with the English and French Governments. Therefore, we have as representatives: Mr. Dorsey Stephens, in Paris Mr. John Hynes, in London Mr. Johan A. Mowinckel, in Bergen.

All of these gentlemen serve without remuneration. Mr. Stephens and Mr. Hynes have both previously had experience in American relief work abroad. Mr. Mowinckol, a Norwegian and one of the leading citins of BPrgen, supervises thm transshipment of our goods from Bergen to Baltic ports.

- ,, . . Re-establishment of Postal Cormunications -

Within recent days postal cards bearing the postmark of Warsaw and other Polish towns have begun to arrive in this country. There- fore, more normal communications are beginning to be restored. We write suggest that persons who desire information regarding relatives their messages in Polish or German on open post cards, best typewritten, and preferably by Transatlantic Air Mail. Members of our Committees will be glad to learn this fact because of the many inquiries addressed to us for news regarding friends and relatives living in the occupied territory.

Tax Exemption on Gifts to C. P. R. -

Contributions made to the Commission for Polish Relief as a domestic corporation, whose funds are used for charitable relief purposes in foreign countries, are deductible in computing Federal income S taxes, subject to the 15% limitation in distribution of net income for charitable purposes.

UNITED STATES

SCALIFORNIA

< Hollywood - has the experienced direction of Chairman J.F.T. 8853 OtConnor, former Controller of the Currency. Merian C. Sunset Cooper, M G M, continues his important part in the com- Blvd. mittee's increasing activities.

Russell Birdwell, moving pictures? ace public relations man, at present publicizing "Gone with the Wind", has volunteered to advise on committee enterprises, and to direct publicity, Mary Pickford has joined the Board of Governors.

Holiday efforts included a Christmas card appeal to 6,000 persons - drawing by Stan Foray, text by Rupert Hughes.

Walt Disney has donated an original sketch for an auction planned in connection with the January Candlelight Concert.

A radio appeal to the committee from the Countess Karolyi, wife of thA former Hungarian Prime Minister, for the 50,000 Polish refugees in Hungary, was carried by the Los Angeles "Examiner". In immediate response came this letter:

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"We read in the Examiner about the poor starving Polish refugees in Hungary and may our meager dollar be a start for a great fund for real relief purposes. Sorry on account of so little work we could not give more. (s) Mr. and Mrs. Gruber."

Monterey Co - the fund raised at the Carmel benefit was cabled to Carmel Vilna, to start distribution in another soup kitchen. (Address: Peter Pan Lodge, Carmel).

San Francisco - Chairman, Hon. Richard M. Tobin; Vice-Chairmen, Hibernia Charles Blyth; Mrs. George T. Cameron, George Creel; Bank Treasurer, J. 0. Tobin; members, Mrs. Nion R. Tucker, Mrs. Kenneth Monteagle, Mrs. George Pope, Mrs. Joseph 0. Tobin, Mrs. W. C. Van Antwerp, Mrs. Ashton Potter, Mrs. Wood Armsby, Countess de Pins, Miss Edith Livermore, Mrs. Gertrude Atherton, Mrs. Harold McKinnon, Mrs. Sigmund Stern, Mrs. Fentress Hill, Mrs. Joseph S. Tobin, Mrs. Edward Macauley, Mrs. E. 0. McCormick, Jr., Mrs. J. D. Grant, Mrs. Russell Dickson. With the return of its Chairman, this committee is under- taking an important program. First, a benefit concert by Ruth Slenczinska, the Polish child pianist, who, when eight, at her debut in Town Hall, electrified New York. Recently, when in New York, Mr. Tobin received a letter from Ruth, which began: "Dearest Godfather, I want to give a concert in San Francisco on Christmas Day for Polish children". For practical reasons the date was advanced. Mr. Paul Posz, the concert's manager, plans to have it in the large Civic Auditorium, with a distinguished supporting orchestra. During the same month at the Palace Hotel, witness of many colorful events in San Francisco history, the committee for Polish relief will give a benefit ball.

CONNECTICUT Hartford - the Hartford committee is being organized under the Phoenix Honorary Chairmanship of Governor Baldwin; Treasurer, State Bank Leon Broadhurst; with President Ogilby of Trinity College & Trust a member, and Mme. Korczak Ziolkowska, for some time Co. active in Polish relief. This committee, as others have, will make its debut at a benefit concert, in Bushnell Memorial Hall.

New Haven - new members: Honorary Chairman, Hon. Wilbur L. Cross; 208 St.' Honorary Vice-Chairman, Father Maurzakeintch; Secretary, Ronan St. Miss Anne Bushnell; Dr. Peter Serafin,Richard Mokrzynski.

I ') Having launched its work with the brilliant Artur Rubinstein concert, the committee is now planning, in cooperation with the New Haven Polish committees, a February benefit.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Washington - on December 20th, official and social Washington filled 3108 P St. the National Theatre, where (to start the committee's campaign) Ruth Draper contributed the program of in- imitable character sketches. Mrs. Roosevelt led the list of sponsors. Among box holders were: Miss Mabel Boardman Col. Robert Guggenheim, Hon. Robert Woods Bliss, Princess Buoncompagni, Mrs. Frederick Gould, Mrs. William Corcoran Eustis, Mrs. Edward B. McLean.

And among sponsors: The Polish Ambassador; the British, French, Peruvian, Argentinian, and Brazilian Ambassadors; The Ministers of Canada and the Union of South Africa; Chief Justice and Mrs. Hughes; Justice McReynolds; Justice and Mrs. Harlan Stone; Justice and Mrs. Owen Roberts; Justice and Mrs. Stanley Reed; The Secretary of the Treasury and Mrs. Morgenthau; the Secretary of War and Mrs. Woodring; the Secretary of the Interior and Mrs. Ickes; the Secretary of Agriculture and Mrs. Wallace; the Acting Secretary of the Navy and Mrs. Edison; Assistant Secretary of State and Mrs. Messersmith; Senator and Mrs. Borah; Representative and Mrs. Hamilton Fish; Major General and Mrs. Holcomb; Chief Justice and Mrs. Groner; Count and Countess Andr6 de Limur; Countess de Buyer; Princess Cantazune; Hon. Alanson and Mrs. Houghton; Hon. Irwin Laughlin and Mrs. Laughlin; Hon. Lamot Belin and Mrs. Belin; Hon. Wilbur J. Carr and Mrs. Carr; Mr. and Mrs. Hugh D. Auchincloss; Mr. and Mrs. Edward Burling; Mrs. Truxton Beale; Mrs.Robert S.Brookings.

The French Ambassador postponed an important dinner in order that he and his guests might be present.

During the intermission Col. William J. Donovan, New York State Chairman, introduced by Hon. Robert Woods Bliss, discussed the Commission's policies, and the urgent need for its work.

The proceeds from the benefit amount to over $3,000, which brings the Washington committee's first month's remittances, to over $5,000.

+ , *' r---r --Gl~L I ~I_ I ----r--- _~ I - 8 -

ID[ HO Kellogg - the first contribution from Idaho has arrived, and the 836 No. following from Mr. Easton: "I am inviting some eight McKinley persons scattered through Idaho pretty generally go con- Ave. stitute our Idaho Committee for the Commission for Polish Relief".

ILLINOIS Chicago - plans a large benii t concert early in the year. (Address: 410 N. Michigan Avenue, Chicago).

MAINE Bar Harbor - members of the Bar Harbor committee are at present working with other committees, chiefly in Massachusetts and New York.

MASSACHUSETTS Boston - Honorary Chairman, Timothee Adamowski; Chairman, 72 Arlington Bentley W. Warren, Jr.; Treasurer, Allan Forbes, St. President State Street Trust Co.; Executive Secretary, Mrs. Bentley W. Warren, Jr.; Sponsors, William Cardinal O'Connell, Rt. Rev. William Lawrence, Dr. A. Lawrence Lowell, Governor Leverett Saltonstall, Senator David I. Walsh, Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, Mayor Maurice JTobin; Members, Mrs. Charles Ayling, Wallace Goodrich, Mrs, Frederick Winthrop.

"We succeeded in erecting Christmas trees in both the North and South Stations. We have had wonderful cooperation from the Polish people. At the two trees we have pretty Polish girls selling scarfs, dolls, and Christmas tree decorations, cards and candies. We are collecting money at the trees and have been very much pleased with the results so far. I obtained permission this morning to continue the trees through New Year's.

"Tonight the oldest Polish chorus in New England will sing carols between five and six at tht South Station. Tomorrow I have arranged for a broadcast free of charge. We have distributed over 2,500 circulars, and expect to distribute many more...... Trying to run two Christmas trees with three shifts of girls, is keeping us very busy, which is why I have been unable as yet to do more about forming committees. It was important to get the organization under way, to get it publicized, and to get some money coming in. All this is being accomplished by the Christmas trees. After the first of the year we will be able to have more time to put on the formation of committees, and the long range approach to the problem".

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NEW JERSEY Trenton - State Committee: Honorary Chairman, Governor A. Harry Moore; Chairman of Executive Committee, Ex-Governor Harold G. Hoffman; Secretary, Harry Walsh; members, President Robert L. Dodds, Princeton University;President Robert C. Clothier, Rutgers University; John R. Munn. State Publicity Director and Chairman for Trenton, James Kerney, Editor and Publisher Trenton "Times"; Chairman for Burlington County, Senator Eastwood. Shortly there will be a state organization luncheon at Trenton (with three representatives from each county present) at which Governor Moore will preside. Mr. Howard Stepp and Mr. John Munn, who have been working several weeks to prepare for this meeting, will discuss plans for state work, and members of the national committee will speak.

Princeton - Chairman, Howard W.Stepp; Vice-Chairman,Mrs. William E. First Meredeth; Treasurer,Richard Lindaburg; Secretary, Allan National Goswell. Bank The Princeton Players are giving two benefit performances January 19th and 20th in the McCarter Theatre.

NEW YORK New York City - New members; Treasurer, Paul V. Shields; Chairman of 37 East Projects, J. Robert Rubin; Special Gifts Committee, Mrs. 36 St. George H. Burr; Elizabeth S. Crafts; Sidney Weinberg. This committee is sponsoring an Exhibition of Contempor- ary Art at the Reinhart Galleries, to run until January 14. Most of the work has been loaned by the Republic of Poland's Exhibition at the World's Fair; other paintings, woodcuts, and sculptures have been loaned by Polish artists living in this country. The Polish Ambassador opened the Exhibition at an evening reception on December 13, attended by well-known artists and guests, among them Joseph Clark Baldwin, who represented Mayor La Guardia, Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt, Miss Lucrezia Bori, Miss Ruth Draper, Miss Iris Tree, Mr. Chauncey McCormick.

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OHIO Cleveland - Executive Committee: Chairman, Thomas H. Jones; Vice- 1759 Union Chairmen, Mrs. Francis F. Prentiss, Mrs. Dudley S. Connerce Blossom, Thomas L. Sidlo; Secretary, Alexander Ginn; Bldg. Treasurer, Kenyon Bolton; Percy W. Brown, lion. Robert J. Bulkley, Mrs. E. S. Durke, L. B. Davenport, Boluslaw Filipiak, Edgar A. Hahn, Miss Katherine Halle, Mrs. Malcolm L. McBride, Rev. Andrew A. Radecki, Mrs. Arthur Rodzinski, Dr. Peter J. Warren.

At an organization luncheon meeting, December 22nd, the Cleveland committee, which includes the city's foremost personalities, outlined its plans. The speakers were Mrs. Arthur Rodzinski, whose untiring efforts culminated in the luncheon, and Mr. Maurice Pate, the Commission's Director for Europe. As they finished, one of those present gave, anonymously, one-thousand dollars to start the flow of gifts.

Columbus - Mr. Paul S. Clapp, who helped with the organization of the Cleveland committee, is now at work in Columbus.

PENNSYLVANIA Philadelphia - Chairman, Mrs. Edward Bok; Vice-Chairman, Ellis A. 1720 Gimbel; Treasurer, Thomas S. Hopkins (Girard Trust Co);. Locust St. members: Mrs. Curtis Bok, Mrs. Francis Biddle, Miss Bertha von Moschzisker, David Hocker, Mr. Martin V.Bergen, Leopold Stokowski, Dr. Leon J. Kolankiewicz. Secretary, Miss Dorothy E. McNeil.

The main activity this month has been a candlelight concert on December 21st at Casimir Hall, named after Josef Hofmana' father. The artists were Hazel Hayes, soprano, who, with Ruth Draper, has joined the Commission's volunteer Polish artists' group; Roman Totenberg, violinist; Miecyslaw Mdnz, pianist.

The ushers were in Polish costume, and Dr. Leon Kolrnkiewicz, committee member and President of Philadel- phia's Polish societies, so successful in their own money raising, had charge of the receipts of the concert. It was Dr. Kolanklewicz who, a short time ago, brought to national headquarters, his own committees' important contribution of $10,000.

Consul General Heliodor Sztark of Pittsburgh, and Philip Mathews of Harrisburg, are assisting the Commission in organizing the State.

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VERMONT Burlington - Honorary Chairman, Mrs. Warren R. Austin; Chairman, 194 Main St. Joseph Winterbotham; Vice-Chairmen, Mrs. Willett Foster, Miss Marian Way, Miss Constance Wheeler; Treasurer, Clark E. Brigham; Secretary, W H A Mills.

The Burlington committee have been swift in getting into action. They were no sooner organized than they sent out a state-wide letter appeal for contributions for refugees in neutral countries. They will give a Ruth Draper benefit performance on January 3rd, which the advance sale already proves will be highly successful.

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PADEREWSKI - MADAME MODJESKA

"Becauso of Ignace Jan Paderewski" Edith Newlands Johnston sent a generous contribution from Washington, D.C.; Mrs. Beverly Chew Duer, New York, gave hers "In memory of my friend, Madame Modjeska".

Bulletin No. 6 will probably be printed January 10th. Will committee secretaries please send reports to the Division of Committee Organization by January 6th, and include the number of Bulletins desired for distribution to members and to others in their communities?

We hope in the future to be able to give you longer notice for the preparation of this material.

S*' * I - --. L. Sh4 Commission for Polish Relief, Inc. 37 East 36th Street New York City Telephones Murray Hill 3 - 3700

RELEASE: MONDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1939

In a letter made public today, Dr. Henry Noble MacCracken, Chairman of the Commission for Polish Relief, Inc., replied to a request for a full statement of the Commission's policy received from Col. William J. Donovan, Chairman of the Commission's New York Committee, who wrote that the question had been raised as td the method of distribution of relief and the general policy to be followed by the Commission in its foreign work. Col. Donovan's letter and Dr. MacCracken's reply follow

November 10, 1939 Dr. Henry Noble MacCracken, Chairman, Commission for Polish Relief, Inc. 57 East Thirty-sixth Street New York City Dear Dr. MaCracken: The question has been raised and the fear expressed that money collected here by the Commission for Polish Relief, Inc., through the generosity of American donors, may be diverted through lack of adequate governmental guarantees from proper humanitarian purposes. It is important that the American public be reassured and be correctly informed as to the manner in which the money received is distributed. What governmental assurance has been obtained that those who receive relief are those in greatest need, those for whom American subscribers have intended it? I ask these questions in the interest of clarity. Knowing your intimate knowledge of the Polish situation, I feel that you are best qualified to interpret the present emergency to the American people.

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In general, it is of interest to the public to know under what policies the work of the Commission abroad is conducted. Sincerely yours, (Signed) WILLIAM J. DONOVAN William J. Donovan Chairman, New York Committee Commission for Polish Relief,Inc.

COMMISSION FOR POLISH RELIEF, INC. 37 East 36th Street, New York

November 11, 1939

Mr. William J. Donovan Chairman, New York Committee of the Commission for Polish Relief New York City, N. Y. Dear Mr. Donovan, Answering your letter of November 10th, I wish to inform you that the basic policy of the Commission for Polish Relief in our relief work is as follows: 1. It is a strictly humanitarian, non-sectarian, non- political organization, which will hold unswervingly to this neutral course. 2. It is conducted on efficient business lines with a minimum of overhead and a maximum of the promptness and direct action which characterized the relief operations administered by Mr. Hoover during and after the past war in Belgium and other European countries. 3. It demands, as a condition of furnishing American relief supplies, the utmost in cooperation and financial assistance from governments and private relief agencies, in those countries where it operates. The problem of bringing relief to the innocent victims of the recent war in Poland is so enormous that it requires the immediate initiative and cooperation of all relief agencies. The problem itself is divided in three parts: 1. Relief in an effective way to the 22,000,000 inhabitants of former Poland now under German occupation. (more)

> * < , ' -3-

2. Relief to approximately 150,000 Polish refugees (the disorder is still so great that it will be several weeks before an accurate census is reached) who now find themselves in the four neutral countries surrounding Poland; Roumania, Hungary, Lithuania and Latvia. 3. Relief to the 13,000,000 people of that part of former Poland now under Russian occupation. Taking these successively: 1. As a relief organization we are not concerned with right or wrong or responsibilities or politics. We are bringing aid to destitute fellow human beings. A complete and full account- ing for this aid will be rendered. In the course of the survey which our American representatives have made in German-occupied Poland; and in the course of the negotiations which we have had with German officials in this country and which our American representatives have simultaneously carried on in Berlin, the German Government has met us in the same spirit of cooperation and neutrality that our own representatives have shown in working out a plan to meet the needs in occupied Poland. In meeting these needs we do not intend, nor do the Germans expect, that we should diminish Germany's responsibility in its stewardship of the lives of Polish citizens. The aid which we may give in occupied Poland will go to the needy people of every faith and nationality; except that the Germans, at their own request, have specifically stated that no aid is to go to German nationals who happen to be in occupied Poland. Regarding our operations in German-occupied Poland, the world knows that this section of 22,000,000 people formerly raised the food which it consumed. Therefore, it is all the more the responsibility of the German Government to see that this population is fed, and we trust this will be the case. In respect to food, we would, therefore, furnish only special products of which Poland is in need to preserve the lives of children and mothers. There are other human needs as vital as food. Poland previously imported all of its cotton and most of its wool from abroad. These imports alone amounted to over $40,000,000 annually. Therefore, we consider anything in the form of warm clothing, blankets and woolen goods, which we may ship into occupied Poland for the destitute, a purely humanitarian, neutral and highly justified action. With over one-third of Warsaw completely destroyed by bombardment and fire; with several hundred thousand people homeless, without beds or clothing; a blanket at night, which becomes an overcoat in the daytime, is aid that should be rushed to Warsaw as promptly as possible.

(more)

---~-~ _1 *'- -4-

In answer to the question of government guarantees, we may assure you that all adequate steps are being taken in this direction; and we have every reason to believe that the distribution of relief supplies will be as effective in Poland as it was in Belgium during the past war. It is well known that the hundreds of millions of dollars of material that were sent into Belgium from 1914 to 1919 by the Commission for Relief in Belgium were untouched by the occupying German forces; that these supplies, distributed under the control of a neutral American mission, went exactly to the people for whom they were intended; that Germany in letter and spirit lived up to her agreements in protecting these neutral supplies,

On completion of present negotiations with the German government, our distribution in German occupied Poland will be under the supervision of the American Friends' Service Committee. This Committee is providing the most able American business executives of Quaker faith available in the United States. The Quakers are paying all of their own expenses and these business men are volunteering their services without compensation. The purely humanitarian reputation of the Quakers has been established since'the post-war period of 1929-1924, when they ably administered the feeding of 1,500,000 German children.

The German Government will not wish us to assume any responsibilities in relief which the German Government, using such products as are raised in Poland, can provide. Our work in German-occupied Poland will be carried on in agreement with the occupying authorities; a receipt will be given for each item of relief which is distributed to the needy, whether it be a blanket, a sweater, or a bottle of cod liver oil. These receipts S will all be gathered and audited to account for all material which we distribute. Our representatives will have access to this control and audit of American Relief at each and every point.

2. In Roumania, where there are about 50,000 refugees, we have set up a network of food and relief stations throughout the country which have already been at work for several weeks.

In Hungary, where there are approximately 55,000 refugees, we have started to furnish funds for emergency relief, but we are barely beginning to meet the needs.

In both Roumania and Hungary the governments and local agencies are doing all they possibly can, but these are countries under great political and economic stress and it is beyond their means to meet the refugee problem in the magnitude which it has been thrust upon them.

In Latvia the number of refugees is comparatively small, in all several thousand. Relatively little will be required to supplement the aid which Latvia can and should herself give.

(more)

2, The most serious of all refugee problems .xlIr : ,. With the turning over of Vilna from Russia to Li tn:.,. hordes of Polish refugees found their way up to thli r . before the new line of demarcation was drawn. 3 t 'y -t y 50,000 refugees from all parts of Poland now find thn~.~sv- destitutd in the small country of Lithuania, whose t i ; tion is only about 3,000,000.

To grasp the magnitude of th s problem in Ittit; v s . it is only necessary to visuali e what we would :! :. V * States (with a population forty times that of Lith:a .M several million people overnight should cross our l '?,r' empty-handed, without money, or with money which haui '4 value, and many in the light clothes with which t,hy "ar;- during the September military campaign. The fat of u 'tl . most of whom are from the intelligentsia, with n bIak , rt. . winter ahead, is a tragedy beyond words.

3. Regarding the third category, that ia, th_- i:n ?i-,e f,~ occupied Poland, we are now approaching this pro~? le. ".T ;, Russian-occupied part of Poland is almost entirely( ar1':-rW! there has been relatively less war destruction in this * * the country. The needs in the cities are great, w, nar xs; ing the possibility of relief work in this territ - ry, ,r we are able to do can only be announced after furti;r .y,' which is now being carried out.

The simplest problem of aid to Polish war victims. i ' the four neutral countries surrounding Poland, anl f,'r r present all of our funds will be used for this pun ?, . funds we receive are immediately cabled to the C'mml ns ', '; American representatives in the refugee countries; . ' ... i: purchased in Europe and distributed under supfrvi S-i; : staff.

The great tragedy which has fallen upon the 'ly'I ;r-4 , the enormous dislocation of the population thro!.:h hnsfvy 'ti tory movement; the hundreds of thousands who have ' *' homes; all this has not yet begun to dawn on th. A.rt :. ,. When it does, we hope that Americans will humane y :' In a world in which we witness great struggles * : .;. 1 masses of people desire only to live in pencn; in A vwv ' * V * America, being at peace, is spared the calami ties trfvr. ' least every American can do is to accept his ful'it ;... providing a blanket or a coat, or, in the neutria .'l'S ", around Poland, food to human beings who have the sam ! '* gence and the same physical reactions toward cold a . .t,,- we have. Sincerely your, (Signed) HENeY NOBIR vi. . Chairman, Commnisio. *,' ' IV * 0 "

-6-

Note to Editors: Following are the names of the officers of the Commission:

Chairman: Directors Henry Noble MacCracen Theodore Abel .- RevWV.Coleman Nevils, ice-Chairmant Robert Woods Bliss S.J. Mrs. Vernon Kellogg Mrs. Edward Bok Mrs.Guido Pantaleoni, President: Merian C. Cooper Jr. Chauncey McCormick William J. Donovan Maurice Pate Vice-President & Secretary: John H. Finley Edgar Rickard Maurice Pate Herbert Hoover Herbert L.Satterlee Assistant Secretary: Mrs.Vernon Kellogg Ernest Schelling Columba P. Murray, Jr. Eric P. Kelly Edwin P. Shattuck Treasurer: Henry Noble MacCracken Alfred E. Smith Frederic C. Walcott Chauncey McCormick Lewis L. Strauss Assistant Treasurer: Mrs.Wm.Brown Meloney Frederic C. Walcott Gordon Brown Thomas J. Watson Counsel: Edwin P. Shattuck

- 00o -

* . - 1 ------I a - 'M I The Chairman. The next witness is Mr. Peter P. Yoles.

STATEMENT BY MR. PETER P. YOLES, EDITOR OF THE POLISH MORNING WORLD, NEW YORK CITY

The Chairman. You may proceed, Mr. Yoles.

Mr. Yoles. There was an editorial in today's New York Times

which reads: "The shades over the windows that lead to Poland are

drawn tight." That means that the world is not fully aware of what

is going on there. We cannot see with our eyes but we can hear the

cry that is coming out of there.

I personally have spent two weeks in Paris only recently, during

the month of November. I went there on business in connection with

our publication, especially to establish correspondents and to get

firt-hand information of conditions in Poland and in the territories

where Polish refugees now survive. a During these few weeks that I have spent there I had occasion

to see quite a number of people who have fled from Poland and who

have given me quite a clear picture of what was going on during that

time. That means during the month of November and the preceding weeks.

Naturally, it is very hard today to give a clear and detailed and

complete picture of what is going on there except for dispatches which

we receive. I saw to it during my stay and in Paris that we get as

much reliable information as possible. If you gentlemen will permit

me to read a few of the very recent dispatches I shall appreciate it.

One is dated January 25, one January 24 and one January 26. I

will be grateful if you will permit me to read these dispatches.

The Chairman. You may give the substance of them and place

the complete report in the record if you care to.

Mr. Fish. They are very short, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Yoles. They are short. They will support what Dr. Eaton

• __ has said and will give us a clear picture of the driving of one hundred

thousand people from one sect±6n of the country into another and how

their miseries are multiplied. If a man sits in his own home, no

rmtter how the home is destroyed, the home is still there. He can

bear it a lot more easily, but when he is driven away from home and

made a stranger in his own country, without family or relatives to

rely upon, his lot is so much worse.

Now, the National Press Service reports from Berlin, and that

" should be authenticated of course, the greatest mass migrations --

The Chairman. Pardon my interruption, but what is the date of ai. that?

Mr. Yoles. January 25, 1940. "The greatest mass migration

since the exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey after

S the last war is now coming to an end in Poland. This morning it is

' announced that by tomorrow one hundred and thirty five thousand Germans

S from eastern Poland, now occupied by the Russians, will have been

brought back to the Reich. Added to that one hundred thousand

Germans from the Baltic States who were hurriedly evacuated to Germany

before Christmas, makes more than a quarter of a million Germans,

many of whom had been settled in eastern Europe for centuries, who are

now to be settled within the Third Reich's swelling frontiers. They

are to be put in Poland. Those who were peasants will get the choice

farms and that part of Poland which was recently annexed to Germany,

those who lived and worked in towns will be settled in the former

Polish towns. And the Poles who own the farms and the city homes and

businesses they are being pushed out."

And from Copenhagen comes through the same source, the following:

"The Berlin correspondent of Politiken gives today a description

of the terrible conditioning Poland, where there has been no effort at reconstruction, especially in Warsaw, since the Polish war ended.

Reliable German circles del are that the total number of those killed

in Warsaw during the siege was 170,000. German soldiers told how,

immediately after the surrender of the capital they had seen with

horror how the whole population of the capital stood in endless queues

to get food. Today it is still worse.

"The Germans are worried because fugitives are coming in a con-

tinuous stream from all parts of Poland to the former capital, which

had a population of 1,200,000 when the war started. Although 170,000

persons have been killed, there are now 1,'500,000 inhabitants in the

city, and the German authorities are finding it extremely difficult o S to give food and shelter to this increased population, especially as

I large portions of the twon were destroyed by artillery fire during

-4 ^ S the siege.

"At several places in the town collective meals are given to

about 300,000 persons daily, but the hunger is still terrible and

S there is no hope of any improvement before the beginning of February,

S since several of the most important railways are still out of order,

and the food has to be carried to Warsaw from all parts of Poland by

horse-drawn vehicles."

Mr. Johnson. Mr. Chairman, will the witness yield for a question?

The Chairman. I am certain he will.

Mr. Johnson. The first portion of the statement which you read

mentioned the number of Russians who were in the part of Poland that

is now allotted to Germany had been transferred to Russian territory, So and the number of Germans in Russian territoryAhave been transferred

to the Russian side. In other words, there has been a transfer of

Russians to the Russian territory and Germans to the Germany territory.

Mr. Yoles. Yes, sir. et-eo.W.e"- deA.sd . - .ma.a 's...s - >f Mr. Johnson. When you consider such a mass movement of people, one hundred thirty thousand of one nationality and one hundred

twenty thousand of the other, or some such figure, that is bound to

cause a great deal of suffering. That, however, is the choice of

those two countries with reference to transferring their wn citizens.

Now, I feel a deep sympathy for these minority groups that are

so persecuted but I don't think it would be our task to help Russia

and Germany transfer their own citizens and alleviate the suffering

of those that were loyal to either the German or the Russian governments.

SMr. Kee. I don't understand that that was the statement he made.

They shoved the Polish people out entirely.

Mr. Johnson. That is what I wanted to understand. I thought

S the statement was simply showing the transfer of one group to one m so S side and the other group to the other side. I am not/interested

in that. Russia should take care of her people and Germany should

S take care of hers, but the ones I am interested in are those in the

' minority groups -- those people who are the innocent victims.

Mr. Yoles. It is a one-sided business. The Germans are bringing

the German people from Russia but they don't send any Poles in ex-

change to Russia.

Mr. Johnson. Even those people are bound to suffer by moving'

them away from their homes.

The Chairman. Dr. Eaton wishes to ask a question.

Mr. Eaton. You have recently read in the papers a statement

by Cardinal Hlond and I would like to know, whether upon your knowledge

and 9?perience, you consider his statements authentic?

Mr. Yoles. Yes, from what I have heard, the reports from eye

witnesses it sounds quite authentic.

Mr. Eaton. That is one of the most damnable things that ever

~IUI~ occurred in an alleged civilized world.

Mr. Yoles. I will ask the privilege of giving one more dispatch

because it gives a clear picture of how the transfers are carried out.

This is a dispatch from London, January 26, 1940:

"The Times of London reports the mass explusion of the population

is now proceeding in P.merania, Poznania and Silesia. At Poznan more

than 20,000 families, numbering some 100,000 persons, have been turned

out of their homes. Families established there for centuries appear

to have been specially penalized. There is method behind the per-

secution. One day it is the magistrates, and lawyers, another the o postmen and railway servants. Sometimes whole streets are "cleared o up". Gestapo men wake up their victims in the middle of the night

and give them fifteen minutes, sometimes half an hour, to collect

Z their belongings. They may keep only from 25 to 100 marks -- the

S rest is confiscated. It was in this fashion that one recent night

of bitter frost the entire population of the workmen's quarters of

Wordychowo, at Poznan, was marched away to a distant place of concentra-

tion, from where they were sent on in cattle trucks, some to distant

regions of Germany and some to central Poland where they were stranded

and left homeless. In the old town of Gniezno, the vacated dwellings

of the expelled were pillaged by the Germans. Bydgoszcz suffered ter-

ribly -- some six thousand Poles of both sexes have been shot, and

many deported.

"In Pomerania and Poznania all the large estates have been

confiscated and in many cases the peasants evicted."

Now, this is the system they are applying and I have heard of

that being done everywhere. For instance, in the town or city of

Gydnia, that port on the Baltic over which Poland was so proud, the

whole population was one hundred per cent Polish. They had orders

I - - J""If .. . II --I II ln- to evacuate within twenty four hours and to leave everything in

their homes and to take only one hundred zlotys and fifty pounds of

baggage, which was thoroughly looked over.

Mr. Vorys. One hundred zlotys would be about twelve dollars.

Mr. Yoles. Yes, about twelve dollars.

Mr. Vorys. How do you get that information? For instance, how

did you obtain that information? As I understood you the last dis-

patch you read was from London?

Mr. Yoles. Yes, sir.

Mr. Vorys. How could that information get to London?

SMr. Yoles. There are various ways of doing it. First of all a the neural correspondents still have a way of travelling through

Germany without divulging that they are newspapermen. And then of

course there are diplomatic careers of neutral countries who still

p, go through Poland or through Russia or Germany, occupied Poland, and

S bring back the news through proper channels.

SMr. Tinkham. What is there to prove that that is notpropaganda?

Mr. Yoles. I have heard the same system being applied from eye

witnesses from Posnan, who told me about this being done. For that

very reason I do presume this is the truth.

Mr. Tinkham. That is you have talked with those who were

there?

Mr. Yoles. Some one who was there and who told me of such hap-

penings.

Mr. Johnson. You recently returned from Paris?

Mr. Yoles. Yes, sir, on December ist.

Mr. Johnson. And how long were you in Paris?

Mr. Yoles. Fourteen days.

Mr. Schiffler. Is there any evidence that any of the supplies

-- A- ---- Id&MIL_ I going in toward giving this relief have been diverted?

Mr. Yoles. We have no way of checking up on what is going

through, but I would like to stress one point very strongly, and

that is that it is not only today that it is so bad but tomorrow

will be still worse in Poland if there is a supply of food still

hidden or in possession of the people somehow. That supply will not

be there tomorrow or day after tomorrow. It means the need is in-

creasing with time and not decreasing because conditions are getting

worse there every day and not better.

, Mr. Schiffler. Are the British at this time making their con-

S tributions toward that relief and actually putting it where it might

S reach those in need?

SMr. Yoles. They contribute mostly to tkerefugees in these

countries. I have known of a case, where, for instance, they have

o sent about five thousand blankets down to the camps in Hungary and

'i Roumania. S? Mr. Schiffler. I am speaking now particularly of Poland. I am

anxious to know just what they are actually doing toward getting some

' relief in o the Polish people.

Mr. Yoles. I don't think it can be done much.

Mr. Schiffler. You don't think it can be done?

Mr. Yoles. Much by them.

Mr. Tinkham. Did you say they couldn't do it or wouldn't do it?

Mr. Yoles. England being at war with Germany they couldn't very

well reach Poland.

Mr. Johnson. No country can get anything into Poland now, can

they?

Mr. Yoles. We get in through the American Red Cross and

Commission for Polish Relief. They are getting in now some cod liver

-I~ C-"-~C- ' ---- oil. They shipped quite a lot of it. Cod liver oil is about the

only thing that has been gotten into Poland.

Mr. Kee. The thought I have is that if the Germans have de-

liberated confiscated from the Poles that which they had, what

assurance have we that if we do give the Poles more help they will

not take that away from them as well?

Mr. Yoles. Well, I understand the conditions under which it is

being put up by the Commission for Polish Relief is that no relief

will be given for the time being until such control is extended by

American citizens who will be in charge of distribution and, secondly,

§o we all hope that conditions there will change; that Germany will

a yield and permit Americans to come in and distribute the gifts of

the nations that will come to the distressed Polish people.

Mr. Fish. And unless they do that we will not be able to give

.-, any relief.

,k There are two or three witnesses and we have just a few

< ^ minutes left.

Mr. Schiffler. I have another question. What other agencies

are there?

Mr. Yoles. I don't know much about it but I know their sym-

pathies are with them. They are herding quite a good number of,

refugees who are coming over here to other countries -- Sweden and

Norway -- I should say between five to ten thousand refugees of whom

they are taking very excellent care.

Mr. Corbett. I have a question this gentleman might be able

to answer. It is a somewhat analogous situation. What is the

condition of the people in those sections of Czechoslovakia which

have been taken over by Germany? Can we expect a parallel treatment

of those people as the Germans treated the Polish people?

~~I I -I'""~lr'--^''---- r ------I - Mr. Yoles. The conditions as far as I know, as a newspaper

man, are very bad, but the only consolation they have is that they

stay in their own homes and that makes their lot so much easier and

so much more bearable as compared to the tragedy of these hundreds

and thousands or millions of people who are just drifting homelessly

without any food or clothing and hopeless of the days that will come.

Mr. Corbett. Is that a part of a readjustment scheme there?

Mr. Yoles. It is on a terrific scale.

Mr. Corbett. Is it going to work out in such a way that these

folks are going to be given homes or placed in new ones? They are

simply not going to be left to flounder about the country, are they?

Mr. Yoles. Well, we all hope that we still win the war and then things will be readjusted, but not now.

Mr. Corbett. The German treatment of Czechoslovakians and the people there hasn't been, oh, let us say "passingly good" but don't you suppose they will achieve similar conditions in Poland in a reasonable period of time?

Mr. Yoles. I do not think so. I don't believe so. I think that our conditions are by far worse than that and they will remain so for a very long time. I mean until the war is over.

Mr. Arnold. Of course there was a bitterness and a destructive- ness in Poland which did not obtain in Czechoslovakia.

The Chairman. The committee appreciates your appearance here,

Mr.. Yoles, and the information you have given us.

The next witness is Dr. Smykowski.

...... [tljll.J U III : -- L.: . ' I STATiEMRtNT OF DR. BRONISLAW LOUIS SMYKOWSKI, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

Mr. Smykowski. My name is Bronislaw Louis Smykowski. I reside

in the City of Bridgeport, Connecticut.

The Chairman. Pardon me a moment, Doctor. Without objection

the committee will sit until twelve thirty p.m.

Mr. Vorys. How many more witnesses do we have?

Mr. Fish. Three more witnesses.

Mr. Vorys. Would it be possible for the witnesses to complete

their statements without interruption?

The Chairman. That point is well taken. If there are any

statements we would like very much to have them for the record. The witnesses have heard what has been said here today and if they will

confine themselves to additional facts or information without

duplication, the hearing will be expedited.

Mr. Smykowski. Mr. Chairman, I don't know that I can add any more to this hearing. I am simply here as a humanatarian.

I am the head of the Polish relief in our section of the State of Connecticut. We are cooperating with the Polish American Conaul of America, and we are soliciting money, principally from American citizens of Polish extraction from all over the United States. .

We send the money collected to Chicago and that money is in turn distributed either through the Red Cross or the Commission for Polish

Relief. They are the only two organizations that are now able to get into Poland with a little relief.

Now, the American Red Cross, and gentlemen you will bear this fact in mind, is first aid. The American Red Cross will not continue this work. Therefore '. think the Commission for Polish Relief will be the logical organization in the future to carry this work through. Of course, right now at this moment we know that the American

Red Cross with headquarters in Kracow is distributing foodstuff and

clothing and medicines. We all know just what conditions in Poland

are from all the reports that the previous gentlemen have given you

and from the press.

I personally had contact with relief work in Poland in 1919,

January 1919, immediately after the World War and I know just how

conditions existed in Poland at that time.

I Poland is not a rich country and there are very many poor people.

They have a lack of foodstuff and a lack of fats, lack of clothing.

o That will naturally breed diseases and typhoid fever and typhus fever,

tuberculosis and diseases like that. Such diseases are prevalent in

Poland and they are certainly right prevalent now and I imagine m personally, as a physician, to a greater extent than the reports -4" we get from Poland indicate. r- S Naturally we don't get much of it because the correspondents and

S other people are not allowed to bring any information out.

I cannot add anything further to what the previous gentlemen

have said. I am just simply here to lend my support as an American

citizen of Polish extraction to see that you gentlemen would favorably

consider this donation. If we are asking other citizens of other

extractions here to donate for Polish relief and they gladly do it,

and right in the City of Bridgeport even the hospital -- the Sisters

of Charity have sent in a donation to me for Polish relief, physicians

not of Polish extraction and others are donating, and I can't see why

the great United States and the gentlemen of this Congress assembled

cannot see fit to send at least ten million dollars for Polish relief.

,Mr. Fish. Are there any questions?

The Chairman. Thank you very much, Doctor. The next witness is Mr. Stefanik.

STATEMENT OF TED STEFANIK, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

Mr. Stefanik. I have been studying at the Central Institute

of Physical Education in Warsaw, Poland, from September 6, 1957

to September 21, 1939. My academic studies were cut short by the

lightning war on Poland which forced me to leave Warsaw during the

three hour truce September 21, 1939, with sixty nine other Americans.

At the time of the invasion I was at the Central Institute of

Physical Education located in the north suburb of Warsaw, Bielany.

The school possessed an eightstory tower which was the second highest

Point in Warsaw and from where I was able to perfectly observe the

t first aerial attack of the city. Seventeen silver Nazi planes broke -4 " ^ formation overhead flying west I saw one of them drop two bombs on z ' what the Nazi flyers believed to be a military objective but turned

to be a Polish children's hospital. The first civilian casualties O ,: , S ' were brought from this hospital amongst them a young school teacher

whose wounds forced the amputation of her leg. So the first victim

of the attack on Warsaw was not a soldier bu a civilian.

Frequently my duties brought nm into the heart of town. On

one occasion I noticed at the Danzig railroad station long lines of

box cars and cattle cars, filled with Polish peasants escaping before

the advancing Nazi army from their homes along the German frontier.

Their scant belongings consisted of a few articles of apparel.

Instead of using street cars for communication they were driven

to the main streets leading to Warsaw and were overturned, thus

serving as barricades. Often I was stopped by soldiers who asked me

to assist in the digging of trenches, building of anti-aircraft

shelters, filling sandbags barricading of streets, helping to clear

I ~ II- wreckage at bomb torn passagcway:, bua1ri: ' f'

grass plot or the asslsting of brini n t w ,

On the 10th of September I mnd my 'i': ' '

hours delay along the route. Ai v n

spoke to Consul Dayvs who aug;e:sted ttu, .,t.

the American Embassy for the duratlonr ' ti -

In the cellar of the American Ilmbahs. wi

the safest place in the buildlnr a-,njg vW

among them women and children. I t,y .

21st of September. o Between raids we sandbagged windows, rimair .,'

drinking water, strengthened co,! 1.!p, with .'', . .l

precautions by removing combustible nmaterit l,. u , .

packing cases and trunks,

After the 10th of September all vw courli t. ',

S was a cup of black coffee. Our faro at thr !'mba:o;. ,.

S and boiled rice. By this time all food t.no4: rn

hausted and these stores were forced to ',m u,,: ,o

grip the people. Pigeons, dogs and hor~3e,. wv', !'.

consumption.

All the small bakeries were shut down ,n ;:,'

of flour. Bread for civilians was ratl ,nid t ' . , '".,

stationed in different sections of the ciity, ,'' :.

bread for the American citizens at the :mbau3: :'i ' .

Lines formed at the doors of the bakery as cnr ,v1 ,i ,

By the time the doors of the bakery ope,noll ait '! '.

there would be a line of least two thou3vtr ; :.i

half pound loaf was given to everyone in !I en

hours in line intermlgled with air rnlai a ,,irt'rnd : ,,

finally got to the proprietor who sympatht::,l w'!Ui ,. A

and children, and not only gave us our onr lo.i, !, **n ,

feed the entire group. Ten minutes after we left th" btak r iiiiiiii lO __ ___ - _. the Fiat Automobile factory across from the bakery was bombarded

milling many of those who were seeking the main necessity of life.

The Deaf and Dumb hospital of Warsaw is located about three blocks

away from the American Embassy nn the square of Three Crosses. This

institute was demolished after a heavy bombardment of that district.

Being in the vicinity I aided in the removal of the dead and wounded.

From a doctor at the hospital where the wounded were transported, I

learned the sad plight of its patients. Here seemed to be a shortage

of everything, the doctor complained of serum, iodine, linen, food

and general help and equipment.

With each passing day more homes were turned to smoking ruins,

more people were left without a roof above their heads. With the bomb-

ing of the filtration plant diseases spread. The bodies of horses were left to rot in the streets. The stench of unburied bodies gradually became unbearable. The Thetoo lay in ruins from an un- usually severe bombardment on Jewish New Years Eve. The Prague district, the working district mainly composed of long tenement homes, housing sometimes a hundred families, was left without water, sewage disposal, electricity or telephonic communication. Frankly, the city became a cemetery, every grass plot was filled with numerous shallow graves. The choking ring of surrounding troops tightened.

Strangely enough with var raging about us, I never really expected to get out alive and life lots its value with so much death facing one at every screech of high explosive shell or every throb of enemy planes. At least one third of the buildings were beyond repair.

Another third was in partial ruins. Seven days before the capitulation of Warsaw I left during a three hour truce. Defense before such a terrific power seemed so futile but still these staunch people would not give in.

I '- '~' "' Leaving Warsaw for the German lines, I saw the monuments of

Polish culture in ruins. The ancient presidential 'palace; Belvedere,

the former home of Pilsgdski recently converted into a museum,

Zacheta with its priceless works of art, the Polytechnical University,

the Central Institute of Physical Education, centuries of work

destroyed in a single lightning blow.

The defense of Warsaw and the war in Poland has already been

written into history. Like many Americans I believe a new and greater

Poland will arise; I believe that more firmly because I have seen

men and women and children suffer, bleed and die to make it certain. I The Chairman. What do you know about the situation today in Poland.

Mr. Stefanik. Well, due to the fact that one of our refugees,

S an American from Chicago, was sick, she had a nervous rash appear on

S her face and could not at any time while in Germany for twenty five

days, could not secure olive oil for the treatment of her face.

. Now, I figure if in Germany we could not get these supplies,

a meager thing like olive oil, I don't see how the Germans can in

any way help the Poles when they haven't supplies sufficient for their

own country.

The Chairman. Any further questions?

Mr. Johnson. When did you leave Poland?

Mr. Stefanik. I left Poland on the 21st of September, during

a three hour truce.

Mr. Johnson. Did you come directly here?

Mr. Stefanik. No. I was taken into Prussia for ten days and

by way of the Baltic I was taken into Germany and I stayed in Berlin

for fifteen days.

Mr. Johnson. Are you an American citizen?

i~ra -~9~r~ 9-YI~L~~IUhL-IIYr I-.--~*_ .__- -lr --~-__.~ Mr. Stefanik. Yes, I am.

Mr. Johnson. Born here?

Mr. Stefanik. I was born here.

Mr. Johnson. Of a family of Polish extraction?

Mr. Stefanik. Yes, sir.

Mr. Izac. What makes you think if the Germans did have supplies the Polish people would get them?

Mr. Stefanik. Well, if the Polish people need supplies naturally they should get them.

Mr. Izac. How do you know they did not have the supplies?

Mr. Stefanik. I saw they didn't have supplies in Germany. don't see how they can supply another nation.

Mr. Richards. What makes you think Germany has no olive oil?

If they had do you suppose they would give it to the Polish people?

Mr. Stefanik. I have permits here which I had to get food and any. with the permits I couldn't get food because they didn't have

The Chairman. I think Mr. Izac meant or agrees with you that

if the Germans did have olive oil they certainly would not give it

to the Poles. Is that what you said?

Mr. Izac. No, no. If they haven't got it they'couldn't give

it to the soles if they wanted to.

The Chairman. That is right. We thank you very much for your

appearance.

The next witness is Mr. Kubicz.

~,,..~_.... . pi 41

STATEMENT OF STAN,,FY KUBICZ, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

I The Chairman. What is your business? X Mr. Kubicz. I am a student.

i The Chairman. Will you kindly make your statement for the -

| benefit of the committee?

Mr. Kubioz. I have been studying for one year in Warsaw and

should have returned home in June. However, I became employed with

the American Embassy and due to unfortunate conditions I remained

S behind after the Embassy evacuated.

, This gave me a marvelous opportunity for taking some pictures 0 of Warsaw and with these pictures I would like to verify and show

you what actually was the extent of the damage there.

n7There is no need for going on into a detailed statement about z Stories which you undoubtedly heard before. These pictures should

interest you as they are the only authentic ones.

Mr. Chiperfield. How did you get those pictures out of Poland?

Mr. Kubicz. I will have to clear up that point. An American

photographer, Julian Bryant, came in on the 7th of September and I

S was his assistant and he brought some of them through and when I

left on the 21st I smuggled some other pictures through Germany aV

the risk of my neck.

Mr. Fish. You would like to circulate these around the committee?

Mr. Kubicz. Yes. If there are any questions concerning them

I will be glad to answer them.

Mr. Fish. We will circulate them around and let another witness

make his statement while the committee is looking at these photog~hphs.

(The photographs referred to by Mr. Kubicz were shown to the

members of the committee.)

."'- Ammm"',klmob - a m-*-- -- n STANDARD TIME INDICATED T S IS A ULLuAT TECOIA u. CABU CUUVLVAT OGAM Ot RADOOGiAMUJAs @OHWKS INUCATEODY SYMBOL.I THE PMAMX O t IN THE AGDOA Of THE MLSSAG / Mathu(ado 11 dneie SYMBOLS CCSIGATINO SERVICESM CTO AR OUTUNED INTM COMPANY TARMFS ONKAdO ATEA0 OFFMCIAN6 ONFIL[ WrTF TELEPHONE YOUR TELEGRAMS Ci 9 ,* Pc I IAMLATOKYAVHOmI. TO POSTAL TELEGRAPH Ptl lIA

eI16 1i NL 17 EXTRA TD CHICAGO ILL 29 HON CONGRESSMAN A F MACIEJEWSKI ROOM 1410 NEW HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OFFICE WASHN DC TO BE DIRECTED TO THE CHAIRMAN OF THE FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEES WE ARE INFORMED THAT THE HONORABLE HAMILTON FISH OF NERYORK HAS INTRODUCED IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JOINT RESOLUTION NUMBER 412 FOR AUTHORITY TO THE PRESIDENT TO PURCHASE TRANSPORT AND DISTRIBUTE FOOD STUFF AND CLOTHING FOR THE RELEASE OF THE DISTRESSED . AND STARVING WOMEN AND CHILDREN OF POLAND [STANDARD TIME INDICATED THS BIA fA LRArtTS ZG~A& AM ALS. PtOMYT AT C.PAMONR ADIOGPAW*4155 GTVU ostl T.9ga h IN"eCATCO mys'via). 04 rlic PmAMMLA OR IN THt ADOM Of THE MZISAGL

ARE OUTUJNKDN ThEC OMPANYS TAXWVI O1F I LWE I TH C I O F I CE A N D T~LUIONE Y~JR TMJEGPR*Aft C NHA k D AT LA AUhOMTIm. TO POSTAL TgLKGRAPH m"LIATORT Pom I&A

C0516/2 CHGO MACIEJEWSKI WASHN DC THE POLI SH AMERI CAN COUNCI L WH IC(H REPRESENTS AND EMBRACES FOR THJE PURPOSE HUMANITARIUM AID AND ASSISTANCE TO THE PEOPLE OF POLAND) THE LEADING POLISH AMERICAN NATIONAL FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS THE LARGE RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONAL GROUPS THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE POLISH AMERICAN PRESS THE LARGE NATIONAL IDEALISTIC GROUPS AND AS SUCH POSSESSES FIRST HAND) KNOWLEDGE OF THE U

4AX o

I urn a wa~ 5

IAi~ us-. rW'C', PtAU,,' M~ffi

~., ~4IittAN MeUNCL FRAWeC,8 X MI ELI K PE

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4% 0,

- -- - I- &. 1 4 ~'A The Chairman. I have been asked that these telegrams appear

in the record and without objection it is so ordered.

(The telegrams referred to by the Chairman are as follows:)

i t

i r

f" . I '1*: j t t. i t-' r r

i. The Chairman. The next witness is Mr. Anthony Pasikiewicz.

STATEMENT OF MR. ANTHONY PASIKIEWICZ, NUTLEY, NEW JERSEY

Mr. Pasikiewicz. I was in Warsaw during the first six days of

the bombardment of Warsaw and later on for an additional five days on

my wayo-ut from Waraaw to the Latvn border.

While in Warsaw I was secretary of the Polish-American Chamber

of Commerce and that is how Ihappened to be there. I am an American

S citizen and bon here.

Now, I have seen many sights that would lead you to presume

S what is taking place in Poland today. Apart from the destruction that c was rendered to Warsaw by bombs and by fires which sprung up at many

sections of the city, there was a mass migration of people out of Warsaw,

women and people being driven out of their homes and sent eastwardly

to the distant parts of Poland.

Mr. Izac. Sent out by the authorities?

V, Mr. Pasikiewicz. Not only by the authorities but by their own

S volition and on the recommendation of the authorities.

0'. I saw thousands of people huddled in the railroad stations of

Warsaw with just meager bundles, little valises, without any food at all.

Mr. Johnson. That was before theattack?

Mr. Pasikiewicz. That was in the course of the attack. That was during the war.

These people were all waiting for transportation leaving for the

eastern sections of Poland in the majority of cases, and, then, of

course as we knew later they were cut off and could not be returned

back to their homes because they were in Russian sections of Poland

at that time, and were left there. That meant libupted families,

I thousands upon thousands. On my way from Warsaw up toward the Latvbdn

border I saw hundreds of trains, boxcars, cattle cars, any kind of

conveyance at all with people just jammed into them -- women mostly

and children fleeing from this section that was being bombed at that

time, all fleeing eastwardly toward this section of Poland which is

now occupied by Russia. All of these people were without any food

at all. They were supplied by what they could get on the way and

with just sometimes a valise or two and sometimes nothing at all.

In a majority of the cases these thousands of people were people

that had been evacuated from sections of Poland that were first -I

attacked. That is, from sections to the west of Warsaw and from this

region of Poland which is the heart of Poland. They were all being

driven eastwardly.

The Chairman. I suppose amongst them were rich and poor people

and people of all walks of life?

Mr. Pasikiewicz. All walks of life. And they were mostly in

their summer clothes because that was the first thing that they could

put on when they fled.

The people where these trains stopped did what they could to help

them out with the meager remnants that they had left, because the

armies were passing to and fro and confiscating food for the soldiers.

And what little was left was being distributed to these people that

were being poured out eastwardly during the war.

The Chairman. What do you know about conditions today in Poland

and how can this country be of some assistance to the Polish people?

Mr. Pasikiewicz. I have spoken to people who have benn In Poland

late as as November. I have received mall and also read letters that others have received, describing conditions in Poland, as late as the beginning of December. Now, here is a little note that I received which dates about

the middle, to be definite, the 18th of November, describing the

situation at Warsaw in a few words. 3he DuringAseige food was very scarse and horse flesh was a delicacy.

It is now better for the time but expect famine in winter and spring.

"Potatoes cost from -- well, from twenty five to thirty times

the former prices are very high and rising under this severe regime. I

I also read a letter sent by a Swiss citizen who was in Poland r

up to the beginning of December and who returned to Switzerland and

who had written to a friend of mine here in New York, who tells me

that thousands and thousands and hundred of thousands of Poles are

being driven from their homes in western Poland, the part that was

incorporated into the Reich, and being dumped into a section of

Polan6, roughly about one fourth of former Poland and they are being

left at the mercy of the people in their neighborhoods. They are being

driven into there and dumped at any station at all and not being

taken care of at all. They are without funds. They are without

clothing or just the clothing that they had on,very frequently and

they are left there to starve or to do what they can to make a living,

But he also mentions that the only means of subsistence that

exists in Poland today is local trade. What I mean by local trade is

that villages who have hidden foodstuffs in order to come into town

with little baskets or with their wagons with some food, and that food

is sold mostly secretly or to stores in some cases, and that is the

only kind of trade that exists. All industries are practically at

a standstill; all manufacturing is at a standstill. All foreign

trade is at a standstill. So these thousands of people that are being

dumped into that section of Poland have no means of earning a living

whatsoever and they are not being taken care of.

'All, * i Mr. Kee. May I interrupt you for a moment. How would ou

suggest we would be able to get these foodstuffs and this relief into

the hands of those people and over the heads of the Germans who have

them entirely within their control?

Mr. Pasikiewicz. I don't see any possibility of food and clothing

or medicine supplies reaching these people until the German govern-

ment guarantees that through American control that this food and

S this clothing and these medicine supplies will reach these people.

SMr. Izac. Now, may I ask a question? Is it true that in that

part of Poland where the Poles have been dumped, as you say, the

Germans still control as they do on their own side in what they

S call "their part of Poland," and as the Russians undoubtedly do on

their end of Poland? In other words in that portion of Poland where

the Poles are located, do they govern or do the Germans?

Mr. Pasikiewicz. The Germans occupy that country.

5Mr. Ixac. Therefore, the only chance we would have would be an

agreement with Germany permitting us to set up a relief organization

in Poland?

SMr. Pasikiewicz. Exactly.

Mr. Izac. To take care of the Polish people?

Mr. Pasikiewicz. Yes, sir.

The Chairman. Are there any further questions, gentlemen.

Thank you very much. The committee is very thankful for your coming

here today.

Mr. Fish. Are there any members of Congress present who would

care to introduce something?

Mr. Tenerowicz, I would like to make a statement.

The Chairman. If you will, please.

J~P~ Ipll'~~ -~L~ur*~)U~*L~jr.^.r l]~,, ~~ ~~~_ __~_~ ~~ STATEMENT OF HON. RUDOLPH TENEROWICZ, MEMBER OF CONGRESS Detroit, Michigan

Mr. Tenerowicz. What I have to say on the needs of Poland may seem superfluous at this time in view of the strong pronouncements that have recently been made by Pope Pius XII and Winston Churchl .

However, because of my European birth, one hundred per cent

Polish lineage, and because -- in addition -- I represent a con- stituency containing one of the largest and strongest Polish Amerlcan elements in the country, I feel I may be able to shed some new Light on the situation.

And it may be that, whereas, I can relate little not already treated by the American press, I may be ,.ble to clarify and emphasize the magnitude of the scheme of oppression. This scheme or plan is without parallel in modern history. Behind that rigid quarantine that now blacks Poland out from the rest of the world there is now being enacted a national tragedy of such colossal scope as to baffle imagination and belief.

An entire nation of thirty five million souls has been placed on the rack, Their homes are being expropriated. Family units ar being methodically dismembered. Hundreds of thousands of these shattered family units are being exiled into the desolate interior of the country. Concentration camps bulge with members of the educated classes. Thousands of the nation's leaders have already met death by out-of-hand execution at the firing squad wall. A great portion of the eligible man power has been exiled into forced labor in the interior of Germany. Churches and objects of worship, as well as ministers of

God, have been desecrated and profaned.

The translocation of great hordes of the civilian population eastward into the interior is perhaps the outstanding example of the opressor's atrocities.

The Nazi plan as it now reveals itself will not tolerate the

-IPI'I.~ULY-YLYY~YI__.I~YI;-.- l- llhU. existence of even the smallest independent Polish State. The Nazis hope that by April the first they will have completed this job of reconstruction. By that time they calculate this monstrous emigration of hundreds of thousands of native Poles will have been completed.

They hope by that time to have imported a sufficiently loyal population so that on the surface all will look tranquil and prosperous.

But meantime this brutal procedure moves ahead apace, despite the bitter winter which now scourges Europe.

This forced migration of the people of Pland began last September immediately after Hitler's "victory" march in Warsaw. Immediately after this event, trains laden with city dwellers -- those who had not been sent to concentration camps or shot against the wall -- started moving toward the land of exile. The Germans have a name for this section. They call it the "remainder area". A more appropriate name, perhaps, would be "no-man's land".

And because of this great mass movement of the people across the map of Poland, and because of the rigid quarantine, it has been difficult for the State Department to get any news of these wandering groups for relatives in America. Thousands of these migrants according to unimpeachable diplomatic advices are forced into porous barracks in the region of Kielce and Radom. Hundreds according to the same source wander the blizzard-swept roadways in utter want.

The high wall of censorship has barred all humanitarian agencies from placing their own representatives inside of Poland itself. At this very moment Mr. James T. Nicholson in charge of the delivery and distribution of American Red Cross supplies in Poland, finds himself hopelessly stalemated in Berlin. While Red Cross supplies are being allowed to enter Poland, there to be distributed by the

German Read Cross to Polish welfare agencies, no outside representatives have yet scaled the Nazi barrier.

This also goes for representatives of the American press as

well as journalists from other neutral countries. The Nazis want no

prying and searching eyes to view the horrow of the disruption of an

entire race.

Because I have referred exclusively to the German-occupied section

of Poland, is in no way intended to indicate that Russia is getting

a negative pat on the back. The contrary is very much the case. My

stressing of the German tyranny is simply due to the fact that while

there has been some news from the western section, news from the

Ruslian-occupied east has been almost totally absent. Such reports

as have filtered through the diplomatic grapevine, however, indicate

that the Russian zeal for "reconstruction" is equally ruthless as it

moves ahead.

When April first rolls around the Germans no doubt will have

achieved a very satisfactory building program. Nice little rows

of modernistic houses and imposing sun-lighted factories will be

completed to greet the eye of the foreigner, but the Nazi will not

be able to repay the damage he has done to human lives, souls and

ideals. These do not fit so easily into any blue print design,

however ingenious it may be.

I cannot speak too strongly in saying that succor must be brought

to Poland at once. She must be brought to know in some definite,

tangible way that -- neutral though we be -- the sympathies of all

Americans are with her in this her hour of greatest travail! She must

be heartened and encouraged and administered to now -- at this

immediate time -- when her powers of resistance seem at lowest level!

Poland will rise again but today she needs help. That is why I have

sponsored H. J. Res. 430. I feel that it will go at least a little

YbY~UII O.~- IrP-.)~r;hUlir.rrl lr;i.iai.rc..~L way toward alleviating the wounds of a distressed nation whose

ideals and faith in the Republican form of government are now and

have always been akin to our own.

Poland looks to America, and I know that American sympathies are

strongly with the land that has produced so many great and heroic

Americans.

Mr. Fish. Isn't it true that Woodrow Wilson had a great deal

to do in erecting a free and independent Poland after the World War,

and isn't it further true that the Polish people, historically, have

always been friendly to the American people?

Mr. Tenerowicz. tes, sir.

The Chairman. Our early American history proves that.

Mr. Tenerowicz. In connection with that, Mr. Chairman, will

the Committee allow me to read an order that was issued in the City

of Thorn, by the City Police Chief Weberstedt.

I have a translation of this order by the Library of Congress.

I would like to read this. This is an order issued in Poland as

translated by the Library of Congress.

Mr. Izac. Issued by the Germans?

Mr. Tenerowicz. This report was taken off of a placard. It

was a photostatic copy of a placard. It was in German and Polish.

The Chairman. When was that?

Mr. Tenerowicz. The date of this is October 27, 1939. This is

the order:

"In order to hold back a part of the Polish population

from behaving in a disrespectful manner, I hereby order the following:

First, Polish citizens are to make way for the representatives of

the German army when they are distinguished by their uniform and

armbands. The street belongs to the victors and not to the vanquished.

~~I~R YLI~~I~L~.~04& ~C.._ ~_18. -y). _YIIIL--~ ecron,-ma o: l'nv~ii .',,In front

C)W L~a I r' XP2C OVI 'A (0 OlA 2Py ~dArmy

ShiII ted 2Of 2 >0the > rI iht hand andsay.*ng

I our t,.'nl 202p-h ;nr s3a)nd, .'a-x- mrlct-laces the representa- t i v sof thc (J'rma.-. "2 Thi b,- l at sowe 1a s ,coplIe of German blood a-,, '> r:c.hva-nqu.*,3hed"Tic' o,re -to be waluted on atrnr3

F: ftlt11'- - -v- wea r n L: cc'.In Luni err3Iseas and balge s, et c.,as wellcas ',:wen.- 7n--, ' onna analac';.)n the part c o ,Isi; r",pa pr, an,:c-'-C'"'17 z :Lferbi'ddcn,

It, 4 i s"~ nE: of f 13oan th e t ret an d ,at s treet corners, u: ec traiy of ;-unp,-, eop] P w-11l not be tolei-ated.

"Seventh, anyone Wh1c 3-:,tos anri(4,.-'nsults German iwomen and girls

Fi-hth, vcisomen h Cr oGemn' or annoy t~hcim, will be broii-ht tob'd s

ir . Av'r I ~r > 7 op .7Jt -t r)( t hat m ; an?

Mr. Tenerow ..c.:,, Hus OtIn

n..11 vWhc'-2 ba',0cycl-, r r Ui mde v :sb In darkne s sb- oamrs !and r'>" to, I-'I !.-ht. ca osre, to be' pun--Iqhed nand. the biccce of.c~o e 2~no t ,,(rnjttedi the use of these vehicles 'r, CIorlness vnt ' I. threy,-hpve complied with this reigulatlon.

Tenth, ' b u y "c s'''tr take care of' the demands

(follow theo oders) -,f th"ha aaldciliti otor Coryns (traffic

n'n.as r p h y >'r'7ncd1ac-'eL t htLthtoy are thle variqushed and/a rc th ,vl etors. 'l aythlnZ afa! nst; the above s i:1 )tuc' 1>, 1 ho ity ceChief

vlebers t e- Ld

Tho Ch.:C.rr :c!c ;tv, rc-vrn ao yrur comnir h1ere, 1r. rI.'erowicz.

M~r. F I sh. Nr. Alcor'rnder, tltih- ?.ut~hor olf ne rf' tlhez,three b-Ills

vie are consl' derini- is prcrint and wuld lie Lr anai~estatement.

1.-I~I- I- -....- b'~ . -- -- - I---~_ MYMBR CF CONGRio3

Mr. Alexander. ilr. Chairman and Moneib rs of the Coniunttee, I

have been listeningr to this situation. I have a feeling that after

having listened to the's testimony that half has not been se d. I

feel that this picture is probably worse than It has been nainted.

I am basing my conc usion on several things we know from what we have

heard from Finland about the situat'.on there. We are trying to do

something for that country and its peonTle. We have heard from Spain.

We have heard from Austria and from Czechoslovakia. We know that war

is hell. We have recently seen "Gone With the Wind" down here at o

the theatre and there is no doubt about the situation in Germany. 0 My daughter, who is a studen at the University of Minnesota,

made a student tour through most of the countries d. Europe in 1937.

0 When she came back she said that of all the countries that she z visited there was more evidence of poverty in Poland and,especially

X in Warsaw, than in any other part of Europe, ho-- viod. She saw

more squalor there and more signs of a low standard of living in

Poland, than anywhere else. If that was the case in 1937 we know

that today after a war as devastating as that campaign which was put

on by the Germans and the Russians in Septbker and which has been

carried on ruthlessly since, has made the conditions still more

terrible there. We know that we are not getting reports out of there

except as have been brought in here to us today by these boys and

people who have been over in Europe recently.

But I know from two instances which have occurred in my own

experience here, that it Is almost impossible to get anything out

Poland.

Now, at the present bime I have been trying to get word for one of my constituents in IlinneaChpois,:' has a brother- wh,- :!s c. Catholic

Priest in Poland, and I, through the State Department, have been

trying to get word for this constituent of mine, whose brother is the

Catholic Piest in Poland, f-r months, and I can get no information.

The State Department simply says: "We are unable to locate this

party", and that is 'nly one of several illustrations.

The Chairman. Would you mind an interruption there for just a

moment. I have been trying to get the Chief Rabbi of Poland out of

Poland. He has his vise to get into Palestine. I have had the

Italian government, the Roumanian government and all of the people

S that I possibly could get to get this fellow out of Poland and we can't

get him out. The other day we sent from New York City a special

messenger to Italy in an effort to arrange to get this Rabbi out. z We just can't do it. The State Department nor any one else can do -4

S anything for us. That is the condition over there today. r- Mr. Alexander. That is true. I have had several cases like that.

SThe Chairman. There is no reason to keep him there but that is

the situation.

Mr. Alexander. We can't even get a trat. of the people we are

trying to rescue.

That being the case isn't it natural to assume and reasonable to

assume, that the situation over there is much worse than we have even

had a description here this morning.

The Chairman. And that goes for all religious faiths over there

too.

Mr. Alexander. And with this report that came through the

papers yesterday quotinp Cardinal Hiond, ni.ntinrc out the things that

have come under his personal attention, which we are aghast at, and

that is only a fraction of what is oinr on over there. Tt seems to n, that the s ituaton over throw wrrants' America

doing somethinr. We have reat suroiuses of food here. I have no

doubt but that they nrod fono not withstandiln what was said here

this morning.

Mr. Fish. Mr. Abet, in his statement, said they will need food

in the future.

Mr. Alexander. I think myr own resolution calls for and specifies

food to a larger derrce than your H. R. 436. And it was because of

my personal information through my daughter and my observations that

I suggested that. -u 0 I think that we should, with all of our surpluses here in this

country that we are trying to ret rid of, immediately take action on

this thing and come to the aid of Poland and its citizens if we can

z get the stuff to them. -4 o The Chairman. Thank you very much, Mr. Alexander.

Mr. Fish. And Mr. Monkiewicz of Connecticut has something to

Essay. m

~------. I------I~I, .-. _,. I'iB ,R OF C01;GR "',;,.,

Mr. Monk.ewic . uf course , am .n favor of th.t resoution.

Now, I don't know as i car add anytlhnr- to th-" fn c,: excerpt th s:

Even without alL. rchs evid.rce that has Cone tn thl record t.day, we

as intelligent men ou-ht to know that therr 1 pr:;it' tn ;I:'u:T'~rnr

and misery in Poland. But I shoul.o l1ke to just dw,- .in o

practical question that has been bothering some o,' th, :;imbe -,f

this committee The question has been asked time and tim,- and! time

again: "Well, how can we? What can we do if we can't get these m foods and these articles and medicines to these reo.le who need it." o 0 Well, we may not for the present be able to do it. We may be m o Groping around in the dark just now. Perhaps we are trying to make

-4 n contacts now. But has it occurred to any of you gentlemen that soon z -4 and perhaps very soon w- shall be able to contact these people and z ? go right in there. I think when such time comes we ought to be ready

a immediately.

Mr. Johnson. On what ground do you base that hope that soon

and very soon we shall. be able tor,- in there?" Ts that a hone or the

wishful nart of a thought?

Mr. Monkiew cz. The war Is no, goinr. to last forever.

Mr. Fish. I think I can answer that. The fact is there are

certain Americans over in Berlin now who have been negotiating for

this very purpose. They are neeotiatinP with the Germans in an effort

to secure the consent of Germany to operate on the same basis in

Poland as did the Bel'um Rel;lef Coimritttee.

Mr. Monkewicz. Not only Lhat, but the war is not going to last

forever and there w.i.li be a.timen when we w:!l. be able to go in there

and come in mriedia.te contact w th th:s misery, and do something for

them. And I think when such a time comes, whether sooner or later,

we ought to be ready to g[o in there immediately and not go to work

at that time and go through all this red tape and take up a lot of

: time getting ready to go over there. i...., +..;._ , i:w ]i .. ,. . , ,:. . .. . t tt...... + ;,,,:, , + 1 do th-ink th',tr n f'e; m',ny oeor.le arr dy rnr there of privation today and T think as I said, when the time comes we should. be ready to go in there and he!i. them

There has been another question raised by the gentleman from

Massachusetts. I am sorry he Is not here. He distinguished our case, or th's case from the case of Belgium after the World War.

Well, I cannot see any distinction. He said Poland does not exist.

Poland does exist. There .s a government in France now and just because she was over-run by other people doesrot mean that she ceased her existence. As a matter of fact our government recognizes the existence of Poland.

The Chairman. That is right. Poland's Ambassador is still here.

Mr. Fish. There is no difference between that situation and

Belgium.

Mr. Monkiewtcz. I can't see any difference. We exist. Our government exists. Our government recognizes it as a government.

Mr. Alexander. And in addition to that there are millions of people who are starving and in want.

Mr. Fish. I understand Congressman Harter has something to say.

Mr. Harter. I think the ground has been pretty well covered today.

I think, however, we are stressing one part of Poland and not the other part. We should try to make some contact with the Russian part of Poland and make an effort to get help there.

We know somewhat what exists in the German part of Poland but we arein the dark mostly as to the other part.

The Chairman. I think that is well understood.

Mr. Harter. I am not taking up any time to give you any further information because I cannot add anything to what has been said. But

I IIIiII.IIii _I t i ...... tn .I .. -i-ll-i I am aski nfr Llith z C uiC)~ t Ihv, r b I~ut In the record.

The Chairiwn. '-c e v vry g ritri nx, tlvwm-. wJI objection any statement th,7t,any of' thefo w1C,.ic llchto m~ewt:. bcr: 'nserted in the record.

(The statement referred to by 1,r. Charter is as follows:) Mr. Fish. I would like to make this statement: I 'do not pro-

pose to push this bill until we receive more information with reference

to the possibility of getting supplies and help into Poland.

We shall want another hearing in a week or two from now after

further effort has been made to complete arrangements with the

German government for getting supplies into Poland. In the meantime

I will try to get Mr. Wilkins and Mr. Herbert Hoover and some leading

Catholics in the country before the committee and we will know what

has been done in Germany.

Mr. Maciegewski. There is no need talking about the needs of

Poland. I simply want to say that I think it is the opinion of this

entire committee that a proviso should be put in the bill so that the

distribution of relief shall be under the control of Americans.

I should like to leave that point with you gentlemen. I think

that is the important part of the whole program. The distribution

of these funds and supplies should be in the hands of an American

commission sent over there to see that these poor people get those

supplies.

I would like to have unanimous consent to place in the record

the text of Cardinal Hlond's statement.

The Chairman. Without objection it is so ordered.

(The text of Cardinal Hlond referred to by Mr. Maciejewski

is as follows:)

,~;~,,~Uryuum~,~ur~--- ~~ -- 1 - -i- U .^~,.,I_~~_ "!w Chairmnn Ile itFy . C u~ n lie hearing is cercluder-.

(Whereu,.on, at 12 c ) cOC.p. (,heora: ', eead jouxneo, )