8. Jewish self-defence

Leshchinsky here addresses Polish Jewry’s position on the attacks against Jews and the government’s tolerance of those attacks. He notes that different classes respond differently to the attacks. Workers in Lodz and elsewhere were first to call for self-defence, including the acquisition of weapons. In Bialystok, the existence of a self-defence group led members of the National Radical party to stop wearing their uniforms for fear of being attacked by Jews. The regime reacted to the creation of self-defence groups by arresting Jews who were protecting women, children, seniors, and weak people. In Warsaw, after an initial period of disorientation, Jewish workers, porters, and youth also responded vigorously to attacks against Jews. Again, the authorities arrested more Jews than their assailants. Polish socialist workers joined their Jewish comrades in Warsaw in the fight against pogromists. In contrast, rabbis fasted in protest against attacks. Jewish politicians who had previously curried favour with the Jewish bourgeoisie, assuring them that the government would protect the Jewish community, felt duped and did not know what to do. Leshchinsky concludes that “demoralization and neglect have profoundly corroded Jewish bourgeois society.” Undated.