A rare and early historical publication of the first actions taken to save Jews during the years of the Holocaust ...

A rare and early historical publication of the first actions taken to save Jews during the years of the Holocaust by officials in the Land of Israel

"Temporary summary of the activities of the committee for Polish Jews by the Jewish Agency for Israel until 7/15/40." A one-time publication summarizing the rescue operations and treatment of the Jewish refugees who fled from Poland to Eretz Israel at the outbreak of the World War. Jerusalem 7/17/1940, typewritten, and signed by Reuven Shafer, one of the senior members of the Jewish Agency who was involved in rescue during the war years. The first aid attempt to save Jews during the years of the Holocaust by officials in the Land of Israel. Only copy in the world!

The report contains a temporary summary of the commission's activities since its foundation, a detailed report on the aid money given to refugees, lists of names of Polish public persons who came to Eretz Israel after the outbreak of the war, first aid given to immigrants in Eretz Israel, participation in the travel expenses of the refugees, participation in the publication of a newspaper called "Polish Jewry" which Dedicated to the suffering of Polish Jewry, and more. The report details both the activities of the committee for the aid received by the Jews who fled Poland in the Land of Israel itself, and the actions and rescue attempts for the Jews who were still in Poland at the time. It's described, for example: 

"Polish refugees are still pouring into Eretz Israel. 170 people from Lithuania are at the gates of the country and today or tomorrow they will enter Israel.... It is difficult to say now what will happen to the Lithuanian refugees, Greece and Kushta, but it must be taken into account that in case they manage to reach Eretz Israel, it will be necessary to start Great action for them...". The report details the situation of the immigrants as they arrived: "Polish refugees came to the country naked and with nothing, there was an imperative need to give them first aid... despite the time of emergency, the committee was able to organize most of the members at work...". Section 9 reports on attempts to locate Jews through the Red Cross: "The committee, through its secretariat, took care of establishing contact with relatives in Poland through the Red Cross, several thousand letters were sent in this way."

It is important to note a painful point that emerges from the report before us, that at this early stage of rescue activity, the committee dealt with helping well-known "Public figures" who are close to its people, and the aim of prefer helping certain people is clearly evident. In the report you can clearly see a preference in favor of "Polish Public figures" at the expense of "ordinary immigrants". For example, "the list of Public figures from Polish refugees who were arranged for work" appears - this refers to well-known people who came to Eretz Israel with the help of the committee and who were arranged for jobs in respectable workplaces such as: Tnuva, Bank Hapoalim, the Institute of Economics, the Cooperative Center, etc. in one of the sections it is written: "35 of our best members They were arranged at work due to the action of the committee and only few remained to be arranged...", and there is also a detailed list of 70 people - "List of Polish public figures who came to Israel during the war".

With the beginning of World War II and news reaching Eretz Israel about the situation of Polish Jews after the German occupation in September 1939, the management of the Jewish Agency appointed a committee for the affairs of Polish Jewry. It was headed by a member of the agency's management, Yitzhak Greenboim. Its members were Eliyahu Dobkin, Dr. Emil Shamrock and Moshe Shapira. The committee dealt with finding ways to help Polish Jews and attempts to move groups of Jews through European countries to Palestine. Among other things, attempts were made to immigrate Jews through Trieste in Italy. The committee also focused on recruiting political elements in Poland, Jews and non-Jews, with the aim of increasing the number of immigration permits for the Jews of this country. In the fall of 1942, the terrible flow of news about the Deportation of  millions of Jews to death in the extermination camps was overcome. Following the dire news, the agency decided on November 22, 1942, to establish " The Rescue Committee for the Jews of Europe", or in its full name "The United Rescue Committee of the Jewish Agency". Yitzhak Greenbaum was once again placed at the head of the committee and its members included representatives of the agency, representatives of the National Committee and representatives of the various Zionist parties. During the year 1941 there was an activity to save Jews who came from the countries of Nazi occupation through Russia to Persia, and on August 5, 1942, the agency opened an Eretz Yisraeli office in Tehran with the aim of coordinating these rescue operations. The office was headed by Reuven Shafer (the signatory of the booklet before) and he focused on moving the survivors through Iraq towards Jordan and to the Land of Israel. The actions of the agency in Europe and other countries are also intended to mobilize the support of the countries of the world in the effort to save the Jews of Europe. The activity was conducted under the slogan: "Send my people", but the appeals of the representatives of the rescue committee to the governments of those countries were generally not answered, and they refused to put pressure on Hitler to allow the removal of the Jews from the occupied countries.

The report that appears before us sheds light on the early activity of the committee, which in fact began the rescue operations as early as 1940, although, as mentioned, the tendency to save the "closers" and "acquaintances" was revealed, at least at this stage, before the monstrous dimensions of the mass murder became clear to the heads of the agency.

Apparently the only copy in the world. not appear in the National Library.

[13] page. 31 cm. Good condition.