Holocaust History Jewish Agency Memorandum on Polish Jewish Refugees in the Soviet Union 1942

Polish Jews in W. W II

Ephemera and pamphlets

Jewish Agency for Eretz Israel confidential memorandum issued in 1942 reports on the fate of Jewish residents of Poland who fled into the Soviet Union following the German invasion of Poland in 1939. The document records the displacement of Polish Jews during the early years of the Holocaust and provides contemporaneous analysis of refugee movements into Soviet-controlled territory. After Nazi Germany invaded Poland in September 1939 and the Soviet Union occupied eastern Poland under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, many Jewish civilians fled eastward to escape German persecution. The memorandum reflects the wartime concern among Jewish organizations regarding the survival, relocation, and conditions of these refugee populations as the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 transformed Soviet territory into a major zone of Jewish displacement.

Jewish Agency for Eretz Israel. Confidential memorandum concerning Polish Jewish refugees in Soviet territory. Jaffa: Jewish Agency for Eretz Israel Information Bureau, 8 September 1942. Hebrew-language stenciled typescript memorandum printed on both sides of five of six sheets. The report summarizes the circumstances of Polish Jews who sought refuge in the Soviet Union after the German invasion of Poland and discusses subsequent developments after Germany’s attack on the Soviet Union. The memorandum addresses wartime population movements as Jewish civilians and other Soviet citizens relocated eastward to avoid advancing German forces. It also notes Soviet evacuation policies in regions such as Crimea and other threatened territories where Jewish populations were moved further into the Soviet interior.

The memorandum belongs to a period when Jewish relief organizations attempted to collect and circulate information about the condition of Jewish populations across Europe and the Soviet Union. During 1942 reports circulated through Jewish communal networks seeking to document refugee movements, relief needs, and the broader consequences of the war for displaced Jewish communities. Documents of this kind provided important information for Jewish institutions and political leaders concerned with rescue efforts and postwar planning for Jewish survivors. Eleven pages, measuring approximately 12.75 × 8.25 inches, unbound. Minor toning, light edge wear, horizontal crease, and several hole punches in the margins. Very good condition overall and a significant wartime record of Jewish refugee displacement during the Holocaust.

Item #20549

Price: $1,200.00