“Relief is a political gesture:” The Jewish Labor Committee’s interventions in war-torn Poland, 1939-1945

This paper describes the role of an American organization, the Jewish Labor Committee (JLC), in the support of Jewish people in Poland during World War II. In the context of the division and occupation of Poland by the USSR and by Nazi Germany, the JLC’s help materialized in two ways: relief (genera...

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Main Author: Catherine Collomp
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Association Française d'Etudes Américaines 2014-09-01
Series:Transatlantica
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/6942
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author Catherine Collomp
author_facet Catherine Collomp
author_sort Catherine Collomp
collection DOAJ
description This paper describes the role of an American organization, the Jewish Labor Committee (JLC), in the support of Jewish people in Poland during World War II. In the context of the division and occupation of Poland by the USSR and by Nazi Germany, the JLC’s help materialized in two ways: relief (generally in kind) was sent to Jewish refugees in Russia; money was sent for relief and for weapons to Jews in the General Government region under German rule. In the latter situation, the JLC contributed to support the preparations for the insurrection of the Warsaw ghetto. The channels of information and transmission by which the JLC acted are described in both cases. The common Bundist political culture shared by both the leaders of the JLC in New York (former political refugees themselves) and the most influential political organizations in the ghetto explains the JLC’s ability to come into contact with leaders of the ghetto and to react immediately to the news of the systematic destruction of the Jewish population. In this extreme case, the nature of the JLC’s interventions, a bridge between two worlds, is defined as being political as well as humanitarian.
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spelling doaj-art-02dedc5211c9478280bb5f33e825a1972025-01-30T10:44:12ZengAssociation Française d'Etudes AméricainesTransatlantica1765-27662014-09-01110.4000/transatlantica.6942“Relief is a political gesture:” The Jewish Labor Committee’s interventions in war-torn Poland, 1939-1945Catherine CollompThis paper describes the role of an American organization, the Jewish Labor Committee (JLC), in the support of Jewish people in Poland during World War II. In the context of the division and occupation of Poland by the USSR and by Nazi Germany, the JLC’s help materialized in two ways: relief (generally in kind) was sent to Jewish refugees in Russia; money was sent for relief and for weapons to Jews in the General Government region under German rule. In the latter situation, the JLC contributed to support the preparations for the insurrection of the Warsaw ghetto. The channels of information and transmission by which the JLC acted are described in both cases. The common Bundist political culture shared by both the leaders of the JLC in New York (former political refugees themselves) and the most influential political organizations in the ghetto explains the JLC’s ability to come into contact with leaders of the ghetto and to react immediately to the news of the systematic destruction of the Jewish population. In this extreme case, the nature of the JLC’s interventions, a bridge between two worlds, is defined as being political as well as humanitarian.https://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/6942Jewish Labor CommitteeBundismPolandWarsaw GhettoWorld War II
spellingShingle Catherine Collomp
“Relief is a political gesture:” The Jewish Labor Committee’s interventions in war-torn Poland, 1939-1945
Transatlantica
Jewish Labor Committee
Bundism
Poland
Warsaw Ghetto
World War II
title “Relief is a political gesture:” The Jewish Labor Committee’s interventions in war-torn Poland, 1939-1945
title_full “Relief is a political gesture:” The Jewish Labor Committee’s interventions in war-torn Poland, 1939-1945
title_fullStr “Relief is a political gesture:” The Jewish Labor Committee’s interventions in war-torn Poland, 1939-1945
title_full_unstemmed “Relief is a political gesture:” The Jewish Labor Committee’s interventions in war-torn Poland, 1939-1945
title_short “Relief is a political gesture:” The Jewish Labor Committee’s interventions in war-torn Poland, 1939-1945
title_sort relief is a political gesture the jewish labor committee s interventions in war torn poland 1939 1945
topic Jewish Labor Committee
Bundism
Poland
Warsaw Ghetto
World War II
url https://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/6942
work_keys_str_mv AT catherinecollomp reliefisapoliticalgesturethejewishlaborcommitteesinterventionsinwartornpoland19391945