Hotel Polski
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Hotel Polski (Polish Hotel), opened in 1808, was a hotel in Warsaw at 29 Długa street. In 1943 Hotel was used by Germans as the interment place for Jews from Warsaw, where they could buy there foreign affidavits and passports - and, as the foreign citizens, leave Warsaw. This case is known as "Hotel Polski Affair".
In 1942 the Germans promised to allow the Jews from Warsaw holding foreign passports of neutral countries to leave General Government for South America. Seeing this as opportunity of saving lives of Jews in ghettos, Jewish organizations from Switzerland, had start sending documents to Warsaw Ghetto - but, in many cases, the holders of affidavits and passports were already dead. However, in May 1943 two Jewish collaborators, probably in agreement with local Gestapo authorities, had start to sell this documents to Jews who were hiding on "Aryan side" of Warsaw. Gestapo used Hotel Polski to house the Jewish families preparing for the journey. About 2500 people gave up their hiding places and moved to the Hotel Polski. In July 1943 they were transferred to camps in Vittel and Bergen-Belsen; 15 of July 1943, 300 Jews remaining in the Hotel without foreign passports were executed by Germans in Pawiak prison. However, the South American governments refused to recognize most of the passports. Hence instead of being transferred to South America, the Jews were sent in October 1943 and May 1943 to Auschwitz. About 350 Jews survived - they were holders of Palestinian affidavits.
Some of the famous residents of Hotel Polski included Menachem Kirszenbaum and Jehoszua Perle of Jewish resistance.
Many historians recognise "Hotel Polski Affair" as a German trap to lure the richer Jews out of their hiding in Warsaw under the false promise and grab their holdings. However, as new Polish research points out, if South American governments would recognize this passports, that was a real chance for Warsaw Jews to survive.
[edit] References
- Hotel Polski at yadvashem.org
[edit] Further reading
- (Polish) Agnieszka Haska, Jestem Żydem, chcę wejść. Hotel Polski w Warszawie, 1943, Instytut Filozofii i Socjologii PAN, 2006, ISBN 83-7388-096-8
