[A. Destruction of the Jewish
existence in Poland 1929-1939]
[5.10. Vocational programs in Poland: Farming
for Palestine or future jobs for industrialization -
it's all in vain]
[Vocational programs in
Poland from ORT, WUZET and JDC]
However, the vocational programs in Poland were
distributed among a variety of organizations. ICA [Jewish
Colonization Association] ran its own schools, and JDC had
to divide its money between three additional groups of
schools:
-- those established by ORT [Organization for
Rehabilitation through Training],
-- those of an independent organization in Galicia (the
former Austrian, southern part of Poland) known as WUZET,
-- and JDC's own schools.
[ORT is not investing in
future industries - JDC pupils have no work after their
school]
There was much criticism of ORT in JDC circles, especially
at the Warsaw office. The charge was that ORT was too
prone to follow established trade lines such (p.201)
as textiles, fur, and the like, and did not attempt to
pioneer in the employment of Jews in the mechanical trades
and in new industries (radio, auto repair, etc.). The
problem was that when the youngsters finished their
training, they had to be given employment in Jewish
enterprises - non-Jewish ones would not accept them - and
there simply were not many new Jewish industries around.
[JDC helps when pupils
have lodging problems]
Another problem had to do with the so-called Bursen, or
apprentice homes, for those youngsters who were living
away from home while learning a trade. This was a real
problem, because usually the partners could not afford the
expense of paying for lodging, and JDC had to help. It did
so, and through various social institutions (TOZ, CENTOS,
and the like) it supported a number of homes that were
either built or rented to house these young people.
[Vocational schools:
Figures]
By early 1938 there were 17,720 pupils in these vocational
schools, which were of varying standards; 3,946 were in
ORT schools, 4,714 were in ICA schools, and 6,172 were in
schools supported directly by JDC, 2,888 more were at
WUZET institutions.
[Hechalutz vocational
trainings on farms for emigration to Palestine - doubts
to get to Palestine - Kahn supports training in future
jobs for Poland - JDC vocational trainings for
industrialization]
In addition to all this, there was the network of training
camps run by Hechalutz, the Zionist organization that
prepared pioneers for Palestine. By early 1938 Hechalutz
had 16,206 trainees who were working, as Kahn put it, "in
a manner still somewhat primitive".
(End note 61: Kahn's lecture at Cincinnati, 1/10/38 [10
January 1938], R12)
Hechalutz had no money, and it had to send its members to
farms and shops where the conditions of work were
primitive and extremely difficult. Most of the trainees
worked in agriculture, the idea being that they would
leave Poland as soon as possible.
The British funds in 1935 and 1936 were partly earmarked
for Hechalutz, and Kahn supported this allocation. The
reason was that while the Hechalutz people were supposedly
training for Palestine, the lack of certificates for that
country made it extremely doubtful that most of them would
ever get there;
therefore, they were actually training for future jobs in
Poland, a program Kahn favored.
(End note 62: R15, 3/29/36 [29 March 1936], Kahn report)
Here, too, there was a growing discrepancy between the
number of individuals trained for new jobs and the number
of jobs available. Large groups of trainees were bound to
suffer the hardships of unemployment unless large-scale
efforts were made to (p.202)
provide employment through investment in new or old
enterprises. But before this problem really became acute,
the "final solution" came and solved this and all other
problems for Polish Jewry.
JDC tried
industrialization
and it supported vocational training. But it was not, of
course, operating in a vacuum, was not free to operate as
it wished. Jewish groups and subgroups were fighting for
position in the harsh reality of Poland.
[There is the big suspicion: Polish government wants
industrialization without Yiddish Jews and wants to
exterminate the Jews before industrialization will come].
