Menu JTA Search

Tramp Stirs Row Trying to Ghettoize Warsaw Flop-house

A free-for-all fight was precipitated in a flop-house here last night by the attempts of a Polish tramp to express his anti-Semitic sentiments by forcing Jewish inmates to sleep on a separate group of “ghetto benches.”

The Pole, Stanislaw Bernardski, who proclaimed his adherence to the Endek (anti-Semitic National Democratic Party), urged other Poles in the place to band altogether and allow the Jews to sleep only on the bunks on the left side of the room. Receiving no encouragement from them, Bernardski decided to take matters in his own hands.

Seeing Aaron Shmorak, a Jew, about to climb into his bunk, Bernardski attempted to stop him. In the general fight which followed, Bernardski was badly beaten up. Police intervened and arrested him and Shmorak.