The Operations of Security Service in Kraków Voivodship vis-a-vis the Jewish Community in the Years 1949-1954, as Exemplified by Operations Code-named 'Jordan' and 'Zator'

• Authors: Sommer A.
• Languages of publication: PL

Abstracts

EN

At the end of the 1940s, the decision was made by Polish authorities to disband all political and Jewish institutions in the country. Simultaneously, the Polish Security Service increased its activities against Jewish communities throughout Poland. In the Krakow voivodeship, the most important Jewish centers of political activities existed in Krakow, Tarnów and Nowy Sacz. During the early 1950s, these organizations soon became the focus of the Polish Security Service in an operation code-named, 'Zator' and 'Jordan'. The research indicates that in 1951 and 1953 there were two official orders sent to security service leaders in Krakow, Tarnów and Nowy Sacz for these anti-Jewish operations. The research indicates that there is no evidence of direct involvement of the Soviet Union in the 'Zator' and 'Jordan' program. However, it is known that during the same time period anti-Jewish activities were introduced both in the Soviet Union and its satellite countries. The Polish Security Service often operated with the 'cooperation' of select individuals from the very group they were investigating. It was not uncommon for the communists to use extortion, threats, and intimidation as means to secure cooperation from members of various communities, including those in the Jewish community. Though the evidence is incomplete regarding the depth and breadth of persecution against the Jewish communities targeted by these operations in the 1950s, the research does demonstrate that these anti-Jewish activities did carry over, albeit in different ways, through the late 1970s.

Keywords

EN

JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS; SECURITY SERVICES' ANTI-JEWISH OPERATIONS (POLAND)

Discipline

• HISTORY: HISTORY

• Publisher: Jewish Historical Institute, Warsaw, Poland
• Journal: Kwartalnik Historii Żydow
• Year: 2007
• Issue: 4(224)
• Pages: 435-452
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Sommer A.

• A. Sommer, Uniwersytet Jagiellonski, Katedra Judaistyki, ul. Batorego 12, 31-135 Kraków, Poland

Identifiers

CEJSH db identifier

08PLAAAA03717472