The Catholic Press of the Second Half of the 1930s on the Idea of Mass Jewish Emigration from Poland

The Catholic press is an important and often neglected source of information, although it, in fact, fully presented its position on all social, political, and ethnic issues. Its role in forming the consciousness of Polish society cannot be exaggerated. The subject of the attitude of the Catholic press to the “Jewish question” has frequently been discussed. However, the repetition of certain themes can be noted, while others are ignored – for example, the matter of the solution to the “Jewish question” through mass emigration. Indeed, emigration was the most frequently proposed solution to the Jewish question within the Catholic press. Economic boycott, so‑called Aryan provisions within professional  organizations, social isolation, and even the creation of ghettos were only successive steps on the road to the complete removal of the Jewish minority from the country. Jewish emigration was seen as a way of reducing unemployment and “Polonizing” Polish cities with legions of poor peasants, who then could take the place of Jews in trade and handicrafts. Initially, most articles dealt with the possibility of Jewish emigration to Palestine. In time, however, with the introduction of limits by the British government, and perhaps even more because of an alleged threat to and profanation of the Holy Land, ideas of other possible areas for colonization were developed.
This article attempts to answer the question as to how original the ideas presented in Catholic journalism were, and to what degree they only repeated ideas current in the Second Republic. Through analysis of the press, an attempt is also made to demonstrate how the idea of Jewish emigration evolved and what determined such changes.

The Catholic press is an important and often neglected source of information, although it, in fact, fully presented its position on all social, political, and ethnic issues. Its role in forming the consciousness of Polish society cannot be exaggerated. The subject of the attitude of the Catholic press to the “Jewish question” has frequently been discussed. However, the repetition of certain themes can be noted, while others are ignored – for example, the matter of the solution to the “Jewish question” through mass emigration. Indeed, emigration was the most frequently proposed solution to the Jewish question within the Catholic press. Economic boycott, so‑called Aryan provisions within professional  organizations, social isolation, and even the creation of ghettos were only successive steps on the road to the complete removal of the Jewish minority from the country. Jewish emigration was seen as a way of reducing unemployment and “Polonizing” Polish cities with legions of poor peasants, who then could take the place of Jews in trade and handicrafts. Initially, most articles dealt with the possibility of Jewish emigration to Palestine. In time, however, with the introduction of limits by the British government, and perhaps even more because of an alleged threat to and profanation of the Holy Land, ideas of other possible areas for colonization were developed.
This article attempts to answer the question as to how original the ideas presented in Catholic journalism were, and to what degree they only repeated ideas current in the Second Republic. Through analysis of the press, an attempt is also made to demonstrate how the idea of Jewish emigration evolved and what determined such changes.