Polonia, Comitato centrale degli ebrei, 1944-1950 (USHMM)

General collection information

This database contains details extracted from documents on the Jewish communities throughout Poland; the central index books and registration forms for Jewish survivors in Poland (approximately 280,000 cards); portions of the Lublin, Łódź, Gliwice, and Bielsko-Biała card files; a card file created by the Warsaw committee of the CKŻP; and a file on people sent from Lvov to Poland during the population exchange with Ukraine. The original records are held by the Żydowski Instytut Historyczny im. Emanuela Ringelbluma (Emanuel Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute) in Poland.

Historical Background

The Central Committee of Polish Jews (Centralny Komitet Żydów w Polsce - CKŻP) was established as a state-sponsored political representation of Jews in Poland at the end of World War II on November 12, 1944. It provided care and assistance to Jews who survived the Holocaust and represented all CKŻP registered Polish Jews in dealing the Polish government. By January, 1946, CKŻP registered 86,000 survivors from across Poland. At the end of the summer, the number of registrants was around 205,000. CKŻP also assisted refugees from the Soviet Union who were able to come to Poland thanks to the Polish-Soviet repatriation agreement.