Lodz, Poland (Dec. 3)
The Jewish community of Lodz, which has the largest Jewish population of any city in Poland, has taken steps to expand the Jewish school system, because of the increasing number of Jews returning here, and has set up a body to assist demobilized Jewish soldiers, hundreds of whom are being discharged daily.
Three-hundred children are already attending Jewish schools, and an additional 100 have applied, but they cannot be admitted because of the crowded classrooms and the shortage of benches, school supplies and textbooks. Attempts to secure additional space have been unsuccessful because of the shortage of habitable buildings here.
The problem of the homeless Jewish soldiers is equally pressing, since in most cases they have no homes or families to which to return. The Jewish committee arranged a meeting of 150 of them, at which it decided to provide the veterans with a large hall to be used for temporary housing until they can secure apartments, and also a fund for immediate assistance.
The revival of Jewish life here is reflected further in the recently concluded six-week agricultural training course run by the Hechalutz organization, which has resumed functioning throughout Poland, and the establishment of a Jewish theatre.