March 1939, Refugee rabbis in Zbaszyn, Poland

Refugee Rabbis in the Polish border town of Zbaszyn, on March 6, 1939. These Rabbis were deported from Germany to Zbaszyn from October to November 1938 together with another 5,799 Jews without German citizenship.

In late October, 1938 the Germans began arresting Jews with Polish citizenship who had been living in Germany, and deporting them to Poland. The Polish authorities placed the Jews in the border town of Zbaszyn and forbade them from leaving in the hope that the large number of Jews near the border would pressure the Germans into beginning negotiations to allow them back into Germany. The negotiations ended in January 1939, by which time some Jews had already been taken in by friends and family in Poland, while other deportees were permitted to return to Germany to wind up their affairs, on condition that they would then return to Poland.

Yad Vashem Photo Archives 3465/2