After Nearly 70 Years, B'nai B'rith Revived in Poland

WARSAW, Poland -- In 1938, by decree from the president of the Republic of Poland, B'nai B'rith was forced to close its 10 lodges after it was deemed a Masonic organization. The Polish government had targeted the Masons, and despite efforts of B'nai B'rith's then leadership to show the organization was not a Masonic movement, the decision stood. The decree ended the B'nai B'rith presence in Poland. The Nazis invaded a year later in September 1939 and the Holocaust began. Nearly 70 years after the closings, in an event 10 years in the planning, B'nai B'rith International relaunched its lodge in Warsaw, Poland. In a moving ceremony on September 9, the lodge installed 37 opening members.

B'nai B'rith leaders gather around BB Poland's charter, proclaiming the first time BBI has had a lodge in Poland since the Holocaust. From left: EVP Daniel S. Mariaschin; UNESCO representative Witold Zyss; BBI President Moishe Smith; BB Poland President Dr. Andrzej Friedman (holding the charter); and BBE President Reinold Simon.

"Although we are a new lodge of B'nai B'rith, in fact our tradition in Poland is quite long. We will try to act according to BB philosophy," Friedman said.

"Our main goals will include defense of human rights wherever they are violated, actions against antisemitism and against unjustified anti-Israeli attacks, support for development of Jewish culture and science in Poland, and help for Jews in Eastern European countries, such as Belorussia and Moldavia," he said.

Friedman, B'nai B'rith Poland's Secretary-General Malka Kafka, and others in Poland and Europe planned long and hard to revive the lodge—and their delight in reaching that goal was contagious to the more than 100 people attending the installation ceremony.

"The pride emanating from the crowd of 37 new brothers and sisters as they became part of our worldwide family was exhilarating," said B'nai B'rith International President Moishe Smith, who attended the packed lodge installation ceremony in Warsaw. "It was a proud and honorable moment for me personally, and for all of B'nai B'rith."

Leaders and members of B'nai B'rith Europe and B'nai B'rith International, including Executive Vice President Daniel S. Mariaschin, and invited guests, attended the installation and reception that followed. Mariaschin emphasized how important it is to the organization—and to the world Jewish community on the whole—that B'nai B'rith is reviving its Polish presence.

"The launch of our new lodge in Warsaw carries great significance," Mariaschin said. "Given B'nai B'rith's long, but interrupted history in Poland, the country's relationship to both the U.S. and Israel bilaterally, and as a member of the European Union—and the revival of Jewish life there—the new lodge can act as an important participant in a wide range of issues on the B'nai B'rith and broader Jewish agenda."

Noting the import of the occasion, Polish President Lech Kaczynski sent a message welcoming B'nai B'rith's return through his representative Undersecretary of State Ewa Junczyk-Ziomecka, who attended the reception.

"Nearly 70 years ago, in 1938, a decree of the President of the Republic of Poland, as a result of absurd fears, misunderstandings, and misleading correlations, declared illegal the Polish section of B'nai B'rith," said Junczyk-Ziomecka. "It should therefore be considered as a symbolic gesture that I am now here in front of you, as representative of the President of the Republic, in order to welcome you and your organization that opens for the second time its activities in Poland."

Junczyk-Ziomecka spoke of the importance of B'nai B'rith's mission, and how the organization has "become today one of the most important international organizations fighting racism, antisemitism, and xenophobia."

"At a time when the relations between Poland and Israel are among the best in Europe we should strive at a constant and mutual development of Polish-Jewish relations," she said. "This requires a continuous effort and readiness for compromise. This is not easy, but I believe that it is precisely your commitment that will have a significant influence on the mutual understanding of Poles and of Jews." (See an unofficial translation of the statement here.)

Historical Roots

B'nai B'rith in Poland has early organizational roots. The first B'nai B'rith lodge was started in Krakow in 1898, according to Friedman. Others in now what is Polish territory started in areas then belonging to Prussia and to Austria.

These lodges were part of Germany or Austria-Hungary. In the territories which before the First World War were a part of Russia, lodges were created only after Poland recovered its independence (Warsaw 1922, Lódz 1926).

B'nai B'rith membership in pre-war Poland was the elite of Jewish society, composed largely of factory owners, businessmen, bankers, managers of corporations, lawyers, and doctors. Among them there were also a number of well-known personalities, as well as several senators and deputies to the Polish parliament.

The new lodge's installation coincided with a week of Jewish festival activities, which ranged from concerts from an international array of musicians; to Yiddish Theater and silent movies; to cooking classes. It was the festival's fourth year.

Although there are only an estimated 2,000 Jews in Warsaw (and that number is in question), the "I.B. Singer's Warsaw" festival was well-attended because, as one organizer says the general Polish populace is showing "a new interest in all things Jewish."

B'nai B'rith Europe (BBE) President Reinold Simon noted the significance of the timing of the lodge's reopening.

"As president of BBE, I think this event taking place at the same time as the Jewish week celebrations in Warsaw attracting thousands of visitors shows, joyfully, that Jewish life in Poland is present and growing," said Simon.

"The presence of a B'nai B'rith lodge is also for BBE an important fact," he says. "We in BBE have been working on this for more then 10 years. The new board members are ready to enlarge their presence and we hope to see in the future new lodges throughout Poland."

-- Hiram M. Reisner