Warsaw – Polski Hotel

This was a hotel in Warsaw that in 1943 became a place of detention for Jews holding passports of neutral states, especially south american ones. Holders of neutral states passports was in comparison to other Jews safer. They did not risk being forced into labor camps and did not risk being subjected to the same violent treatment by the Germans and their collaborators. This fact attracted the interest of Swiss jewish organizations that Jews with passports of neutral states might be able to emigrate. Therefore, the consulates of several neutral states without official permission of their governments began to issue passports or other documents that ”strengthened” the nationality of the holder. The documents were later sold by (Jewish) profiteers for shameless sums and therefore few could afford them. Some susptected the passports was a trap to lure them out of their hiding and hesitated.

But in the summer of 1942, deportations towards extermination camps began. Jews who uptil then had hesitated bying passports thought it was worth the risk. Holders of neutral states passports were taken to hotel Polski. From there about 250 were sent to Vittel collection camp in France, and about 2500 were sent to Bergen-Belsen in Germany. From there it was believed that the Jews could travel further to their ”home countries”. But the Germans suspected that something was wrong and had the passports checked. For instance, by contacting the states in which the passports were issued. However, since the passports were issued without permission, the South American states indicated that the passports were invalid and thus did not allow the holder to enter. Only British Palestine allowed document holders to enter Palestine in exchange for Germans who were trapped in Palestine. About 50 Jews from the camp in Vittel and about 350 Jews from Bergen-Belsen survived. The others were sent to Auschwitz in 1943 and 1944, where they were murdered.