LOUIS SHREIBMAN MINUTES OF THE RELIEF CONFERENCE On Sunday, December 16, 1945, a nationwide confer- ence of Bialystoker relief committees was held at the Center in New York. The participants discussed ways to improve our assistance program for surviving landsleit. David Sohn, Executive Director of the Bialystoker Center, reported on the progress of the relief program to date. He described the difficulty the committee first encountered in sending funds directly to Bialystok. It became necessary to funnel these monies through the Joint Distribution Committee. Now it is possible for our committee to send packages of food, medicine and clothes to the several hundred Jews in Bialystok directly from New York. We have also aided Bialystokers in France, Italy, Belgium and Sweden. We have received conflicting reports about the exact number of Jews in Bialystok today. The situation is in flux; Jews arrive and depart every day. Bialystok is in ruins, according to mail we received from Jews living there. All factories were destroyed by the Nazis. The Jewish citizenry there has attempted in recent weeks to rebuild a modicum of Jewish life in the city. In fact, a school for more than twenty Jewish children has opened. Most Jews wish to leave Bialystok for the United States or Israel, because it is difficult for them to stay there. The blood of their loved ones drenches the soil. Mr. Sohn stressed that the assistance we have pro- vided thus far has only scratched the surface. More sub- stantial relief in the coming months can alleviate the problem. This will, of course, depend upon our resour- ces. We will have to send equipment to promote busi- ness, funds for loans, supplies to outfit a hospital and, in general, everything needed to re-establish a Jewish community in Bialystok. Mr. Sohn lamented the fact that /andsmanschaften in New York and other American cities representing communities surrounding Bialystok have not seen fit to join the relief effort to improve the quality of the pro- gram. Instead, they operate independently, their efforts less than successful. Many Jews in Bialystok today orig- inate from the towns represented by these societies. It would therefore be logical for them to unite with the Bialystoker Center. Mr. Sohn expressed the hope that this conference would find a way of winning the sup- port of these groups. Jews in Bialystok have inundated our headquarters in New York with a stream of letters, inquiring about family and friends with whom they have been out of touch. The Committee has located one hundred and twenty-two familes, placing them in contact with their relatives in Europe. The most tragic letters are from 138 people who unfortunately have no family or friends, who are totally alone. Mr. Sohn concluded his report by thanking the Bialystoker organizations outside of New York that have done such splendid work on behalf of the surviving Jews in Bialystok. The following resolutions were adopted by the conference: 1. Whereas few Jews remain from the large com- munity that existed in Bialystok before the war, our respective /andsmanschaften in the United States and Canada pledge to assist them to the greatest extent possible. 2. Whereas many Jews from Bialystok and vicinity are scattered in various Polish cities, and it 1s impossi- ble for our committee to reach them directly, all Bialy- stoker societies in the United States and Canada pledge to forward additional assistance to the General Jewish Relief Committee, with the proviso that Bialystoker Jews benefit from these funds. 3. Whereas many Bialystokers have emigrated to various European countries other than Poland, we obli- gate ourselves to provide assistance to them whether as groups or individuals. | 4. Whereas Jews in smaller towns near Bialystok suffered as much as Bialystoker Jews, our Relief Com- mittee pledges to assist them. Further, we also intend to encourage societies representing these smaller commu- nities to join with the Bialystoker Relief Committee in helping their people. | 5. The Bialystoker Center in New York shall serve as the central headquarters for the relief program. It will coordinate the activities of Bialystoker /andsman- schaften in other cities in the United States and Canada. 6. An Executive Committee shall be appointed to implement the policies and resolutions of the confer- ence until our next meeting. 7. The next conference will convene in Canada in six months. The Bialystoker Memorial Book