Central Committee of Jews in Poland. Special Commission Centralny Komitet Żydów Polskich (CKŻP). Komisja Specialna (Sygn. 303/VIII)

The Centralny Komitet Żydów w Polsce, CKŻP (Central Committee of Jews in Poland) was the most prominent official Jewish institution in Poland following the Holocaust. CKŻP attended to the needs of Jews from the fall of 1944 until 1950. It sponsored a variety of programs, providing food, shelter, education, medical assistance, cultural activities, and employment services and vocational training. The CKŻP also supervised the repatriation of Jews from the Soviet Union and assisted with legal emigration. A government-funded body, it was supported financially by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. Following the Kielce pogrom of 4 July 1946, the committee oversaw a Jewish self-defense organization, the Komisja Specjalna (Special Commission). It employed about 2,500 guards. The guards protected approximately 390 institutions and units of immobile property. The guards were also in charge of security during various meetings and events organized by the CKŻP institutions, for example, by providing special protection during the excavations of the Ringelblum Archive from the ruins of the Warsaw ghetto in September 1946. The staff of the Special Commission were also responsible for collecting all types of information. A gradual stabilization and less frequent anti-Jewish acts led to the liquidation of the Central Special Commission. Copyright Holder: Żydowski Instytut Historyczny im. Emanuela Ringelbluma Circular letters, protocols, minutes, orders, correspondence, as well as personal and financial files of the main office and regional branches of the Centralny Komitet Żydów Polskich (CKŻP), Specjalna Komisja in Poland.