Gentile Candy

In Warsaw's ancient, stinking ghetto last week was many a jumpy Jew who feared for his life. Hardly a day had passed without a terrorizing raid by the newly-formed Polish Nazis and a vigorous counterattack .by the young men of the ghetto. One day a gentile woman on her way through the ghetto paused to give a child a piece of candy. Instantly the ingelach (little boys) and maedelach (little girls) swarmed around her, squawling for candy. A pious Jew stopped in the narrow, stall-lined street, looked into her face, then shouted, "Don't eat the gentile candy. It's poisoned!"

A score of Jews took up the cry. Jewish mothers clawed their way through the crowd, pried well-slobbered candy out of their children's mouths, turned on the candy-giver. The kindly woman saw a rim of angry faces, felt slaps, blows, kicks, cuffs, scratches. A conductor leaped off his tramcar, went to her rescue. The crowd mauled him thoroughly. Soon the cobbles rang with mounted police. The Jews fell back a little, screaming for the woman's arrest. The police took her and her candy to the police station, found both quite harmless.

Next day Warsaw's Jewish newspapers scare-headed stories that half a dozen gentile "witches" had distributed poison candy in the ghetto, throwing the candy from speeding automobiles. Rumor counted seven boys and girls dead. Warsaw's Mayor Koscialkowski ordered the Jewish newspaper editions confiscated. When a delegation of Jews waited on him, he promised the Jewish population (some 100.000) of Warsaw full protection, but added significantly: "The government does not underestimate the danger of a civil war between the Jewish and Christian populations."

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