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Bench ghetto
A form of discrimination against minority
students in which they were forced to sit in designated
benches of
university lecture halls. Polish nationalist groups had
demanded that
university authorities adopt this policy, and that the
parliament
introduce the principle of numerus clausus (1923) or numerus
nullus
(1935). These policies were aimed above all against Jewish
students,
and, in Lwow, also against Ukrainians. In 1935, the Lwow
Polytechnic was
the first to introduce a "bench ghetto"; by 1937, most
rectors at the
other institutions of higher learning had done so as well, a
move that
had been approved by the Ministry of Religious Faiths and
Public
Education.
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Jewish students' indexes (student
identification document where grades are also recorded)
began to be
marked with the word "Jewish". Jewish students protested
these policies,
along with a few Poles supporting them, by refusing to
occupy the
places on the benches, choosing to stand during lectures
instead. A few
professors also showed their support, including the
philosopher T.
Kotarbinski (1886-1981).
(H.W./CM)
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