Abraham Gancwajch
Encyclopedia
Abraham Gancwajch was a prominent Jewish Nazi collaborator in Warsaw Ghetto
during Second World War and a "kingpin" of the ghetto underwold.
, Poland
. As a youth, he spent time as a journalist and editor in Łódź, and eventually left Poland for Vienna
, Austria
where he also served as a journalist (contributing to Gerechtigkeit [Justice] edited by Irena Harand), but was eventually expelled from Vienna around 1936–1938 and returned to Poland. Before the war he was a teacher and a Zionist journalist known from his anti-Nazi stance; he was also known as an excellent orator. He was also a leader of Hashomer Hatzair
(a Socialist-Zionist youth movement).
After the German invasion of Poland, he surfaced in Warsaw
as a refugee from Łódź and as a person with connections to Sicherheitsdienst
(SD) and became a Nazi collaborator. In December 1940 he founded the Group 13
network, a Jewish Nazi
collaborationist
organization in Warsaw Ghetto
, described by some as the "Jewish Gestapo".
Gancwajch believed that Germans would win the war and the Jews had to serve the Germans if there was any hope of survival, and he therefore preached the wisdom of collaboration with the German conquerors. He was also a proponent of creating an autonomous place of settlement for Jews under the protection of the Third Reich in one of the overseas countries. Adam Czerniakow
, whom Gancwajch attempted to usurp as the head of the Judenrat
mentioned him in his diary as "a despicable, ugly creature". Janusz Korczak
who ran an orphanage in the ghetto when asked why he was dealing with him replied "I will see the devil himself to save my children".
In the ghetto he lived a lavish life, collecting hefty sums from others by various means. On the other hand in order to support appearances he helped the poor and the artists; however all of his initiatives became corrupted — for example he set up a hospital with ambulances, but quickly the network became used primarily for smuggling by the Group 13, which also by the time became a racketeering network (officially it was supposed to combat the black market in the ghetto).
After most of the Group 13
was eliminated by the Germans in 1942, Gancwajch reemerged outside the ghetto
on the Aryan side in Warsaw
, where he and other members of his group, pretending to be Jewish underground fighters, were hunting for Poles hiding or otherwise supporting the Jews. He was also the leader of the infamous Żagiew
Gestapo
-sponsored Jewish organization. He is also known to have tried to sabotage attempts at the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
. The Jewish Combat Organization sentenced him to death but were never able to execute him. His further fate remains unknown to this day; according to one record he was killed together with his family in Pawiak
in Warsaw, perhaps around early spring 1943.
Opinions about Gancwajch in the ghetto were divided; some saw him as a traitor, others as a person who was trying to cheat the Germans and help the Jews. Modern research unanimously concludes he was a collaborator motivated by ideological and personal interests.
Warsaw Ghetto
The Warsaw Ghetto was the largest of all Jewish Ghettos in Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II. It was established in the Polish capital between October and November 15, 1940, in the territory of General Government of the German-occupied Poland, with over 400,000 Jews from the vicinity...
during Second World War and a "kingpin" of the ghetto underwold.
Biography
Gancwajch was born in CzęstochowaCzestochowa
Częstochowa is a city in south Poland on the Warta River with 240,027 inhabitants . It has been situated in the Silesian Voivodeship since 1999, and was previously the capital of Częstochowa Voivodeship...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. As a youth, he spent time as a journalist and editor in Łódź, and eventually left Poland for Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
where he also served as a journalist (contributing to Gerechtigkeit [Justice] edited by Irena Harand), but was eventually expelled from Vienna around 1936–1938 and returned to Poland. Before the war he was a teacher and a Zionist journalist known from his anti-Nazi stance; he was also known as an excellent orator. He was also a leader of Hashomer Hatzair
Hashomer Hatzair
Hashomer Hatzair is a Socialist–Zionist youth movement founded in 1913 in Galicia, Austria-Hungary, and was also the name of the group's political party in the Yishuv in the pre-1948 British Mandate of Palestine...
(a Socialist-Zionist youth movement).
After the German invasion of Poland, he surfaced in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
as a refugee from Łódź and as a person with connections to Sicherheitsdienst
Sicherheitsdienst
Sicherheitsdienst , full title Sicherheitsdienst des Reichsführers-SS, or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. The organization was the first Nazi Party intelligence organization to be established and was often considered a "sister organization" with the...
(SD) and became a Nazi collaborator. In December 1940 he founded the Group 13
Group 13
"The Group Thirteen" network was a Jewish collaborationist organisation in the Warsaw Ghetto during the Second World War. The Thirteen took its informal name from the address of its main office in Leszno Street 13. The group was founded in December 1940 and led by Abraham Gancwajch, the former...
network, a Jewish Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
collaborationist
Collaborationism
Collaborationism is cooperation with enemy forces against one's country. Legally, it may be considered as a form of treason. Collaborationism may be associated with criminal deeds in the service of the occupying power, which may include complicity with the occupying power in murder, persecutions,...
organization in Warsaw Ghetto
Warsaw Ghetto
The Warsaw Ghetto was the largest of all Jewish Ghettos in Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II. It was established in the Polish capital between October and November 15, 1940, in the territory of General Government of the German-occupied Poland, with over 400,000 Jews from the vicinity...
, described by some as the "Jewish Gestapo".
Gancwajch believed that Germans would win the war and the Jews had to serve the Germans if there was any hope of survival, and he therefore preached the wisdom of collaboration with the German conquerors. He was also a proponent of creating an autonomous place of settlement for Jews under the protection of the Third Reich in one of the overseas countries. Adam Czerniakow
Adam Czerniaków
Adam Czerniaków , born in Warsaw, Poland, was a Polish-Jewish engineer and senator to the prewar Polish Sejm for Nonpartisan Bloc for Cooperation with the Government...
, whom Gancwajch attempted to usurp as the head of the Judenrat
Judenrat
Judenräte were administrative bodies during the Second World War that the Germans required Jews to form in the German occupied territory of Poland, and later in the occupied territories of the Soviet Union It is the overall term for the enforcement bodies established by the Nazi occupiers to...
mentioned him in his diary as "a despicable, ugly creature". Janusz Korczak
Janusz Korczak
Janusz Korczak, the pen name of Henryk Goldszmit was a Polish-Jewish children's author, and pediatrician known as Pan Doktor or Stary Doktor...
who ran an orphanage in the ghetto when asked why he was dealing with him replied "I will see the devil himself to save my children".
In the ghetto he lived a lavish life, collecting hefty sums from others by various means. On the other hand in order to support appearances he helped the poor and the artists; however all of his initiatives became corrupted — for example he set up a hospital with ambulances, but quickly the network became used primarily for smuggling by the Group 13, which also by the time became a racketeering network (officially it was supposed to combat the black market in the ghetto).
After most of the Group 13
Group 13
"The Group Thirteen" network was a Jewish collaborationist organisation in the Warsaw Ghetto during the Second World War. The Thirteen took its informal name from the address of its main office in Leszno Street 13. The group was founded in December 1940 and led by Abraham Gancwajch, the former...
was eliminated by the Germans in 1942, Gancwajch reemerged outside the ghetto
Ghetto
A ghetto is a section of a city predominantly occupied by a group who live there, especially because of social, economic, or legal issues.The term was originally used in Venice to describe the area where Jews were compelled to live. The term now refers to an overcrowded urban area often associated...
on the Aryan side in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, where he and other members of his group, pretending to be Jewish underground fighters, were hunting for Poles hiding or otherwise supporting the Jews. He was also the leader of the infamous Żagiew
Zagiew
Żagiew was a collaborationist Jewish organisation in German Nazi-occupied Warsaw, founded by the Germans in February 1943, during World War II at the beginning of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising...
Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
-sponsored Jewish organization. He is also known to have tried to sabotage attempts at the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was the Jewish resistance that arose within the Warsaw Ghetto in German occupied Poland during World War II, and which opposed Nazi Germany's effort to transport the remaining ghetto population to Treblinka extermination camp....
. The Jewish Combat Organization sentenced him to death but were never able to execute him. His further fate remains unknown to this day; according to one record he was killed together with his family in Pawiak
Pawiak
Pawiak was a prison built in 1835 in Warsaw, Poland.During the January 1863 Uprising, it served as a transfer camp for Poles sentenced by Imperial Russia to deportation to Siberia....
in Warsaw, perhaps around early spring 1943.
Opinions about Gancwajch in the ghetto were divided; some saw him as a traitor, others as a person who was trying to cheat the Germans and help the Jews. Modern research unanimously concludes he was a collaborator motivated by ideological and personal interests.