Israel Schwartz
Encyclopedia
Israel Schwartz was a Hungarian
, apparently of Jewish descent, who in 1888 claimed to have witnessed an assault on a London
woman that is believed to be tied to the Jack the Ripper
slayings.
Schwartz told police that, shortly after midnight on September 30, he was walking down a street when he saw a man stop and speak to a woman who was standing in a gateway. Schwartz stated that the man then threw the woman to the ground. Schwartz crossed the street and began walking away when the attacker saw him. The attacker called out the name "Lipski" — apparently an Anti-Semitic insult related to Israel Lipski
's murder of a woman the year before. Schwartz reported seeing a man smoking a pipe nearby at the time, and the other man started walking towards Schwartz, possibly following him. Schwartz ran away.
Shortly after the time Schwartz reported witnessing this incident, the body of Elizabeth Stride
was found in the same location. That same day Schwartz identified Stride's body as that of the woman he had seen attacked and gave testimony to the police about what he had seen. He was able to give descriptions of both men but was unable to say whether they knew each other or had been working together.
Several years after the crimes, Commissioner Robert Anderson claimed in his autobiography The Lighter Side of My Official Life that the Ripper had been identified by "the only person who ever had a good view of the murderer." Chief Inspector Donald Swanson
, in marginalia found in his personal copy of Anderson's book, stated that the witness in question was Jewish. Some Ripperologists have concluded that Schwartz was most likely the man being referred to, although a number of other people, primarily Joseph Lawende
, have been suggested as well. Some authors dispute Anderson's claims of there having been a witness who identified the Ripper as being a self-serving distortion of events to try to cover up Scotland Yard
's failure to catch the killer.
Anderson's assertion that a Jewish witness identified a Jewish suspect can hardly be true. Schwartz was sent on his way with the anti-Semitic insult "Lipski", which suggests that the man he saw attacking Stride was an anti-Jewish gentile. Lawende, the only other Jewish witness, told Swanson that he doubted if he would again recognise the man he saw with a woman who might have been Catharine Eddowes, ten minutes before her body was found. Swanson (in his "marginalia") said that Anderson's suspect was identified in secret at a police convalescent home that he referred to as "the seaside home" and he named him as "Kosminski", thought to be Aaron Kosminski
. He said that Kosminski was taken back to his brother's home in Whitechapel but kept under surveillance until he was taken to a workhouse infirmary, from which he was quickly sent on to the Colney Hatch asylum. Records of the Mile End Old Town workhouse infirmary showed that Kosminski was taken there and transferred to Colney Hatch in February 1891. That was over two clear years from Lawende's sighting of the man with Eddowes and if Lawende doubted then that he would recognise that man if he saw him again, he was hardly likely to have "unhesitatingly have identified him the moment he was confronted with him" as Anderson said in his book.
A minority of authors on the topic have argued that Schwartz's testimony is questionable, as a number of other witnesses reported being in the same general area at the time and did not mention seeing anyone attacked or hear any shouting.
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, apparently of Jewish descent, who in 1888 claimed to have witnessed an assault on a London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
woman that is believed to be tied to the Jack the Ripper
Jack the Ripper
"Jack the Ripper" is the best-known name given to an unidentified serial killer who was active in the largely impoverished areas in and around the Whitechapel district of London in 1888. The name originated in a letter, written by someone claiming to be the murderer, that was disseminated in the...
slayings.
Schwartz told police that, shortly after midnight on September 30, he was walking down a street when he saw a man stop and speak to a woman who was standing in a gateway. Schwartz stated that the man then threw the woman to the ground. Schwartz crossed the street and began walking away when the attacker saw him. The attacker called out the name "Lipski" — apparently an Anti-Semitic insult related to Israel Lipski
Israel Lipski
Israel Lipski born Israel Lobulsk, was a convicted murderer of Polish-Jewish descent living in the East End of London. Lipski worked as an umbrella stick salesman, employing Harry Schmuss and Henry Rosenbloom...
's murder of a woman the year before. Schwartz reported seeing a man smoking a pipe nearby at the time, and the other man started walking towards Schwartz, possibly following him. Schwartz ran away.
Shortly after the time Schwartz reported witnessing this incident, the body of Elizabeth Stride
Elizabeth Stride
Elizabeth "Long Liz" Stride is believed to be the third victim of the notorious unidentified serial killer called Jack the Ripper, who killed and mutilated prostitutes in the Whitechapel area of London from late August to early November 1888.She was nicknamed "Long Liz"...
was found in the same location. That same day Schwartz identified Stride's body as that of the woman he had seen attacked and gave testimony to the police about what he had seen. He was able to give descriptions of both men but was unable to say whether they knew each other or had been working together.
Several years after the crimes, Commissioner Robert Anderson claimed in his autobiography The Lighter Side of My Official Life that the Ripper had been identified by "the only person who ever had a good view of the murderer." Chief Inspector Donald Swanson
Donald Swanson
Chief Inspector Donald Sutherland Swanson was born in Thurso in Scotland, and was a senior police officer in the Metropolitan Police in London during the notorious Jack the Ripper murders of 1888.-Early life:...
, in marginalia found in his personal copy of Anderson's book, stated that the witness in question was Jewish. Some Ripperologists have concluded that Schwartz was most likely the man being referred to, although a number of other people, primarily Joseph Lawende
Joseph Lawende
Joseph Lawende born in Warsaw, Poland, a cigarette salesman, is, with Israel Schwartz, among the most discussed of witnesses in the series of murders committed by the notorious Jack the Ripper in Whitechapel in London in 1888....
, have been suggested as well. Some authors dispute Anderson's claims of there having been a witness who identified the Ripper as being a self-serving distortion of events to try to cover up Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
's failure to catch the killer.
Anderson's assertion that a Jewish witness identified a Jewish suspect can hardly be true. Schwartz was sent on his way with the anti-Semitic insult "Lipski", which suggests that the man he saw attacking Stride was an anti-Jewish gentile. Lawende, the only other Jewish witness, told Swanson that he doubted if he would again recognise the man he saw with a woman who might have been Catharine Eddowes, ten minutes before her body was found. Swanson (in his "marginalia") said that Anderson's suspect was identified in secret at a police convalescent home that he referred to as "the seaside home" and he named him as "Kosminski", thought to be Aaron Kosminski
Aaron Kosminski
Aaron Kosminski was an insane Polish Jew who was a suspect in the Jack the Ripper murders. He emigrated to England from Poland in the 1880s and worked as a hairdresser in Whitechapel in the East End of London, where the murders were committed in 1888...
. He said that Kosminski was taken back to his brother's home in Whitechapel but kept under surveillance until he was taken to a workhouse infirmary, from which he was quickly sent on to the Colney Hatch asylum. Records of the Mile End Old Town workhouse infirmary showed that Kosminski was taken there and transferred to Colney Hatch in February 1891. That was over two clear years from Lawende's sighting of the man with Eddowes and if Lawende doubted then that he would recognise that man if he saw him again, he was hardly likely to have "unhesitatingly have identified him the moment he was confronted with him" as Anderson said in his book.
A minority of authors on the topic have argued that Schwartz's testimony is questionable, as a number of other witnesses reported being in the same general area at the time and did not mention seeing anyone attacked or hear any shouting.