Zydowski Zwiazek Wojskowy
Encyclopedia
Żydowski Związek Wojskowy (ŻZW, Polish
for Jewish Military Union) was an underground
resistance organization
operating during World War II
in the area of the Warsaw Ghetto
which fought during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
. It was formed primarily of former officers of the Polish Army in late 1939, soon after the start of the German
occupation
of Poland
.
Due to its close ties with the all-national Armia Krajowa (AK)
, after the war the Communist authorities of Poland suppressed the publication of books and articles on ŻZW, whose role in the uprising in the ghetto was undervalued, as opposed to the Jewish organization Żydowska Organizacja Bojowa
(Jewish Fighting Organization) with less direct ties to the Polish AK.
The ŻZW was formed some time in November 1939, immediately after the German and Soviet conquest of Poland. Among its founding members was Dawid Mordechaj Apfelbaum, a pre-war Lieutenant
of the Polish Army, who proposed to his former superior, Captain Henryk Iwański
, the formation of a Jewish en cadre
resistance
as an integral part of the general Polish resistance being formed at that time. At the end of December such an organization was indeed formed and received the name of Żydowski Związek Walki. On January 30, 1940, its existence was approved by General
Władysław Sikorski, the Polish commander in chief and the prime minister
of the Polish Government in Exile
Initially consisting of only 39 men, each armed with a Vis pistol, with time it had grown to become one of the most numerous and most notable Jewish resistance organizations in Poland. Between 1940 and 1942 additional cells were formed in most major towns of Poland, including the most notable groups in Lublin
, Lwów and Stanisławów
. Although initially formed entirely by professional soldiers, with time it also included members of pre-war right wing Jewish-Polish parties such as Betar (among them Perec Laskier, Lowa Swerin, Paweł Frenkel, Merediks, Langleben and Rosenfeld), Hatzohar
(Joel Białobrow, Dawid Wdowiński
) (Political Chair), and the revisionist faction of the Polish Zionist Party (Leib "Leon" Rodal and Meir Klingbeil).
The ŻZW was formed in close ties with Iwański's organization and initially focused primarily on acquisition of arms and preparation of a large-scale operation in which all of its members could escape to Hungary
, from where they wanted to flee to join the Polish Armed Forces in the West
. With time however it was decided that the members stay in occupied Poland to help organize the struggle against the occupiers. In the later period the ŻZW focused on acquisition of arms for the future struggle as well as on helping the Jews to escape the ghettos, created in almost every town in German-held Poland. Thanks to the close ties with the Związek Walki Zbrojnej
and then the AK (mainly through Iwański's
Security Corps
, the Polish underground police
force), the ŻZW received a large number of guns and armaments, as well as training of their members by professional officers. Those resistance organizations also provided help with weapons and ammunition acquisition, as well as with organizing the escapes.
Although the ŻZW was active in a number of towns in Poland, its major headquarters
remained in Warsaw
. When most of the Jewish inhabitants were forced into the Warsaw Ghetto, the ŻZW remained in contact with the outside world through Iwański and a number of other officers on the Aryan side. By the summer of 1942, the League had 320 well-armed members in Warsaw alone. During the first large deportation
from the Warsaw Ghetto, the ŻZW received the news of the German plans and managed to hide most of its members in bunkers, which resulted in less than 20 of them being arrested by the Germans. Although Dawid Mordechaj Apfelbaum could not convince Adam Czerniaków
to start an armed uprising against the Germans during the deportation, the organization managed to preserve most of its members - and assets. It also started to train more members and by January 1943 it already had roughly 500 men at arms in Warsaw alone. In addition, the technological department of the ŻZW, together with Capt. Cezary Ketling's group of the PLAN
resistance organization managed to dig two secret tunnels under the walls of the ghetto, providing contact with the outside and allowing smuggling of arms into the ghetto.
companies, to be manned by newly arrived volunteers when need arises. This indeed happened in April 1943, though the actual number of ŻZW soldiers to take part in the Uprising is a matter of debate. Apart from the fighting groups, the ŻZW was organized into several departments:.
ŻZW is said to have had about 400 well-armed fighters grouped in 11 units. ŻZW fought together with AK fighters in Muranowska street (4 units under Frenkel). Dawid M. Apfelbaum took position in Miła street. Heniek Federbusz group organized a strong pocket of resistance in a house near Zamenhoff street. Jan Pika unit took position in Miła street, while unit of Leizer Staniewicz fought in the Nalewki
, Gęsia street and Franciszkańska
street. Dawid Berliński's group took position in second part of Nalewki. Roman Winsztok commanded group near Muranowska, where also the headquarters
of the Union was located (Muranowska 7/9 street). Photograph of ZZW headquarters at 2 Muranow Street Warsaw
either did not mention the ŻZW's fight in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in their writings at all, or belittled its importance. Also the war-time Soviet
propaganda did only briefly mention the fighters as they collided with its aims of presenting the Soviet Union as the only defender of the European Jewry. In addition, except for David Wdowiński none of the high-ranking commanders of the ŻZW survived the war to tell their part of the story and it was not until 1963 that Wdowiński's memoirs were published.
This led to a number of myths concerning both the ŻZW and the Uprising being commonly repeated in many modern publications. This was even strengthened by the post-war propaganda of the Polish communists, who openly underlined the value of the leftist Żydowska Organizacja Bojowa
, while suppressed all publications on the Armia Krajowa
-backed ŻZW.
The “Contact” ring used as a sign between the ŻZW and the Armia Krajowa is displayed in Yad Vashem
. A means of identification, used in particular during meetings of higher level officers, were two identical gold rings set with a red stone engraved with Jewish symbols. It was not enough for the contacts to show the ring, they were expected to explain the significance of the symbols.
The ring that was in the possession of the Jewish underground fighters, was destroyed in the ruins of the Ghetto. Its twin remained in the hands of Henryk Iwanski
, the leader of the Polish underground and later brought to the museum in Jerusalem, Israel
.
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
for Jewish Military Union) was an underground
Resistance movement
A resistance movement is a group or collection of individual groups, dedicated to opposing an invader in an occupied country or the government of a sovereign state. It may seek to achieve its objects through either the use of nonviolent resistance or the use of armed force...
resistance organization
Resistance during World War II
Resistance movements during World War II occurred in every occupied country by a variety of means, ranging from non-cooperation, disinformation and propaganda to hiding crashed pilots and even to outright warfare and the recapturing of towns...
operating during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in the area of the 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...
which fought during 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....
. It was formed primarily of former officers of the Polish Army in late 1939, soon after the start of the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
occupation
Military occupation
Military occupation occurs when the control and authority over a territory passes to a hostile army. The territory then becomes occupied territory.-Military occupation and the laws of war:...
of 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...
.
Due to its close ties with the all-national Armia Krajowa (AK)
Armia Krajowa
The Armia Krajowa , or Home Army, was the dominant Polish resistance movement in World War II German-occupied Poland. It was formed in February 1942 from the Związek Walki Zbrojnej . Over the next two years, it absorbed most other Polish underground forces...
, after the war the Communist authorities of Poland suppressed the publication of books and articles on ŻZW, whose role in the uprising in the ghetto was undervalued, as opposed to the Jewish organization Żydowska Organizacja Bojowa
Zydowska Organizacja Bojowa
The Jewish Combat Organization was a World War II resistance movement, which was instrumental in engineering the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. ŻOB took part in a number of other resistance activities as well...
(Jewish Fighting Organization) with less direct ties to the Polish AK.
Formation
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
of the Polish Army, who proposed to his former superior, Captain Henryk Iwański
Henryk Iwanski
Henryk Iwański , nom de guerre Bystry, was a member of the Polish resistance during WWII. He is known for leading one of the most daring actions of the Armia Krajowa in support of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising...
, the formation of a Jewish en cadre
En cadre
En cadre or cadre is a French expression originally denoting either the complement of commissioned officers of a regiment or the permanent skeleton establishment of a unit, around which the unit could be built if needed...
resistance
Resistance movement
A resistance movement is a group or collection of individual groups, dedicated to opposing an invader in an occupied country or the government of a sovereign state. It may seek to achieve its objects through either the use of nonviolent resistance or the use of armed force...
as an integral part of the general Polish resistance being formed at that time. At the end of December such an organization was indeed formed and received the name of Żydowski Związek Walki. On January 30, 1940, its existence was approved by General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Władysław Sikorski, the Polish commander in chief and the prime minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
of the Polish Government in Exile
Polish government in Exile
The Polish government-in-exile, formally known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in Exile , was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Poland of September 1939, and the subsequent occupation of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, which...
Initially consisting of only 39 men, each armed with a Vis pistol, with time it had grown to become one of the most numerous and most notable Jewish resistance organizations in Poland. Between 1940 and 1942 additional cells were formed in most major towns of Poland, including the most notable groups in Lublin
Lublin
Lublin is the ninth largest city in Poland. It is the capital of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 350,392 . Lublin is also the largest Polish city east of the Vistula river...
, Lwów and Stanisławów
Ivano-Frankivsk
Ivano-Frankivsk is a historic city located in the western Ukraine. It is the administrative centre of the Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast , and is designated as its own separate raion within the oblast, municipality....
. Although initially formed entirely by professional soldiers, with time it also included members of pre-war right wing Jewish-Polish parties such as Betar (among them Perec Laskier, Lowa Swerin, Paweł Frenkel, Merediks, Langleben and Rosenfeld), Hatzohar
Hatzohar
Hatzohar , officially Brit HaTzionim HaRevizionistim was a Revisionist Zionist organisation and political party in Mandate Palestine and newly-independent Israel.-Background:...
(Joel Białobrow, Dawid Wdowiński
Dawid Wdowinski
Dawid Wdowiński was a psychiatrist and doctor of neurology. He was a member of the right-wing Jewish organization Hatzohar and political leader of the Żydowski Związek Wojskowy resistance organization before and during the Warsaw Ghetto uprising.Before World War II, Wdowiński was a chairman of...
) (Political Chair), and the revisionist faction of the Polish Zionist Party (Leib "Leon" Rodal and Meir Klingbeil).
The ŻZW was formed in close ties with Iwański's organization and initially focused primarily on acquisition of arms and preparation of a large-scale operation in which all of its members could escape to Hungary
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...
, from where they wanted to flee to join the Polish Armed Forces in the West
Polish Armed Forces in the West
Polish Armed Forces in the West refers to the Polish military formations formed to fight alongside the Western Allies against Nazi Germany and its allies...
. With time however it was decided that the members stay in occupied Poland to help organize the struggle against the occupiers. In the later period the ŻZW focused on acquisition of arms for the future struggle as well as on helping the Jews to escape the ghettos, created in almost every town in German-held Poland. Thanks to the close ties with the Związek Walki Zbrojnej
Zwiazek Walki Zbrojnej
Związek Walki Zbrojnej was an underground army formed in Poland following its invasion in September 1939 by Germany and the Soviet Union that opened World War II.The precursor to the ZWZ was the Service...
and then the AK (mainly through Iwański's
Henryk Iwanski
Henryk Iwański , nom de guerre Bystry, was a member of the Polish resistance during WWII. He is known for leading one of the most daring actions of the Armia Krajowa in support of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising...
Security Corps
Panstwowy Korpus Bezpieczenstwa
Państwowy Korpus Bezpieczeństwa was a Polish underground police force organized by the Armia Krajowa and Government Delegate's Office at Home under German occupation during World War II...
, the Polish underground police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
force), the ŻZW received a large number of guns and armaments, as well as training of their members by professional officers. Those resistance organizations also provided help with weapons and ammunition acquisition, as well as with organizing the escapes.
Although the ŻZW was active in a number of towns in Poland, its major headquarters
Headquarters
Headquarters denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top of a corporation taking full responsibility managing all business activities...
remained 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...
. When most of the Jewish inhabitants were forced into the Warsaw Ghetto, the ŻZW remained in contact with the outside world through Iwański and a number of other officers on the Aryan side. By the summer of 1942, the League had 320 well-armed members in Warsaw alone. During the first large deportation
Deportation
Deportation means the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. Today it often refers to the expulsion of foreign nationals whereas the expulsion of nationals is called banishment, exile, or penal transportation...
from the Warsaw Ghetto, the ŻZW received the news of the German plans and managed to hide most of its members in bunkers, which resulted in less than 20 of them being arrested by the Germans. Although Dawid Mordechaj Apfelbaum could not convince Adam Czerniaków
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...
to start an armed uprising against the Germans during the deportation, the organization managed to preserve most of its members - and assets. It also started to train more members and by January 1943 it already had roughly 500 men at arms in Warsaw alone. In addition, the technological department of the ŻZW, together with Capt. Cezary Ketling's group of the PLAN
Plan
A plan is typically any diagram or list of steps with timing and resources, used to achieve an objective. See also strategy. It is commonly understood as a temporal set of intended actions, through which one expects to achieve a goal...
resistance organization managed to dig two secret tunnels under the walls of the ghetto, providing contact with the outside and allowing smuggling of arms into the ghetto.
Structure
The military leader of the ŻZW at the time of the uprising was Dr. Paweł Frenkiel, and its political leader (Zionist Revisionist), Dr. David Wdowiński. The organization was divided onto groups of five soldiers. Three groups formed a unit, four units formed a platoon and four platoons - a company, composed of roughly 240 men. In early January 1943 the ŻZW had two entirely manned and fully armed companies and two additional en cadreEn cadre
En cadre or cadre is a French expression originally denoting either the complement of commissioned officers of a regiment or the permanent skeleton establishment of a unit, around which the unit could be built if needed...
companies, to be manned by newly arrived volunteers when need arises. This indeed happened in April 1943, though the actual number of ŻZW soldiers to take part in the Uprising is a matter of debate. Apart from the fighting groups, the ŻZW was organized into several departments:.
- Political Chair, Dawid WdowińskiDawid WdowinskiDawid Wdowiński was a psychiatrist and doctor of neurology. He was a member of the right-wing Jewish organization Hatzohar and political leader of the Żydowski Związek Wojskowy resistance organization before and during the Warsaw Ghetto uprising.Before World War II, Wdowiński was a chairman of...
- Information Department, directed by Leon Rodal;
- Organization Department, directed by Paweł Frenkel;
- Supply Department ("Kwatermistrzowski"), directed by Leon Wajnsztok;
- Finances Department, without a director;
- Communication Department (contacts with Armia KrajowaArmia KrajowaThe Armia Krajowa , or Home Army, was the dominant Polish resistance movement in World War II German-occupied Poland. It was formed in February 1942 from the Związek Walki Zbrojnej . Over the next two years, it absorbed most other Polish underground forces...
mainly), directed by Dawid Apfelbaum; - Medical Department led by dr Józef Celmajster (under pseudonym Niemirski);
- Juridicial Department under Dawid Szulman;
- Saving (Ratowanie) Department (transporting Jewish children and others outside the ghetto), under Kalma Mendelson;
- Department of Technology, Transport and Supplies (which, among other things, built two tunnels under the Ghetto walls) led by Hanoch Federbusz;
- Military Department under Paweł Frenkel and Dawid Apfelbaum.
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
During the Warsaw Ghetto UprisingWarsaw 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....
ŻZW is said to have had about 400 well-armed fighters grouped in 11 units. ŻZW fought together with AK fighters in Muranowska street (4 units under Frenkel). Dawid M. Apfelbaum took position in Miła street. Heniek Federbusz group organized a strong pocket of resistance in a house near Zamenhoff street. Jan Pika unit took position in Miła street, while unit of Leizer Staniewicz fought in the Nalewki
Nalewki
Nalewki is a former name of the Bohaterów Getta street in Warsaw, Poland, as well as a name applied to the entire borough around it. The street runs from the Długa Street in the New Town towards what was the northern outskirts of the city in 19th century, and the neighbourhood of Muranów...
, Gęsia street and Franciszkańska
Franciszkanska
Franciszkańska is a street in the centre of Warsaw, linking the New Town with Nalewki street. In the 19th century it was inhabited primarily by Jews, who converted the street into a large open-air marketplace...
street. Dawid Berliński's group took position in second part of Nalewki. Roman Winsztok commanded group near Muranowska, where also the headquarters
Headquarters
Headquarters denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top of a corporation taking full responsibility managing all business activities...
of the Union was located (Muranowska 7/9 street). Photograph of ZZW headquarters at 2 Muranow Street Warsaw
After the war
Already during the war the influence and the importance of the Żydowski Związek Wojskowy was being downgraded. The surviving commanders of the leftist ŻOBZydowska Organizacja Bojowa
The Jewish Combat Organization was a World War II resistance movement, which was instrumental in engineering the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. ŻOB took part in a number of other resistance activities as well...
either did not mention the ŻZW's fight in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in their writings at all, or belittled its importance. Also the war-time Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
propaganda did only briefly mention the fighters as they collided with its aims of presenting the Soviet Union as the only defender of the European Jewry. In addition, except for David Wdowiński none of the high-ranking commanders of the ŻZW survived the war to tell their part of the story and it was not until 1963 that Wdowiński's memoirs were published.
This led to a number of myths concerning both the ŻZW and the Uprising being commonly repeated in many modern publications. This was even strengthened by the post-war propaganda of the Polish communists, who openly underlined the value of the leftist Żydowska Organizacja Bojowa
Zydowska Organizacja Bojowa
The Jewish Combat Organization was a World War II resistance movement, which was instrumental in engineering the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. ŻOB took part in a number of other resistance activities as well...
, while suppressed all publications on the Armia Krajowa
Armia Krajowa
The Armia Krajowa , or Home Army, was the dominant Polish resistance movement in World War II German-occupied Poland. It was formed in February 1942 from the Związek Walki Zbrojnej . Over the next two years, it absorbed most other Polish underground forces...
-backed ŻZW.
The “Contact” ring used as a sign between the ŻZW and the Armia Krajowa is displayed in Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem is Israel's official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, established in 1953 through the Yad Vashem Law passed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament....
. A means of identification, used in particular during meetings of higher level officers, were two identical gold rings set with a red stone engraved with Jewish symbols. It was not enough for the contacts to show the ring, they were expected to explain the significance of the symbols.
The ring that was in the possession of the Jewish underground fighters, was destroyed in the ruins of the Ghetto. Its twin remained in the hands of Henryk Iwanski
Henryk Iwanski
Henryk Iwański , nom de guerre Bystry, was a member of the Polish resistance during WWII. He is known for leading one of the most daring actions of the Armia Krajowa in support of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising...
, the leader of the Polish underground and later brought to the museum in Jerusalem, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.
See also
- Jewish Military OrganizationJewish Military OrganizationThe Jewish Military Organization was an outgrowth of the Betar movement in Nazi-occupied eastern Europe. After Menahem Begin fled to Soviet Union territory, Jewish veterans of the Polish Army and the National Military Organisation networked with Polish military officers to prepare for the...
- Warsaw Ghetto UprisingWarsaw Ghetto UprisingThe 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....
- ŻegotaZegota"Żegota" , also known as the "Konrad Żegota Committee", was a codename for the Polish Council to Aid Jews , an underground organization of Polish resistance in German-occupied Poland from 1942 to 1945....
- Marek EdelmanMarek EdelmanMarek Edelman was a Jewish-Polish political and social activist and cardiologist.Before World War II, he was a General Jewish Labour Bund activist. During the war he co-founded the Jewish Combat Organization. He took part in the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, becoming its leader after the death of...
Further reading
- Arens, Moshe, "Flags Over the Ghetto"
- Apfelbaum, Marian 2007, "Two Flags; Return to the Warsaw Ghetto", Gefen Publishing House. ISBN 9789652293565
- David Wdowiński (1963). And we are not saved. New York: Philosophical Library, 222. ISBN 0802224865.
External links
- The battle of the ghettos
- Jews Under Occupation Żydowski Związek Wojskowy Арон Шнеер. Плен A book by Jewish-Latvian author; includes data on Jewish troops in World War II]
- Deconstructing Memory and History