When Warsaw rose up against the German occupiers on August 1, 1944, Jews – including survivors of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising – were among the insurgents. Their participation in the Warsaw Uprising is a testament to their courage and solidarity in the face of a common enemy, as well as an important chapter in Polish-Jewish relations.
Jews in the ranks of the insurgents
The Warsaw Uprising, which lasted from August 1 to October 2, 1944, was a rebellion in which not only Poles fought, but also Jews who had survived the Holocaust in the ghetto. It is estimated that several thousand Jews were hiding in Warsaw at the time, often under false identities. Many of them, leaving their hiding places, joined the fighting, regardless of the risk of revealing their origins. Among them were members of the Jewish Combat Organization (ŻOB), such as Marek Edelman and Icchak “Antek” Cukierman, who continued to fight in the People's Army (AL) after the ghetto uprising in 1943.
Heroes of the ghetto
A special group were the survivors of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, which broke out in April 1943. Those who survived the tragic fighting, such as Cywia Lubetkin and Symcha Ratajzer-Rotem (“Kazik”), did not hesitate to take up arms again. For example, the ŻOB platoon, operating within the AL, was the only strictly Jewish formation in the uprising, but many Jews also fought in the ranks of the Home Army (AK).
The liberation of Gęsiówka
One of the most symbolic events was the liberation of the Gęsiówka concentration camp by the Home Army battalion “Zośka” on August 5, 1944. At that time, 348 Jewish prisoners were freed, mainly from Hungary, but also Poles, who immediately joined the insurgents. Among them were Dawid Goldman, Henryk Lederman, and Henryk Poznański, who died fighting side by side with their Polish comrades. This action demonstrated solidarity in the face of a common goal—the fight against the occupier.
On the 81st anniversary of these events, on August 5 at 2:00 p.m., a ceremony commemorating the liberation of the camp and its victims will be held in the square between Anielewicza and Okopowa Streets in Warsaw.
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