Marek Edelman - The Ghetto Fights

The ZOB was baptized in battle in the first large-scale street fighting at the corner of Mila and Zamenhofa Streets. The best part of the Organization was lost there. Miraculously, because of his heroic attitude, the ZOB Commander, Mordechaj Anielewicz, survived. After that battle we realized that street fighting would be too costly for us, since we were not sufficiently prepared for it and lacked the proper weapons. We, therefore, switched to partisan fighting. Four major encounters were fought in the apartment houses at 40 Zamenhofa Street, 44 Muranowska Street, 34 Mila Street and 22 Franciszkanska Street. In the Schultz shop area the SS men taking part in the deportation were attacked by the partisans. Comrade A. Fajner took an active part in this action and was killed in its course.

One of our battle groups, still unarmed, was caught by the Germans and was taken to the "Umschlag". Shortly before they were to enter the railroad cars, B. Pelc addressed the group with a few words. It was only a short address, but it was so effective, that not a single one of the sixty people moved to enter the car. Van Oeppen (the chief of Treblinka) shot all sixty himself on the spot. This group's behaviour, however, served as an inspiration that always, under all circumstances, one should oppose the Germans.

Of all the prepared 50 battle groups only five took part in the January activities. The remainder, not having been assembled at the time of the Germans' entry into the ghetto, was caught by surprise and was unable to reach the place where their weapons were stored.

Once again, as was the case in the first stage of the ZOB's activities, four-fifths of the Battle Organization's members perished.

The latest developments, however, reverberated strongly both within the ghetto and outside of it. Public opinion, Jewish as well as Polish, reacted immediately to the ghetto battles. For now, for the first time, German plans were frustrated. For the first time the halo of omnipotence and invincibility was torn from the Germans' heads. For the first time the Jew in the street realized that it was possible to do something against the Germans' will and power. The number of Germans killed by ZOB bullets was not the only important thing. What was more important was the appearance of a psychological turning point. The mere fact that because of the unexpected resistance, weak as it was, the Germans were forced to interrupt their "deportation" schedule was of great value.

In the meantime legends about "hundreds" of dead Germans and the "tremendous" power of the ZOB started circulating throughout Warsaw. The entire Polish Underground was full of praise for us. At the end of January we received 50 larger pistols and 50 hand grenades from the Home Army Command. A reorganization of the ZOB was carried-out. All battle groups were now divided among four major areas. We commanded the "brush-makers' area" (Marek Edelman was in command), where we had, among others, our own battle group led by Jurek Blones. The battle groups were quartered in the immediate vicinity of their operational posts. The purpose of the billeting arrangement was to prevent the groups from being taken by surprise by new German regulations, as had happened before, and to accustom the partisans to military discipline, military ways, and a continual use of their weapons. In the vicinity of the ghetto walls we established guard posts and guards, instructed to inform immediately about approaching danger, which kept vigil 24-hours a day.

All that time the German propaganda machine worked and tried once more to distract the Jews with invented stories about "Jewish reservations in Trawniki and Poniatowa" where the Tobbens and Schultz factories were allegedly to be evacuated and "where productive Jews devotedly working for the Germans would be able to live through the war in peace". In the beginning of February 1943, the Germans brought into the ghetto twelve Jewish foremen from the Lublin Concentration Camp who were to persuade the ghetto population to volunteer for work "under excellent conditions". The night following the arrival of these individuals ZOB members encircled their quarters and forced their immediate departure from the ghetto. But the Germans tried once more. They nominated W.C. Tobbens, the proprietor of the largest ghetto factory, manufacturing German uniforms, to the post of Deportation Commissar. This move was designed to create further impression that the "evacuation to Trawniki and Poniatowa" was closely related to the need for workers in German enterprises.

The ZOB also conducted large-scale propaganda activities. Several proclamations were published and posted on the ghetto walls and houses. In reply, Tobbens prepared his own appeal to the Jewish population both editions of which, however, were confiscated in the printing shop by the ZOB. During this period the ZOB alone ruled the ghetto. It was the only force and the only authority recognized by public opinion.

When, at the end of February 1943, the Germans appealed to the workers to evacuate Hallman's joinery shop, of the more than 1,000 workers employed there only twenty-five heeded the call. At night, in a daring patrol, two battle groups set the shop's stores afire (Comrade Fryszdorf took part in this action), causing losses of more than 1,000,000 zloty to the Germans. Once again well-laid German plans were upset. The following morning the Germans issued a communique blaming the fire on parachutists. Nonetheless, the Jewish population knew perfectly well who had actually been behind the fire and who had really caused the Germans to lose face.

At the beginning of March the Germans again appealed to the brush-makers' shop to register for evacuation, but not a single one of the 3,500 workers registered. The ZOB, on the other hand, carried out its plans to the last detail: the transport of brush-making machinery loaded onto railway cars on the "Umschlagplatz" burned up on its way due to our planting of specially prepared incendiary bottles with delayed-action fuses.

The Germans became more and more uncomfortable in the ghetto. They became increasingly aware of the hostile attitude not only of the battle groups, but also of the population as a whole, which willingly carried out all ZOB instructions.

The ZOB broadened its activities and was supported by the entire ghetto. Bakers and merchants delivered quantities of food for its members. The wealthy inhabitants were taxed by it, and the funds thus secured were used for the purchase of arms and ammunition. The ZOB determined the amount of contributions to be paid by the Jewish Community agencies. The discipline was such that everybody had to pay either voluntarily or forcibly. The Jewish Council contributed 250,000 zloty. The Office for Economic Requirements paid 710,000 zloty. Revenues over the period of the first three months amounted to about ten million zloty. These sums were smuggled over to the "Aryan side" where our representatives organized the purchase of weapons and explosives.

Arms were smuggled into the ghetto in precisely the same manner as other contraband. Bribed Polish policemen closed their eyes to heavy parcels thrown over the ghetto walls at designated spots. ZOB liaison men immediately disposed of the packages. The Jewish policemen guarding the ghetto walls had no voice in the matter. Our most active liaison men with the "Aryan side" were Zygmunt Frydrych (who arranged the first transport of weapons), Michal Klepfisz, Celemenski, Fajgele Peltel (Wladka), and many others. Michal Klepfisz in cooperation with the PS and WRN groups made the necessary arrangements for a large-scale purchase of explosives and incendiaries (e.g. 2,000 litres of gasoline) and later, after transporting the shipment to the ghetto, set up a factory for the production of Molotov cocktails and hand grenades. The production process was primitive and simple, but the large output of the shop greatly increased the firing-power of our detachments. By now every partisan was equipped. on the average, with one pistol (and 10-15 rounds for it), 4-5 hand grenades, 4-5 Molotov cocktails. 2-3 rifles were assigned to each "area". There was just one machine-gun in the entire ghetto.