Warsaw's Last Nazi Resister Dies at 90

Published October 04, 2009 @ 03:44PM PT

The last surviving commander of one of the Holocaust's greatest struggles passed away on Friday. Marek Edelman was among the leaders of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, beginning in April 1943, during which a poorly-armed force of 220 Jewish men and women stalled the Nazi's plans to liquidate the ghetto for almost a month.

After the war, Edelman spoke of the excruciating moral quandaries faced by ghetto residents and other Holocaust victims, and he defended the Holocaust's many victims against post-war critics who questioned their submissiveness:

"These people went quietly and with dignity," he told [Polish author Hanna Krall in 1976]. "It is an awesome thing, when one is going so quietly to one's death. It is definitely more difficult than to go out shooting."

Edelman's thoughts on the uprising reveal a sense of intervention in divine plans -- of human action interrupting the course of God's will, even if only briefly:

"God is trying to blow out the candle, and I'm quickly trying to shield the flame, taking advantage of his brief inattention. To keep the flame flickering, even if only for a little while longer than he would wish."

For more information on Edelman and the Warsaw Ghetto, see the article he wrote to mark the 45^th anniversary of the Uprising, a photo gallery from the Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust, and a list of other resources from the Jewish Virtual Library.

[Photo of Edelman at a Warsaw Ghetto memorial on April 19, 1009, submitted to WikiCommons by Mariusz Kubik.]

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Uh, great article Michelle. Thanks for posting it. You're a mensch. Sholom.

Posted by jack barr on 10/08/2009 @ 12:04AM PT
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Michelle became involved in the anti-genocide cause at a young age, and has been involved in various activist endeavors, including the Teach Against Genocide pilot campaigns, ever since.