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==Life== ==Life==
Details of Marek Edelman's birth are not known for certain; sources give two possible dates of birth, either 1919 in ] (now ]), or in 1922 in ].<ref group="A" name="Birth"/> His mother, Cecylia Edelman (died 1934), was an activist member of the ] ]<ref name="Marek Edelman — star of resistance among Nazi horror">{{cite web|url=http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=8032|title=Marek Edelman — star of resistance among Nazi horror|date=7 January 2006|publisher='']''}}</ref><ref name="Hero of Warsaw Ghetto uprising, Marek Edelman, dies at 86"/> ] and his father, Natan Feliks (died 1924), was a ] activist. As a child, Marek Edelman was a member of the ] (''Socjalistiszer Kinder-Farband''). In 1939 he joined the ] youth organization of the Bund{{cn}}, and later ascended to the leadership of the Bund itself.<ref name="Marek Edelman: death of a great man">{{cite web|url=http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/timcollard/100012403/marek-edelman-death-of-a-great-man/|title=Marek Edelman: death of a great man|date=5 October 2009|publisher='']''}}</ref><ref name="Hero of Warsaw Ghetto uprising, Marek Edelman, dies at 86"/> Details of Marek Edelman's birth are not known for certain; sources give two possible dates of birth, either 1919 in ] (now ]), or in 1922 in ].<ref group="A" name="Birth"/>{{fact}} His mother, Cecylia Edelman (died 1934), was an activist member of the ] ]<ref name="Hero of Warsaw Ghetto uprising, Marek Edelman, dies at 86"/><ref name="Marek Edelman — star of resistance among Nazi horror">{{cite web|url=http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=8032|title=Marek Edelman — star of resistance among Nazi horror|date=7 January 2006|publisher='']''}}</ref> ] and his father, Natan Feliks (died 1924), was a ] activist.{{fact}} As a child, Marek Edelman was a member of the ] (''Socjalistiszer Kinder-Farband'').{{fact}} In 1939 he joined the ] youth organization of the Bund,{{fact}} and later ascended to the leadership of the Bund itself.<ref name="Marek Edelman: death of a great man">{{cite web|url=http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/timcollard/100012403/marek-edelman-death-of-a-great-man/|title=Marek Edelman: death of a great man|date=5 October 2009|publisher='']''}}{{Verify credibility}}</ref>{{Verify credibility}}


In 1939, after the ] Edelman found himself confined - along with the other Jews of Warsaw - to the ]. In 1942, as a ''Bund'' youth leader Edelman was a founder of the underground Jewish Combat Organization (''Żydowska Organizacja Bojowa''). In the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of April–May 1943, led by Mordechai Anielewicz, Edelman was one of the three sub-commanders and then became leader after the death of Anielewicz. Edelman survived the suppression of the uprising and the Ghetto's liquidation. He managed to escape,<ref name="Warsaw ghetto uprising head dies"/> aided by Polish underground activists of '']'' (the People's Army). He later joined the Armia Ludowa and in mid-1944 participated in the Warsaw Uprising.<ref name="NYT">{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/03/world/europe/03edelman.html?em|title=Marek Edelman, Commander in Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, Dies at 90|last=Kaufman|first=Michael T.|date=3 October 2009|publisher='']''|page=A21|accessdate=2009-10-05}}</ref> In 1939, after the ] Edelman found himself confined - along with the other Jews of Warsaw - to the ]. In 1942, as a ''Bund'' youth leader Edelman was a founder of the underground Jewish Combat Organization (''Żydowska Organizacja Bojowa''). In the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of April–May 1943, led by Mordechai Anielewicz, Edelman was one of the three sub-commanders and then became leader after the death of Anielewicz. Edelman survived the suppression of the uprising and the Ghetto's liquidation. He managed to escape,<ref name="Warsaw ghetto uprising head dies"/> aided by Polish underground activists of '']'' (the People's Army). He later joined the Armia Ludowa and in mid-1944 participated in the Warsaw Uprising.<ref name="NYT">{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/03/world/europe/03edelman.html?em|title=Marek Edelman, Commander in Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, Dies at 90|last=Kaufman|first=Michael T.|date=3 October 2009|publisher='']''|page=A21|accessdate=2009-10-05}}</ref>

Revision as of 19:28, 5 October 2009

Marek Edelman
Marek Edelman, Warsaw University, 2005
AllegianceJewish Combat Organization
Armia Ludowa
Years of service1942–1945
RankSub-commander (Jewish Combat Organization)
Battles / warsWarsaw Ghetto Uprising
Operation Tempest
Revolutions of 1989

Marek Edelman (1919 or 1922 – October 2, 2009) was a Polish political and social activist and cardiologist.

During World War II, he was one of the founders of the Jewish Combat Organization. He took part in the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and became its leader following the death of Mordechaj Anielewicz. He also took part in the Warsaw Uprising of 1944. When he died on the 2nd of October 2009 he was the last surviving leader of the Ghetto Uprising.

After the war he remained in Poland and became a noted cardiologist. From the 1970s he collaborated with the Workers' Defence Committee and other political groups opposing Poland's communist regime. As a member of Solidarity, he took part in the Polish Round Table Talks of 1989. Following the peaceful transformations of 1989, he was a member of various centrist parties. He also authored books documenting the history of wartime resistance against the German Nazi occupation.

Life

Details of Marek Edelman's birth are not known for certain; sources give two possible dates of birth, either 1919 in Homel (now Belarus), or in 1922 in Warsaw. His mother, Cecylia Edelman (died 1934), was an activist member of the anti-Zionist socialist General Jewish Labour Bund and his father, Natan Feliks (died 1924), was a trudoviks activist. As a child, Marek Edelman was a member of the Socialist Children's Association (Socjalistiszer Kinder-Farband). In 1939 he joined the Tsukunft youth organization of the Bund, and later ascended to the leadership of the Bund itself.

In 1939, after the German invasion of Poland Edelman found himself confined - along with the other Jews of Warsaw - to the Warsaw Ghetto. In 1942, as a Bund youth leader Edelman was a founder of the underground Jewish Combat Organization (Żydowska Organizacja Bojowa). In the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of April–May 1943, led by Mordechai Anielewicz, Edelman was one of the three sub-commanders and then became leader after the death of Anielewicz. Edelman survived the suppression of the uprising and the Ghetto's liquidation. He managed to escape, aided by Polish underground activists of Armia Ludowa (the People's Army). He later joined the Armia Ludowa and in mid-1944 participated in the Warsaw Uprising.

After the Second World War Edelman studied at Łódź Medical School and became a physician. In 1976 he became an activist with the Workers' Defence Committee (Komitet Obrony Robotników) and later with the Solidarity movement. He publicly denounced racism and promoted human rights. In 1981, when the leader of Poland, General Wojciech Jaruzelski, declared martial law in Poland, he was interned by the government. In 1983 he refused to take part in the official celebrations of the 40th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising sponsored by Poland's communist government, believing that "would be an act of cynicism and contempt" in a country "where social life is dominated throughout by humiliation and coercion." Instead, he walked with friends to the street where Mordechai Anielewicz's bunker had been located. He took part in the Round Table Talks as Solidarity's consultant on health policy and served as a member of the Sejm (parliament) from 1989 to 1993.

Edelman was never a Zionist; he remained firmly Polish and refused to migrate to Israel. In old age, he continued to speak up for the Palestinian as he felt that the Jewish self-defence for which he had fought was in danger of crossing the line into oppression. In August 2002 Edelman wrote a letter to Palestinians resistance leaders. Though the letter criticized the suicide bombers, its tone infuriated the Israeli government and press. According to The Guardian, "He wrote in a spirit of solidarity from a fellow resistance fighter, as a former leader of a Jewish uprising not dissimilar in desperation to the Palestinian uprising in the occupied territories." He addressed his letter to "To all the leaders of Palestinian military, paramilitary and guerilla organizations - To all the soldiers of Palestinian militant groups". This set up a howl of rage in the Israeli press, especially that Edelman had consciously used the terms that described the structures of the resistance movement in Warsaw.

On 17 April 1998 Edelman was awarded Poland's highest decoration, the Order of the White Eagle. He also received the French Legion of Honour.

Marek Edelman was married to Alina Margolis-Edelman (1922-2008). They had two children Aleksander and Anna. When his wife and children emigrated from Poland to France in the wake of antisemitic actions by the communist Polish authorities in 1968, Edelman decided to stay in Łódź. He published his memoirs, which have been translated into six languages. Each April he laid flowers in Warsaw for those he had served with in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

Edelman lays flowers in Warsaw in April 2009

Edelman died, aged 90, on 2 October 2009. Władysław Bartoszewski, a former Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs, led the tributes to Edelman, saying: "He reached a good age. He left as a contented man even if he was always aware of the tragedy he went through". He denied that the activist was "irreplaceable" before acknowledging that "there are few people like Marek Edelman". Catholic bishop Tadeusz Pieronek said: "I respect him mostly for the fact that he stayed in this land, which made him fight so hard for his Jewish and Polish identity. He became a real witness, he gave a real testimony with his life". Former head of Israel's parliament and former Israeli ambassador to Poland Shevah Weiss said: "I'd like to offer my condolences to Marek Edelman's family, to the Polish nation and to the Jewish nation. He was a hero to all of us". Ian Kelly, an official spokesperson for the United States expressed sympathies and confirmed the United States "stands with Poland as it mourns the loss of a great man".

Honors

See also

Notes

  1. ^ His exact birth date and birthplace are unknown. Some sources cite Jan. 1, 1919 and the town of Homel, Poland in what is now Belarus, while others cite 1922 and Warsaw.

References

  1. ^ Scislowska, Monika Warsaw ghetto uprising leader Edelman dies at 90, Associated Press, Yahoo News, 2009-08-02, retrieved 2009-08-02
  2. ^ "Warsaw Ghetto uprising leader Marek Edelman dies at 90". The Daily Telegraph. 2009-10-03. Retrieved 2009-10-04. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ "Marek Edelman of Warsaw Ghetto Uprising dies". The Australian. 2009-10-03. Retrieved 2009-10-04. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ Yossi Melman (2009-10-02). "Hero of Warsaw Ghetto uprising, Marek Edelman, dies at 86". Haaretz. Retrieved 2009-10-04. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. "Marek Edelman — star of resistance among Nazi horror". Socialist Worker (UK). 7 January 2006. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  6. ^ "Marek Edelman: death of a great man". The Daily Telegraph. 5 October 2009. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ "Warsaw ghetto uprising head dies". BBC. 2009-10-02. Retrieved 2009-10-04.
  8. ^ Kaufman, Michael T. (3 October 2009). "Marek Edelman, Commander in Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, Dies at 90". The New York Times. p. A21. Retrieved 2009-10-05. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  9. ^ "Marek Edelman nie żyje" (in Polish). Dziennik. 2 October 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
  10. "Palestine's partisans". The Guardian. 21 August 2002. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  11. "Letter's original text". International Jewish Solidarity Network. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  12. "Why Jews should oppose Israel". Socialist Alternative (Australia). February 2009. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  13. Official website of the President of Poland, Archives, accessed 10/4/2009,
  14. Gabriela Baczynska (2009-10-03). "Last leader of Warsaw Jewish Ghetto Uprising dies at 87". Reuters India. Retrieved 2009-10-04.
  15. "Poland: Death of Marek Edelman". United States Department of State. 2009-10-03. Retrieved 2009-10-04.

Further reading

  • Marek Edelman, Resisting the Holocaust: Fighting Back in the Warsaw Ghetto, Ocean Press, 2004, ISBN 1-876175-52-4., (Excerpt online)
  • Hanna Krall, Shielding the Flame, Henry Holt & Co., 1986, ISBN 0-03-006002-8.

External links

Categories: