GETTA ruler
Dr Leszek Pietrzak
Chaim Rumkowski is 1 of the most grim characters of the Holocaust period. If he survived the war, he would most likely face trial, accused of complicity in murdering Jews from the Łódź ghetto.
Each of the judaic ghetto leaders during planet War II recorded their own dramatic story. Chaim Mordecaj Rumkowski, the head of the ghetto in Łódź, was celebrated for making a speech to the Łódź Jews, addressing them with an appeal: “Give me back your children!” Fulfillment of this request was expected to save the remaining residents of Łódź ghetto according to Rumkowski. His communicative raises 1 fundamental question to us today: can any be sacrificed in the name of saving others? And can specified action be justified at all? To this day, philosophers, ethics, psychologists and historians are seeking answers to these questions. And contrary to appearances, these answers are not conclusive! This is besides the case with the assessment of Chaim Rumkowski's business activity. 1 without hesitation sees him as a partner of Nazi criminals, personally liable for the death of thousands of Jews from the Łódź ghetto. Others effort to explain his actions with a state of higher necessity and the utmost conditions under which he finds himself. Adam Czerniakow, president of the Judenrat in the Warsaw Ghetto, experienced akin dilemmas. However, this 1 made a very different choice than Rumkowski. He did not become a tool in the hands of Nazi criminals before committing suicide, and in his letter to his wife, he wrote his last words, “They want me to kill the children of my nation with my own hands. There is nothing else left for me!’ It is impossible to measure Romanian activities without this reference. It is fundamentally the only measurement of that time that we can apply in this case; in mention to the most tragic period in human history.
THE BUSINESS AND THE SERVICE
Chaim Rumkowski was a man who was formed at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, erstwhile the measurement of individual success was primarily entrepreneurship and creativity. He was born on 27 February 1877 in Ilina in the state of Vitebsk then Russian Empire, in a conventional judaic merchant family. He finished his education on a cheder (religious primary school), after graduating which he helped in the family's interests. However, he was a typical self-taught with a very absorbent mind, read and learned quite a few languages. And most of all, he dreamed of his own business. erstwhile he was respective years old, like many Lithuanians (Jews from Lithuania and northern part of present Belarus), he and his household came to the Kingdom of Poland and settled in Łódź. It was then a city of large interests, developing at a staggering rate. Just in time to start a business career there. Initially, young Chaim took on various casual jobs. It was only after any time that he managed to find office work. Finally, he and his colleague Ab Neiman decided to take credit and set up a plush factory. At first, business was good. Rumkowski besides entered orbit of the political influences of local Zionists. He besides became a associate of Łódź judaic community. He besides acted actively on the social line. His position grew steadily. In 1914, however, planet War I came and slowed down economical prosperity. 1918 was besides a year of change in the individual life of Rumkowski. He left the business and divided up with his partner, who had since run the mill himself. Rumkowski took on insurance activities and focused on political and social activities. He became an activist of the Zionist movement and contributed to the Łódź Zionist Committee. He besides directed the orphanage for children in Łódź Helenówek created by him before the war. The centre was a kind of enterprise with an awesome material base – a main building, economical buildings, a farm. And everything was just Rumkowski's work. any historians point out that he managed the orphanage in an authoritarian way, which is simply a feature that will become even more apparent later in his life. Rumkowski was besides active in many another fields, among others, acting on the board of the Łódź judaic Charity Society.
In the early 1930 ’ s, however, something happened in his life that damaged his reputation. He was accused of sexual abuse of children in his orphanage. The case rapidly became a scandal in Łódź and local newspapers wrote about it. However, public opinion was divided. any felt that the charges directed at Rumkowski were an expression of a brutal power game in charity, others considered them absolutely true, admitting even to their acquaintance with Rumkowski's alleged victims. He himself defended himself against charges has always stressed that he loves children, cares for them, but is besides demanding towards them. The police did not full explain the alleged case of Rumkowski pedophilia and no prosecutorial charges were presented to him.
A Time of Disdain
When the war broke out on 1 September 1939, Rumkowski was 62 years old. He was inactive a man of untapped energy. He inactive had many ideas and ambitions. Rumkowski entered the arena of the fresh business reality precisely on 13 October 1939, erstwhile the individual decision of the head of the civilian Management Board of Łódź – Dr. Albert Leister, was appointed head of local Jews with the title “President of the Elderhood of Jews in Łódź” (Der Ältester der Juden in Lodz). This function was besides exercised erstwhile the German business authorities formally established the judaic ghetto (Litzmannstadt Ghetto) in February 1940. We do not know precisely the circumstances of this decision, but it seems that 2 factors played a central function in it. Firstly, Rumkowski was the only remaining associate of the pre-war judaic community board in Łódź. Secondly, his stature and behaviour could have been a affirmative "expression" on Leister himself. Despite his age, he was inactive a high-ranking man, full of energy and additionally communicating well in German.
Rumkowski became head of the Łódź ghetto, liable only to Germany. He created not only a well-functioning company, working for the needs of Germans, but, as he frequently emphasized, something like a judaic “mini state”. The starting point for the organisation of the ghetto by Rumkowski was not only the decrees of the German authorities, but the doctrine of action which he himself adopted. Well, he concluded that in the situation in which the Jews were in, the only way to last was to work. He gave his fresh doctrine to Rumkowski during a speech to the ghetto residents on 15 May 1941. He said: “When I wondered how to overcome the problem facing the Jews, I concluded that their work was the best of blessings. You know my 5 basic passwords? 1: Work, 2: Bread, 3: aid for the Sick, 4: kid Care, 5: remainder in the Ghetto. My Beirat can only talk. I carry my task alone, and if necessary, I usage force. Dictatorship is not an ugly word. Thanks to the dictatorship, I gained designation of the Germans for my work. And erstwhile they say, Litzmannstadt Ghetto, I say, This is not a ghetto, this is simply a city of work.” And this is the twisted doctrine Rumkowski implemented in the Łódź ghetto, resorting to force and panic against his fellows. In fact, he had a strong ally in this – the head of the German administration of the ghetto Hans Bibow, as he had a merchant about authoritarian urges.
Thanks to Rumkowski's efforts in the Łódź ghetto, a fresh judaic administration was created, completely controlled by him, police with 400 officers and 3 judaic prisons. They were visited by anyone sabotaging his orders. The ghetto created a kind of atmosphere of pressure, and Rumkowski himself began to be called “King Chaim I” by its inhabitants. The ghetto under his regulation has indeed become 1 large enterprise. There were factories and elaborates that produced goods for the needs of the German army. Everyone had to work in the Łódź ghetto. Those who were unfit for work, the Germans liquidated. And Rumkowski was full aware of this. The Łódź ghetto worked even erstwhile the Germans began deportations from the Warsaw ghetto and erstwhile the German extermination plan went “full steam”. It survived until the end of August 1944. The last transport of Jews left it precisely on 29 August 1944. Is it correct, then, to calculate Rumkowski saying that if the Łódź ghetto manages to keep production for the German army, then the Jews working in it have a chance to survive? present it may seem that nothing was then able to halt judaic destruction. The destiny of Jews from the Łódź ghetto was in fact exaggerated, and it was only a substance of time before Germans duplicated the script known from another ghettos in occupied Poland. possibly Rumkowski actually believed that if there was any chance for the ghetto population to survive, it was only due to work. His doctrine could have been as much an expression of hope for endurance as a cold commercial calculation. However, the problem is that Rumkowski absolutely imposed his doctrine of surviving demolition on others, suppressing the manifestations of opposition and not hesitated to sacrifice the weaker ones, including those most susceptible – his "loved children".
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A Thief
On 5 September 1942, it became a decisive day not only for the destiny of the Łódź ghetto, but besides for Rumkowski himself. It was at that time that the Germans began to decision from the ghetto to the extermination camp in Chełmno nad Nerem all those unfit for work: children under the age of 10, older people (over 65) and all the sick. Before the action began, there was an event, without precedent even for those tragic years. The day before, on 4 September, Rumkowski gave a speech to the ghetto residents in the alleged fire-fighting square, which was in fact a communication of instructions which Jews should do in connection with the demands of the Germans. Rumkowski then said: “A grim blow hit the ghetto. They request us to quit what we have best – our children and elders. I couldn't have my own kids, so I gave my best years to my kids. I lived and breathed with my children, never imagined that I would gotta make this sacrifice on the altar with my own hands. At my age, I gotta spread my hands and beg: Brothers and sisters! Give it to me! Fathers and mothers – give me your children! Yesterday afternoon they gave me orders to send more than 20,000 Jews out of the ghetto, and if not, we will. The question that arose is, should we take it upon ourselves, do it ourselves, or leave it to others to do it? So, we – I mean, me and my closest associates thought first not about how many will disappear, but how many can be saved. And we came to the conclusion that, if it wasn't hard for us, we should put this order into practice with our own hands. I gotta prepare this hard and bloody operation, I gotta cut off the branches to save the trunk. I gotta take the kids, due to the fact that if I don't, the others can besides be taken. I managed to save those [children] who are 10 years old or older. Let this be a comfort in your misery. The request was for 24,000 victims, but I managed to age this number to 20,000, possibly less, but provided that all children under 10 go. due to the fact that there are only 13,000 old people and children, we request to complete the sum by spending sick people. What do you prefer: to last 80-900,000 Jews or to all be annihilated?" As Rumkowski spoke these words among the Jews gathered in the square, despair and anger prevailed, which was hard to imagine. People would call him, "How can you even ask?" Their screams Rumowski echoed the message that "if we don't do it, it will be even worse!"
The speech of 4 September 1942 was proof of the full bankruptcy of Rumkowski's "survival philosophy". Its most crucial slogan: “Unser einziger Weg ist Arbeit” (Our only way is to work) proved to be a specified void. No 1 could believe that there was an agreement between Rumov and Germany, which, in the name of survival, orders to follow his instructions. Rumkowski has since been morally discredited, but this did not prevent him from further authoritizing the Lodz ghetto. So far, Rumkowski's people on September 5 began carrying out the task assigned by the Germans. On the second day, however, Germany, dissatisfied with the pace of deportation, decided to take all matters into their own hands. However, the judaic police and the fire department were inactive helping them to do so. Then scenes began to happen in the ghetto, which the contemporary cannot even imagine! People who resisted or found in hiding places were immediately eliminated. A full of 15,682 people were taken out of the ghetto from 5 to 12 September 1942 as a consequence of the "Great Sperry" (a name derived from the German words "Allgemaine Gehsperre", meaning a full ban on leaving homes). They all died later in the extermination camp in Chelmno on Ner.
ROMANCIAN adequate GETTO
After the end of the large Sphere, life in the Łódź ghetto came back to normal. Rumkowski led it further. His regulation now became even more authoritarian, even dictatorial. This was mostly due to the fall of his authority at the time of the exports. But not only! As we mentioned earlier, Rumkowski manifested specified tendencies before the war, erstwhile he managed the orphanage for children in Helenówek. Their individual ambitions, unfulfilled expectations and complexes, including sexual ones, were undoubtedly behind them. There are accounts of how Rumkowski utilized his spicruta against the inhabitants of the ghetto, beat them, shouted, threatened, paralyzed them with his eyes. It was so not unusual that most of them felt before “King Chaim I” a specified human fear. There are besides witness reports indicating the sexual exploitation by Romanian young women in exchange for promises of better work or additional portions of food. This was the case with Lucille Eichengreen – a young judaic female from Germany who and her household were in the Łódź ghetto. It was she who was 1 of the ones who “catched the eye” of Rumkowski. In exchange for her work in a cafeteria for members of his council, Eichengreen was sexually molested by him many times and had to accept his perversion. specified services were in the Rumkowski ghetto "good goods". Besides, Lucille Eichengreen knew well that if she did not let Rumkowski to exploit herself, she risked being deported to the extermination camp.
When Rumkowski was “the king of the Łódź ghetto”, did he besides betray the pedophile tendencies he was suspected of before the war? We surely don't know that, but there are clues that might indicate that. respective years ago, Swedish author and writer Steve Sem-Sandberg published a loud book entitled “Poor People from the City of Łódź” (Polish edition in 2011), depicting the everyday life of the Łódź ghetto. In his book, he described Rumkowski not only as a womanizer, but besides as a pedophile and kid molester combined with homosexuality. Did Sem-Sandberg exaggerate the sexual image of Rumkowski. It is hard to fishy him of this; he yet examined thousands of papers concerning the Łódź ghetto, besides reached the accounts of those who were in it, and on the basis of them he restored a image of the regular life of the “Jewish divider; by his way highly shocking. ”
Not only authoritarianism, physical and intellectual force and submission to all their weaknesses were characteristic of Rumkowski. erstwhile he directed the ghetto in Łódź, he gave instructions and made decisions that could indicate a complete deficiency of sense of reality. 1 day he came up with the thought of embellishing the ghetto with a park, flower beds and a flower discount and so began to make further departments of his judaic administration, which were to realize his imagination in practice. He did not see, or he did not want to see, that the ghetto is becoming more populous overnight, that people are getting sick and dying on the streets, and subsequent transports of Jews go to extermination camps.
There are many hypotheses related to Chaim Rumkowski's final fate. It is only certain that on 29 August 1944, with his 30 years younger wife Regina Weinberger (married in December 1941), his 13-year-old boy Stanislaus Stein, and his brother Joseph and his wife Helena, were transported to Auschwitz. His erstwhile secretary – Etka Daum suggested after the war that Rumkowski had the chance to save and that specified a proposal was to be made to him by Hans Biebow himself. If this is true, Rumkowski did not take this chance and yet died in Auschwitz. There are besides many conflicting accounts about the circumstances of his death. The most commonly repeated and cited is the 1 who says that recognized by judaic prisoners, immediately after the arrival on the ramp of the Auschwitz camp, he was beaten by them, and possibly even thrown alive into the crematory oven. However, this version has no clear confirmation. It is besides not full clear what happened to his family. It can be assumed that she besides shared his tragic fate.
What would happen to Chaim Rumkowski if he survived the Holocaust? any believe that no harm would have been done to him, others are convinced that if he had not been killed in Auschwitz, he would have surely been brought to trial and responded for his brutal regulation in the Łódź ghetto. The erstwhile president of the Israeli Kneset and erstwhile Israeli ambassador to Poland Prof. Szewach Weiss, who survived the Holocaust as a child.
