Jewish Military Union (League)

Żydowski Związek Wojskowy (ŻZW, Polish for ''Jewish Military Union,'' yi, יידישע מיליטערישע פֿאראייניקונג) was an underground resistance organization operating during World War II in the area of the Warsaw Ghetto, which fought during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and 1944 Warsaw Uprising. It was formed, primarily of former officers of the Polish Army, in late 1939, soon after the start of the German occupation of Poland.

Due to the ŻZW's close ties with the Armia Krajowa (AK), which was closely linked to the Polish Government in Exile, after the war the Soviet-dependent People's Republic of Poland suppressed publication of books and articles on ŻZW. Its role in the uprising in the ghetto was downplayed, in favour of the more socialist Żydowska Organizacja Bojowa (''Jewish Fighting Organization'').

History

Formation

The ŻZW was formed some time in November 1939, immediately after the German and Soviet conquest of Poland. Among its founding members may have been Dawid Mordechaj Apfelbaum (there is some debate as to whether Apfelbaum is a real or fictional person),Some sources render his surname as Appelbaum; in fact most surnames mentioned in this article are often misspelt in the sources, cf. Frenkel - Frenkiel, Wajnsztok - Weinsztok; see also Kledzik, op.cit. a pre-war Lieutenant of the Polish Army, who proposed to his former superior, Captain Henryk Iwański, the formation of a Jewish en cadre resistance as an integral part of the general Polish resistance being formed at that time. At the end of December such an organization was indeed formed and received the name of Żydowski Związek Walki. On January 30, 1940, its existence was approved by General Władysław Sikorski, the Polish commander in chief and the prime minister of the Polish Government in Exile.

Initially consisting of only 39 men, each armed only with a Polish Vis 9 mm semi-automatic pistol, with time it had grown to become one of the most numerous and most notable Jewish resistance organizations in Poland. Between 1940 and 1942 additional cells were formed in most major towns of Poland, including the most notable groups in Lublin, Lwów and Stanisławów. Although initially formed entirely by professional soldiers, with time it also included members of pre-war right wing Jewish-Polish parties such as Betar (among them Perec Lasker, Lowa Swerin, Paweł Frenkel, Merediks, Langleben and Rosenfeld), Hatzohar ( Joel Białobrow , Dawid Wdowiński) (Political Chair), and the Revisionist faction of the Polish Zionist Party ( Leib "Leon" Rodal and Meir Klingbeil).

The ŻZW was formed in close ties with Iwański's organization and initially focused primarily on acquisition of arms and preparation of a large-scale operation in which all of its members could escape to Hungary, from where they wanted to flee to join the Polish Armed Forces in the West. With time however it was decided that the members stay in occupied Poland to help organize the struggle against the occupiers. In the later period the ŻZW focused on acquisition of arms for the future struggle as well as on helping the Jews to escape the ghettos, created in almost every town in German-held Poland. Thanks to the close ties with the Związek Walki Zbrojnej and then the AK (mainly through Iwański's Security Corps, the Polish underground police force), the ŻZW received a large number of guns and armaments, as well as training of their members by professional officers. Those resistance organizations also provided help with weapons and ammunition acquisition, as well as with organizing the escapes.

Although the ŻZW was active in a number of towns in Poland, its major headquarters remained in Warsaw. When most of the Jewish inhabitants were forced into the Warsaw Ghetto, the ŻZW remained in contact with the outside world through Iwański and a number of other officers on the ''Aryan side''. By the summer of 1942, the League had 320 well-armedBy Polish resistance standards obviously; see also Moshe Arens, op.cit. members in Warsaw alone. Note: Chariton and Lazar were never co-authors of Wdowiński's memoir. Wdowiński is considered the "single author." During the first large deportation from the Warsaw Ghetto, the ŻZW received the news of the German plans and managed to hide most of its members in bunkers, which resulted in fewer than 20 of them being arrested by the Germans. Although Dawid Mordechaj Apfelbaum could not convince Adam Czerniaków to start an armed uprising against the Germans during the deportation, the organization managed to preserve most of its members - and assets. It also started to train more members and by January 1943 it already had roughly 500 men at arms in Warsaw alone. In addition, the ''technological department'' of the ŻZW, together with Captain Cezary Ketling's group of the PLAN resistance organization managed to dig two secret tunnels under the walls of the ghetto, providing contact with the outside and allowing smuggling of arms into the ghetto.

Structure

The military leader of the ŻZW at the time of the uprising was Dr. Paweł Frenkiel, and its political leader (Zionist Revisionist), Dr. David Wdowiński. The organization was divided onto groups of five soldiers. Three groups formed a unit, four units formed a platoon and four platoons - a company, composed of roughly 240 men. In early January 1943 the ŻZW had two entirely manned and fully armed companies and two additional '' en cadre'' companies, to be manned by newly arrived volunteers when need arises. This indeed happened in April 1943, though the actual number of ŻZW soldiers to take part in the Uprising is a matter of debate. Apart from the fighting groups, the ŻZW was organized into several departments.

# Political Chair, Dawid Wdowiński
# Information Department, directed by Leon Rodal;
# Organization Department, directed by Paweł Frenkel;
# Supply Department ("Kwatermistrzowski"), directed by Leon Wajnsztok;
# Finances Department, without a director;
# Communication Department (contacts with Armia Krajowa mainly), directed by Dawid Apfelbaum;
# Medical Department led by dr Józef Celmajster (under pseudonym ''Niemirski'');
# Juridical Department under Dawid Szulman;
# Rescue (''Ratowanie'') Department (transporting Jewish children and others outside the ghetto), under Kalma Mendelson;
# Department of Technology, Transport and Supplies (which, among other things, built two tunnels under the Ghetto walls) led by Hanoch Federbusz;
# Military Department under Paweł Frenkel and Dawid Apfelbaum.

Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

During the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising ŻZW is said to have had about 400 well-armed fighters grouped in 11 units. ŻZW fought together with AK fighters in Muranowska Street (4 units under Frenkel). Dawid M. Apfelbaum took position in Miła Street. Heniek Federbusz group organized a strong pocket of resistance in a house near Zamenhoff Street. Jan Pika unit took position in Miła Street, while unit of Leizer Staniewicz fought in the Nalewki

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