Leon Rodal, also Arie or Lejb Rodal (1913 in

Kielce Kielce (, yi, קעלץ, Keltz) is a city in southern Poland, and the capital of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. In 2021, it had 192,468 inhabitants. The city is in the middle of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains (Holy Cross Mountains), on the bank ...

– 6 May 1943, in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

), was a Polish journalist, Zionist-Revisionist party activist, co-founder and one of the commanders of the

Jewish Military Union 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, ...

. He participated and died in the

Warsaw Ghetto uprising The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising; pl, powstanie w getcie warszawskim; german: link=no, Aufstand im Warschauer Ghetto was the 1943 act of Jewish resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto in German-occupied Poland during World War II to oppose Nazi Germany's ...

Biography

Rodal, also known under the names of Leib (in

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

) and Arie (in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

), was a well-known journalist of the magazines ''Moment'' and ''Di Tat'', writing in Yiddish, before the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

. He was also an activist of the Zionist right-wing Zionists-Revisionists Party. After the outbreak of the war, Rodal found himself in the

Warsaw Ghetto The Warsaw Ghetto (german: Warschauer Ghetto, officially , "Jewish Residential District in Warsaw"; pl, getto warszawskie) was the largest of the Nazi ghettos during World War II and the Holocaust. It was established in November 1940 by the G ...

, where in 1942 was one of the co-founders and commanders of the

(ŻZW). In the Union, he was responsible for the information department, which prepared, printed and distributed newspapers, newsletters, posters as well as conducted radio eavesdropping. During the first days of the

, Rodal fought in Muranów Square, defending the headquarters of ŻZW, located in the building at 7/9 Muranowska Street. During the Battle of Muranów Square, together with the military commander of ŻZW, Paweł Frenkel, Rodel broke the circle around insurgent positions, approached the position of collaborative Ukrainian formations and attacked them unexpectedly. On 25 April 1943, after the collapse of the defense of Muranów Square, Rodal and his unit, commanded by Frenkel, broke out of the ghetto through an underground passage. The unit stayed in a previously prepared underground apartment at 11/13 Grzybowska Street. From there, ŻZW subunits set off for night operations in the burning ghetto, trying to save imprisoned civilians. The first operation was commanded by Leon Rodal, who led a group of civilians out of the ghetto on 5 May 1943. The next day Rodal's unit set off to evacuate the rest of the group they had met. On the way back, the unit fell into an ambush and was attacked by the SS and the

Blue Police The Blue Police ( pl, Granatowa policja, Navy-blue police), was the police during the Second World War in German-occupied Poland (the General Government). The entity's official German name was ''Polnische Polizei im Generalgouvernement'' (Polish ...

. Rodal died in battle with many members of his unit.

Honours

On 9 November 2017, a street formerly named after Edward Fondamiński in the district of Śródmieście (New Town) in Warsaw was renamed Leon Rodal Street.Zarządzenie Zastępcze Wojewody Mazowieckiego z dnia 9 listopada 2017 r. w sprawie nadania nazwy ulicy, "Dziennik Urzędowy Województwa Mazowieckiego", Warszawa, dnia 10 listopada 2017 r., poz. 10108.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodal, Leon 1913 births 1943 deaths Jewish Military Union members Jewish resistance members during the Holocaust Polish resistance members of World War II People from Kielce Resistance members killed by Nazi Germany