Paweł Frenkiel (sometimes also Frenkel, he, פאוול פרנקל;
1920–1943) was a Polish Army officer and a
Jew
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...
ish youth leader in Warsaw and one of the senior 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, ...
, or the ŻZW. Although one of the most important leaders of 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 ...
and the Jewish resistance in the months preceding April 1943, Frenkiel is also one of the least well known to historians, and both his earlier life and his ultimate fate are a subject of some controversy.
Biography
Paweł Frenkiel was born 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 ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
. At the age of 18 he joined the revisionist
Zionist
Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...
youth movement
Betar
The Betar Movement ( he, תנועת בית"ר), also spelled Beitar (), is a Revisionist Zionist youth movement founded in 1923 in Riga, Latvia, by Vladimir (Ze'ev) Jabotinsky. Chapters sprang up across Europe, even during World War II. After t ...
.
Following the outbreak of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
,
German conquest of Poland and the start of German repressions against the Jewish population of Poland, he joined the Jewish Military Union and became one of its highest-ranking members. It is unclear what his exact capacity was.
Earlier publications and accounts by Tadeusz Bednarczyk,
Henryk Iwański
Henryk Iwański (1902-1978), nom de guerre Bystry, was a member of the Polish resistance during World War II. He is known for leading one of the most daring actions of the Armia Krajowa (Home Army) in support of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, however ...
and Kałmen Mendelson assert, that Paweł Frenkel was one of the deputies of JMU's commander
Dawid Moryc Apfelbaum
Dawid Moryc Apfelbaum (some sources give Mieczysław or Mordechaj as his second name, and Appelbaum as his surname), ''nom de guerre'' "Kowal" ("Blacksmith") (?-4/28/1943) was allegedly an officer in the Polish Army and a commander of the Jewish ...
. However, other accounts, including those by
Dawid Wdowiński
Dawid (David) Wdowiński (1895–1970) was a psychiatrist and doctor of neurology in the Second Polish Republic. After the 1939 invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, he became a political leader of the Jewish resistance organization called ''Żydows ...
and Cezary Szemley suggest, that Frenkiel was indeed the leader of the entire organisation.
In recent years some historians went as far as to suggest that Apfelbaum did not even exist at all.
In any way, it is probable that Paweł Frenkiel personally commanded one of the armed companies of armed fighters during the ill-fated
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 ...
of 1943. According to a widespread opinion he was
killed in action while defending the headquarters of the Jewish Military Union at #7
Muranów Square. According to some other sources he was killed on 19 June 1943 in Grzybowska Street in Warsaw.
[ The controversy surrounding Apfelbaum's existence discussed.]
References
External links
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising leader gets recognition – at last"Flags Over the Ghetto". Israeli stamp with Paweł Frenkiel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frenkiel, Pawel
1920 births
1943 deaths
Polish Zionists
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising insurgents
Jewish Military Union members
Jewish resistance members during the Holocaust
Resistance members killed by Nazi Germany
People who died in the Warsaw Ghetto
Betar members