Marek Edelman

Marek Edelman
Marek Edelman at around the time
of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
Born1919 or 1922
Homel, Ukrainian People's Republic, or Warsaw, Poland
Died(2009-10-02)October 2, 2009 (aged 90 or 87)
Warsaw, Poland
Buried
Jewish Cemetery, Warsaw
Allegiance General Jewish Labour Bund
Żydowska Organizacja Bojowa
Armia Ludowa
Years of service1942–1944
RankDeputy commander (ŻOB)
Battles / wars
AwardsFrench Legion of Honor[1][2]
Order of the White Eagle[1]
Yale University, honorary doctorate[1]
Varsovian square named after Edelman

Marek Edelman (Yiddish: מאַרעק עדעלמאַן; 1919/1922 – October 2, 2009) was a Polish political and social activist and cardiologist. Edelman was the last surviving leader of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Long before his death, he was the last one to stay in the Polish People's Republic despite harassment by the Communist authorities.[3]

Before World War II, he was a General Jewish Labour Bund activist. During the war he co-founded the Jewish Combat Organization (ŻOB). He took part in the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, becoming its leader after the death of Mordechaj Anielewicz. He also took part in the citywide 1944 Warsaw Uprising.[4]

After the war, Edelman 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 and liberal parties.[5] He also wrote books documenting the history of wartime resistance against the Nazi German occupation of Poland.[6]

  1. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Obit was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Warsaw Ghetto uprising leader Marek Edelman dies at 90 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Lucy S. Dawidowicz, "The Curious Case of Marek Edelman", Commentary Magazine, March 1, 1987
  4. ^ Richie, Alexandra (10 December 2013). Warsaw 1944: Hitler, Himmler, and the Warsaw Uprising. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 9781466848474.
  5. ^ Zychowicz, Piotr (2 October 2009). "Marek Edelman nie zyje". Rzeczpospolita (in Polish). Retrieved 3 November 2009.
  6. ^ Edelman, Marek (4 February 2014). The Ghetto Fights. Bookmarks. ISBN 9781909026391. See the External Links, below, for the full text.