Radzymin, Poland [Page 280]

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[Page 280]

Eli Radzyminsky (of sacred memory)

One of the Heroes of the Warsaw Ghetto Revolt

by Chaim Lazar Weinstein

Translated by Miriam Bluestone

Edited by Rona G. Finkelstein

Prepared for posting by Ed Friedman

A native of our city, Eli Radzyminsky managed to slip away from the Radzymin ghetto some time before its liquidation. He lived several months in the Warsaw ghetto and during the uprising fought with a hand gun and died as a hero at his post.

During the period of my incarceration (in the ghetto) I hadn't the slightest idea that Eli Radzyminsky was there. On the last day of Pesach 1943, because of the suppression of the revolt that had started on April 19th, we retreated to avoid the barrage of shells raining down upon us on the corner of Shavo Street. I fled past destroyed Russian houses and found my way into one of the courtyards on Zemenhof Street, on the corner of Ginshah. Suddenly I saw close to the wall, half-sitting, half-lying, a wounded man holding a German pistol in his hand. Blood was pouring from his body, particularly from his neck. I hastened to him to give some kind of help. When I came near, I saw that it was Eli Radzyminsky. He too recognized me, in spite of his serious condition. I saw that a bullet was stuck in his neck and that he was also wounded in the foot. He tried from time to time to get up on his feet, with no success.

I tried to tie up the wound in his neck with a handkerchief, but he quietly said to me that there was no need to take care of him, that there was no chance to save him. Greatly upset, I called to someone who appeared in the courtyard to find some water quickly for the wounded soldier. But Eli Radzyminsky in these last moments proved himself a hero, completely fearless. He said to me, in these words, "Weinstein, go and continue our fight against the murderers of our people. I am going to die. I will die peacefully after I have accomplished my task."

He had time to tell me that shortly before the outbreak of the revolt in the Warsaw ghetto he worked as one of the people in charge of the supply storehouses under the aegis of the Judenrat. When the uprising started, he broke into the storehouse, divided the needed weapons among the rebel fighters, and attached himself to one of the fighting groups. His account was confirmed by conversations I had later with other Warsaw ghetto fighters.

May his memory be for a blessing and may he be bound in the bonds of life as one of the heroes of the Jewish people who gave their lives for the honor of our struggling nation.

Photo p. 281: "Eli Radzyminsky ... in Polish military garb"

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