Mordechai Tenenbaum ( he, מרדכי טענענבוים; 1916–1943) was a member of the Jewish Combat Organization (''Żydowska Organizacja Bojowa'') and leader of the

Białystok Ghetto Uprising Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Białystok is located in the Białystok ...

Early life

Mordechaj Tenenbaum 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 ...

, one of 7 children to an Orthodox-Jewish family. From an early age, Tenenbaum abandoned the religious lifestyle, along with one of his brothers, and became interested in secular culture. After graduating from the Hebrew high school "

Tarbut The word Tarbut (תרבות) means "Culture" in Hebrew. The Tarbut movement was a network of secular, Hebrew-language schools in parts of the former Jewish Pale of Settlement, specifically in Poland, Romania and Lithuania. It operated primarily bet ...

” in Warsaw, he studied Turkish and Semitic languages, at the

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields o ...

. Active in

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 circles since his childhood, Tenenbaum joined the

Poale Zion Poale Zion (also spelled Poalei Tziyon or Poaley Syjon, meaning "Workers of Zion") was a movement of Marxist–Zionist Jewish workers founded in various cities of Poland, Europe and the Russian Empire in about the turn of the 20th century after ...

youth movement in 1935. After 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 opposing ...

, and the

German occupation of Poland German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

, he left

with his girlfriend, Tema Schneiderman, and others to areas occupied by the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. Their plan was to immigrate to Palestine, but this was delayed by lack of sufficient documents. Finally, Tenenbaum obtained forged documents that allowed his friends to emigrate, although he remained in

Vilna Vilnius ( , ; see also #Etymology and other names, other names) is the capital and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the munic ...

, to engage in activities among Jewish youth. There, he organized the resistance against the Germans in

Wilno Vilnius ( , ; see also #Etymology and other names, other names) is the capital and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the munic ...

and

Vilna and the Warsaw Ghetto

, under Soviet occupation (1940–1941), he continued to work to save Jewish youth, by providing them with certificates. Tenenbaum himself had a forged identity card in the name of a "

Tatar The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

" from the Vilnius region, named Tamaroff, a family name that also mentioned the name of his girlfriend, Tema Schneiderman. This borrowed identity allowed him more free movement, including all territories under Nazi control. Even after the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union, (including Lithuania), Tenenbaum made many forged papers for friends and loved ones, that allowed them to elude and escape the

Schutzstaffel The ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS; also stylized as ''ᛋᛋ'' with Armanen runes; ; "Protection Squadron") was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe duri ...

. In 1942, he arrived in

, where he was one of the founders of the YKA, and among the organizers and planners 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' ...

Białystok Ghetto uprising

In November 1942, Tenenbaum went on a mission to Białystok, intending to serve as the head of the Haganah movement. There, he organized the Jewish underground fighters, and headed the local resistance movement, which included members of Hashomer Hatzair and Dror. It was then decided, that with the start of an action by the Germans to "liquidate" the ghetto, the resistance would fight in the streets of Białystok, before attempting to escape to the forests, and continue operating as underground partisans. The Ghetto underwent a number of major operations during 1943, and members of the underground who remained there, felt that they were the last fighters, following the liquidation of the ghettos in

Będzin Będzin (; also ''Bendzin'' in English; german: Bendzin; yi, בענדין, Bendin) is a city in the Dąbrowa Basin, in southern Poland. It lies in the Silesian Highlands, on the Czarna Przemsza River (a tributary of the Vistula). Even though pa ...

and Częstochowa. Armed with only twenty-six rifles, one machine gun, roughly one hundred pistols, and several

Molotov cocktails A Molotov cocktail (among several other names – ''see other names'') is a hand thrown incendiary weapon constructed from a frangible container filled with flammable substances equipped with a fuse (typically a glass bottle filled with flammab ...

, the resistance forces were severely under-equipped, compared to the SS battalion against them. On the night of August 15, 1943, the Germans began to encircle the ghetto as the uprising began. During the uprising, Tenenbaum and his comrades fought for five days against the German forces, rupturing

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

supply lines, and succeeding in diverting German soldiers and military police groups from the East. This would help allow the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

to march westwards to Poland. The evacuation plan to Lublin had failed, upon the total encirclement of the ghetto. At the end of the fighting, Tenenbaum and his close friend Moszkowicz committed suicide, in order to not fall into the hands of the Nazis. Of the nearly 50,000 Jewish inhabitants of the

Białystok Ghetto The Białystok Ghetto ( pl, getto w Białymstoku) was a Nazi ghetto set up by the German SS between July 26 and early August 1941 in the newly formed District of Bialystok within occupied Poland. About 50,000 Jews from the vicinity of Białyst ...

prior to the uprising, only a few hundred would survive, and escape to the surrounding forests. The uprising was the second largest Jewish uprising against Nazi occupation during

World War 2 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 opposing ...

Legacy

After the war, to honor Tenenbaum and the uprising, a square in Białystok was named after him.

References

*http://szlak.uwb.edu.pl/ludzie.html#_bio2 * Mordechai Tenenbaum *https://www.thefirstnews.com/article/bialystok-ghetto-uprising-remembered-78-years-on-24032 {{DEFAULTSORT:Tenenbaum, Mordechaj 1916 births 1943 deaths Białystok Ghetto inmates Jewish Combat Organization members Jewish socialists People from Warsaw Polish socialists Polish Zionists 1943 suicides Polish civilians killed in World War II Suicides by Jews during the Holocaust Polish Jews who died in the Holocaust Suicides in Poland