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Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski (Collaborator) Brittney Bentivegna Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski was a Polish-Jew born in 1877 and died in a concentration camp in the year 1944. Due to his actions during the Holocaust, this man has become an extremely controversial figure. He started out as a director of an orphanage but was later on appointed the job that would make his name known; as head of the Lodz ghetto. Some believe he was a traitor to his people, while others think he did the best he could with the situation at hand. As for me, looking back on the facts I have accumulated, the majority of my information points me in the direction that he was a collaborator.

As I mentioned earlier, Rumkowski was the leader of the Lodz ghetto in Poland during the reign of Hitler. From the minute he stepped in, he began creating his own form of dictatorship. He had his face put on the Lodz money and admits to taking possession of properties as well as businesses that were still run privately within the ghetto. He even gave Passover bread to a street singer from Lodz who was performing a song called “Rumkowski Chaim” in front of a store. And while some might view this as an act of kindness, based on his actions which I stated above, it seems Rumkowski’s only objective was to promote himself throughout the community. Some historians believe this man was a resister, but the piece of information that made me steer clear of this option is that aside from the dictatorship Rumkowski created, he ran Lodz based on the quote “Work sets you free.” Ironically enough, this saying appeared on the gates of numerous concentration camps at this time. In fact, this man organized the creation of 120 factories in Lodz, all of which produced goods for the Germans. If he were a true resister, he would have wanted nothing to do with the ways of the perpetrator. In fact he would most likely have been teaching his people that work does __not__ set you free. However, since Rumkowski was doing the exact opposite, it is natural to make the assumption that he was a collaborator. One of the aspects of being a leader of a ghetto at this time in history was that you were instructed by the Germans. Being a fellow Jew, one might think Rumkowski would do everything in his will to protect his people from the things the Nazis had in mind for them. However, this was not always the case. For instance, in 1942 the Germans asked for all children under the age of 10 and all seniors over 65 to be deported from Lodz. Without showing much resistance, Mordechai went and asked mothers of the ghetto to give up their children. As expected they refused, which resulted in a vicious round-up where 20,000 people ended up being sent to death camps. To add insult to injury, Rumkowski asked the Council of Rabbis to help in selecting the deportees. These horrific actions clearly show that Mordechai was focused on fulfilling his duty and saving himself from the Germans rather than his people. If a man such as Rumkowski is this determined to help the perpetrator, in this case the Nazis, he is none other than a collaborator.

The opposing argument continuously points out that Mordechai did try to negotiate with the Germans at one point. But, what they leave out is the fact that he did not pursue that resistance and in the end the people of Lodz were filled with sorrow and grief. Sorrow as they watched their children, parents, grandparents, and friends be deported and grief at the prospect of never seeing them again. Therefore, based on this information I think it’s safe to say, a collaborator is the best category for Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski.

"Rumkowski, Mordechai Chaim." __Yadvashem__. www.yadvashem.org. 6 May 2009 .

"1942: The "Final Solution"." __The Holocaust Chronicle__. 2002. The Holocaust Chronicle. 6 May 2009 .

"1942: The "Final Solution"." __The Holocaust Chronicle__. 2002. The Holocaust Chronicle. 6 May 2009 .

"Chaim Mordechai Rumkowski." __Holocaust Research Project__. 2009. Holocaust Education & Archive Research Team. 6 May 2009 .

"Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski." __Wikipedia__. 10 April 2009. Wikipedia. 6 May 2009 [].