Adolf Berman
Encyclopedia
Adolf Avraham Berman was a Polish
-Israel
i activist and politician.
under the Russian Empire
(in partitioned Poland
), Berman attended the University of Warsaw
, where he earned a PhD in philosophy. Whilst a student he joined Poale Zion Left, and edited its two newspapers (one in Polish and one in Yiddish).
During World War II
he was one of the leaders of the Jewish underground in the Warsaw Ghetto
, and a member of the presidium of the Underground National Committee. He also served as general secretary of Żegota
, the Polish Council for Jewish Aid whose aim was to rescue Jews from the Holocaust
, and Tsetnum, a children's aid society in Warsaw.
After the war ended, he became a representative of the communist dominated Sejm, and in 1947 became chairman of the Central Committee of Polish Jewry. Berman was forcibly removed as CKŻP chair in April 1949, because he was a Zionist.
In 1950 he made aliyah
to Israel
, where he joined Mapam
(United Workers Party). He was elected to the Knesset
on the party's list in 1951 elections
, but on 20 February 1952 left the party and formed the Left Faction
together with Rostam Bastuni
and Moshe Sneh
. On 1 November 1954 Berman joined the Communist Party of Israel (Maki
), and became a member of its Central Committee. He lost his Knesset seat in the 1955 elections
.
In 1961, Berman testified at Adolf Eichmann
's trial in Israel. He showed the court a pair of children's shoes he picked up on the fields of Treblinka. Berman served as chairman of the Israel's Organization of Anti-Nazi Fighters, and a member of the presidium of the World Organization of Jewish Partisans and former Nazi Prisoners. He died in 1978 at the age of 71. His older brother, Jakub
– Joseph Stalin's right hand in the People's Republic of Poland
– was in charge of the notorious State Security Services
, the largest secret police
in Polish history until 1956.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
-Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i activist and politician.
Biography
Born in WarsawWarsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
under the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
(in partitioned Poland
Partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...
), Berman attended the University of Warsaw
University of Warsaw
The University of Warsaw is the largest university in Poland and one of the most prestigious, ranked as best Polish university in 2010 and 2011...
, where he earned a PhD in philosophy. Whilst a student he joined Poale Zion Left, and edited its two newspapers (one in Polish and one in Yiddish).
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he was one of the leaders of the Jewish underground in the Warsaw Ghetto
Warsaw Ghetto
The Warsaw Ghetto was the largest of all Jewish Ghettos in Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II. It was established in the Polish capital between October and November 15, 1940, in the territory of General Government of the German-occupied Poland, with over 400,000 Jews from the vicinity...
, and a member of the presidium of the Underground National Committee. He also served as general secretary of Żegota
Zegota
"Żegota" , also known as the "Konrad Żegota Committee", was a codename for the Polish Council to Aid Jews , an underground organization of Polish resistance in German-occupied Poland from 1942 to 1945....
, the Polish Council for Jewish Aid whose aim was to rescue Jews from the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
, and Tsetnum, a children's aid society in Warsaw.
After the war ended, he became a representative of the communist dominated Sejm, and in 1947 became chairman of the Central Committee of Polish Jewry. Berman was forcibly removed as CKŻP chair in April 1949, because he was a Zionist.
In 1950 he made aliyah
Aliyah
Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...
to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, where he joined Mapam
Mapam
Mapam was a political party in Israel and is one of the ancestors of the modern-day Meretz party.-History:Mapam was formed by a January 1948 merger of the Hashomer Hatzair Workers Party and Ahdut HaAvoda Poale Zion Movement. The party was originally Marxist-Zionist in its outlook and represented...
(United Workers Party). He was elected to the Knesset
Knesset
The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...
on the party's list in 1951 elections
Israeli legislative election, 1951
Elections for the second Knesset were held in Israel on 30 July 1951. Voter turnout was 75.1%.-Results:¹ Rostam Bastuni, Avraham Berman and Moshe Sneh left Mapam and set up the Left Faction. Bastuni later returned to Mapam whilst Berman and Sneh joined Maki. Hannah Lamdan and David Livschitz left...
, but on 20 February 1952 left the party and formed the Left Faction
Left Faction
The Left Faction was a short-lived political party in Israel.-History:The Left Faction was formed on 20 February 1952 as a breakaway from Mapam in the aftermath of the Prague Trials...
together with Rostam Bastuni
Rostam Bastuni
Rostam Bastuni was an Israeli politician and journalist, and the first Arab citizen of Israel to represent a Zionist party in the Knesset.-Biography:Bastuni was born into a Christian family in Mandate Palestine from the mixed city of Haifa...
and Moshe Sneh
Moshe Sneh
Moshe Sneh was an Israeli politician and military figure. One of the founders of Mapam, he later joined the Israeli Communist Party , and was one of the leaders of a more pro-Israeli split in 1965.-Biography:...
. On 1 November 1954 Berman joined the Communist Party of Israel (Maki
Maki (historical political party)
Maki was a communist political party in Israel. It is not the same party as the modern day Maki, which split from it during the 1960s and later assumed its name.-History:...
), and became a member of its Central Committee. He lost his Knesset seat in the 1955 elections
Israeli legislative election, 1955
Elections for the third Knesset were held in Israel on 26 July 1955. Voter turnout was 82.8%.-Results:Mapai retained its plurality in the Knesset, although its share of the vote dropped by 5.1 and its share of seats dropped from 47 to 40...
.
In 1961, Berman testified at Adolf Eichmann
Adolf Eichmann
Adolf Otto Eichmann was a German Nazi and SS-Obersturmbannführer and one of the major organizers of the Holocaust...
's trial in Israel. He showed the court a pair of children's shoes he picked up on the fields of Treblinka. Berman served as chairman of the Israel's Organization of Anti-Nazi Fighters, and a member of the presidium of the World Organization of Jewish Partisans and former Nazi Prisoners. He died in 1978 at the age of 71. His older brother, Jakub
Jakub Berman
Jakub Berman was born into a middle-class Jewish family. Berman first became a prominent communist in prewar Poland. Toward the end of World War II he joined the Politburo of the Soviet-formed Polish United Workers' Party...
– Joseph Stalin's right hand in the People's Republic of Poland
People's Republic of Poland
The People's Republic of Poland was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1990. Although the Soviet Union took control of the country immediately after the liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944, the name of the state was not changed until eight years later...
– was in charge of the notorious State Security Services
Ministry of Public Security of Poland
The Ministry of Public Security of Poland was a Polish communist secret police, intelligence and counter-espionage service operating from 1945 to 1954 under Jakub Berman of the Politburo...
, the largest secret police
Secret police
Secret police are a police agency which operates in secrecy and beyond the law to protect the political power of an individual dictator or an authoritarian political regime....
in Polish history until 1956.