Józef Szeryński
Encyclopedia
Józef Andrzej Szeryński (1892 – c. January 18, 1943) was a Polish-Jewish police-colonel
inspector for the Lublin
district and a commander of the Jewish Ghetto Police
during the Second World War. Born Józef Szenkman, he changed his name and developed an anti-Semitic attitude, becoming a collaborator with the Nazis following the invasion of Poland. On August 21 or 25, 1942, Szeryński survived being shot twice in an assassination attempt carried out by a member of the Jewish police, Yisrael Kanal (known as "Akiba"), who was working on behalf of the underground Jewish Combat Organization.
of Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto
, which led to an armed Jewish uprising
. Two Jewish resistance organizations, the Jewish Military Union and the Jewish Combat Organization, took control of the ghetto, building dozens of fighting posts and executing Jews they considered to be Nazi collaborators. In this context, Szeryński committed suicide by taking cyanide
.
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
inspector for the Lublin
Lublin
Lublin is the ninth largest city in Poland. It is the capital of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 350,392 . Lublin is also the largest Polish city east of the Vistula river...
district and a commander of the Jewish Ghetto Police
Jewish Ghetto Police
Jewish Ghetto Police , also known as the Jewish Police Service and referred to by the Jews as the Jewish Police, were the auxiliary police units organized in the Jewish ghettos of Europe by local Judenrat councils under orders of occupying German Nazis.Members of the did not have official...
during the Second World War. Born Józef Szenkman, he changed his name and developed an anti-Semitic attitude, becoming a collaborator with the Nazis following the invasion of Poland. On August 21 or 25, 1942, Szeryński survived being shot twice in an assassination attempt carried out by a member of the Jewish police, Yisrael Kanal (known as "Akiba"), who was working on behalf of the underground Jewish Combat Organization.
Suicide
On January 18, 1943, the Nazis began their second deportationDeportation
Deportation means the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. Today it often refers to the expulsion of foreign nationals whereas the expulsion of nationals is called banishment, exile, or penal transportation...
of Jews 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...
, which led to an armed Jewish uprising
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was the Jewish resistance that arose within the Warsaw Ghetto in German occupied Poland during World War II, and which opposed Nazi Germany's effort to transport the remaining ghetto population to Treblinka extermination camp....
. Two Jewish resistance organizations, the Jewish Military Union and the Jewish Combat Organization, took control of the ghetto, building dozens of fighting posts and executing Jews they considered to be Nazi collaborators. In this context, Szeryński committed suicide by taking cyanide
Cyanide
A cyanide is a chemical compound that contains the cyano group, -C≡N, which consists of a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen atom. Cyanides most commonly refer to salts of the anion CN−. Most cyanides are highly toxic....
.