Tosia Altman
Encyclopedia
Tova Altman (1918 – 1943) worked with Mordechai Anielewicz as a member of the ŻOB during the Warsaw ghetto uprising
.
She initially worked as a courier, making contact with Jewish resistance groups outside of the ghetto
and providing them with updates on resistance clashes, as well as providing educational material that was banned by the occupying German
forces. Later, she was critical in helping to smuggle weapons and explosives into the Warsaw
ghetto
.
She escaped a capture attempt on 18 January 1943 and moved to the ZOB bunker at 18 Miła Street, she was one of the few to survive the battle on 8 May that saw the bunker abandoned and Mordechai Anielewicz killed. Despite suffering wounds to the leg and head, Altman was able to join a group of approximately seventy-five resistance fighters who left the ghetto
on 10 May in a daring sewer escape. She was captured again by the Nazis on 24 May when the celluloid factory she was sheltering in accidentally caught fire and she suffered severe burns. She was taken into custody by the Gestapo
and died shortly afterward, receiving no medical treatment.
She was portrayed by American actress Leelee Sobieski
in the 2001 television movie, 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....
.
She initially worked as a courier, making contact with Jewish resistance groups outside of the ghetto
Ghetto
A ghetto is a section of a city predominantly occupied by a group who live there, especially because of social, economic, or legal issues.The term was originally used in Venice to describe the area where Jews were compelled to live. The term now refers to an overcrowded urban area often associated...
and providing them with updates on resistance clashes, as well as providing educational material that was banned by the occupying German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
forces. Later, she was critical in helping to smuggle weapons and explosives into the Warsaw
Warsaw
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...
ghetto
Ghetto
A ghetto is a section of a city predominantly occupied by a group who live there, especially because of social, economic, or legal issues.The term was originally used in Venice to describe the area where Jews were compelled to live. The term now refers to an overcrowded urban area often associated...
.
She escaped a capture attempt on 18 January 1943 and moved to the ZOB bunker at 18 Miła Street, she was one of the few to survive the battle on 8 May that saw the bunker abandoned and Mordechai Anielewicz killed. Despite suffering wounds to the leg and head, Altman was able to join a group of approximately seventy-five resistance fighters who left the ghetto
Ghetto
A ghetto is a section of a city predominantly occupied by a group who live there, especially because of social, economic, or legal issues.The term was originally used in Venice to describe the area where Jews were compelled to live. The term now refers to an overcrowded urban area often associated...
on 10 May in a daring sewer escape. She was captured again by the Nazis on 24 May when the celluloid factory she was sheltering in accidentally caught fire and she suffered severe burns. She was taken into custody by the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
and died shortly afterward, receiving no medical treatment.
She was portrayed by American actress Leelee Sobieski
Leelee Sobieski
Liliane Rudabet Gloria Elsveta Sobieski , known professionally as Leelee Sobieski, is an American actress. Sobieski achieved recognition in her mid-teens for her performance in the 1998 film Deep Impact...
in the 2001 television movie, Uprising
Uprising (film)
Uprising is a 2001 war/drama television movie about the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. The film was directed by Jon Avnet and written by Avnet and Paul Brickman...
.
External links
- Ziva Shalev, Tosia Altman, Jewish Women Encyclopedia