Language:
English
Year of publication:
2006
Titel der Quelle:
Gal-Ed; on the History of the Jews in Poland
Angaben zur Quelle:
20 (2006) 63-89
Keywords:
Rotholc, Shepsl
;
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
;
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) Influence
;
Jews
Abstract:
Describes the controversial trial conducted by the Central Committee of Polish Jews (CKŻP) in November 1946 in Warsaw. Rotholc (1913-1996), who before the war was a Polish national boxing champion, became a policeman in the Warsaw ghetto. After the war, survivors of the ghetto accused him of mistreating Jews during the deportations. In 1946 the Central Committee of Polish Jews established a Citizens' Tribunal; Rotholc was the first person tried by this body. He denied that he abused Jews in the ghetto, and stated that he joined the Jewish police to support his family and that due to his reputation as a boxer he was able to protect smugglers who compensated him for his assistance. The Citizens' Tribunal found Rotholc guilty, but the basis for the conviction was not his mistreatment of Jews in the ghetto but his continued service in the Jewish police after the first wave of deportations in 1942. He was expelled from the Jewish community for two years and his right to participate in communal activities was revoked for three years. Under pressure of Polish authorities, the Tribunal commuted the sentence; however, in 1948 Rotholc left for Canada. His trial shows that, despite the expectations of some community leaders, the Tribunal refused to convict putative collaborators solely on the basis of their membership in organizations like the Jewish Council and Jewish police, judging them on the grounds of their actual behavior during the war.
Note:
A Polish version appeared as "Proces Szepsla Rotholca a polityka kary w następstwie Zagłady" in "Zagłada Żydów" 2 (2006) 221-241.
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