Judenrat

The Judenrat were forced into an impossible corner through gradualism and terror by the Nazi regime; there was no way for them to know what the Germans’ final intentions were. All the Councils knew was that they were in charge of the day to day survival in the Ghettos and that if they didn’t comply, the Nazis would only do the job themselves and with much more efficiency and cruelty. Even though some consider them to be willing collaborators, the Judenrat were victims of the intimidation and unimaginable choices imposed on them by the Nazi killing machine.

The Judenrat were the Jewish Councils established on the orders of Reinhard Heydrich via Hans Frank, the Governor of the General Gouvernement, on September 21, 1939. The Councils were to be made up of the most influential, prominent people in the Jewish community (often those in political positions) and Rabbis. It was generally thought by the Jewish population that the traditional leaders were best equipped to represent the interests of the entire community and a way to preserve Jewish local leadership. Though this may have been true, this purposeful selection was also viewed by the Nazis as a way of ensuring that their commands would be carried out effectively and that it would discredit the Jewish leadership to further weaken the resolve of the Jewish community. Each Council was to “consist of 12 Jews in communities with up to 10,000 inhabitants, and in communities with more than 10,000 inhabitants, of 24 Jews.” Though the Councils were elected by the Jewish community, the final say of the members was still to be approved by the Kreishauptmann or the Stadthauptmann. The appointment of the Jews to Council was shrouded in intimidation, violence, and execution if there was evidence of refusal or non-compliance; anyone who refused cooperation was executed and swiftly replaced. In this way, Jewish cooperation was forced upon them maintained in an “atmosphere of ever-present merciless terror.”...