Stanisław Aronson
Encyclopedia
Stanisław Aronson (born 1925 in Warsaw
) is a Polish Jew and an Israel
i citizen, as well as a former officer of the Polish
Home Army (AK) with a rank of Lieutenant
. He was also a member of the elite Kedyw
unit, "Kolegium A", of the Warsaw Region of AK, a participant in the Warsaw Uprising
of 1944, and a Lieutenant Colonel
of the Israeli Defense Force who took part in the Israeli War of Independence, the Yom Kippur War
and the 1982 Lebanon War
.
Aronson's mother family came from Łódź. After the Nazi invasion of Poland in 1939, they first moved from Łódź to Warsaw
. After a few days, they decided to move further east to the Kresy
, where near Równo their relatives owned some land. However in the meantime the Soviet Union also invaded Poland
as part of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Treaty between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, and the relatives were arrested by the NKVD
and deported eastwards, deep within the Soviet Union. As a result, the family tried to unsuccessfully enter Lithuania
, and then into Romania
. Eventually they wound up in Soviet-occupied Lwow. According to Aronson, in Lwow, the Soviets pressured Poles, Ukrainians and Jews to sign up for the Komsomol
but he personally refused.
After Operation Barbarossa
, the German invasion of the Soviet Union began, German troops entered Lwow. This resulted in a series of pogroms beginning, and the Germans began transporting Jews out of the city. Despite the fact that the Aronson family had documents which listed them as Poles, they were forced to flee again. In the autumn of 1941 they arrived in the Warsaw Ghetto
which in their view was a better place than the concentration camps that other Jews from Lwow were sent to.
During the liquidation of the Warsaw Ghetto the whole family ended up on Umschlagplatz
where they got separated. Stanisław never saw his family again. He himself was put on a transport to Auschwitz but managed to escape while the train was parked in the countryside near Warsaw. He spent the night hiding in a nearby chapel and then made his way to a nearby village. A local farmer gave him shelter, food and transportation to the nearby rail station. Aronson went back to Warsaw, where he made contact with Polish friends that lived on the "Aryan" side. They organized a hiding place for him and later, false documents in the name of "Ryszard Żurawski" (later Żukowski). Soon he was contacted by the Polish Home Army and asked to join the anti-Nazi resistance. He was member of selected Kedyw
groups (patrole) carried out executions of Nazi collaborators and traitors sentenced by an underground courts
. He also took part in the Warsaw Uprising
of 1944.
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...
) is a Polish Jew and an Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i citizen, as well as a former officer of the Polish
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...
Home Army (AK) with a rank of Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
. He was also a member of the elite Kedyw
Kedyw
Kedyw , was an underground movement - Armia Krajowa organization during World War II, which specialized in active and passive sabotage, propaganda and armed action against Nazi German forces and collaborators.-Operations:...
unit, "Kolegium A", of the Warsaw Region of AK, a participant in the Warsaw Uprising
Warsaw Uprising
The Warsaw Uprising was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance Home Army , to liberate Warsaw from Nazi Germany. The rebellion was timed to coincide with the Soviet Union's Red Army approaching the eastern suburbs of the city and the retreat of German forces...
of 1944, and a Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
of the Israeli Defense Force who took part in the Israeli War of Independence, the Yom Kippur War
Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War or October War , also known as the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and the Fourth Arab-Israeli War, was fought from October 6 to 25, 1973, between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria...
and the 1982 Lebanon War
1982 Lebanon War
The 1982 Lebanon War , , called Operation Peace for Galilee by Israel, and later known in Israel as the Lebanon War and First Lebanon War, began on 6 June 1982, when the Israel Defense Forces invaded southern Lebanon...
.
Aronson's mother family came from Łódź. After the Nazi invasion of Poland in 1939, they first moved from Łódź to 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...
. After a few days, they decided to move further east to the Kresy
Kresy
The Polish term Kresy refers to a land considered by Poles as historical eastern provinces of their country. Today, it makes western Ukraine, western Belarus, as well as eastern Lithuania, with such major cities, as Lviv, Vilnius, and Hrodna. This territory belonged to the Polish-Lithuanian...
, where near Równo their relatives owned some land. However in the meantime the Soviet Union also invaded Poland
Soviet invasion of Poland
Soviet invasion of Poland can refer to:* the second phase of the Polish-Soviet War of 1920 when Soviet armies marched on Warsaw, Poland* Soviet invasion of Poland of 1939 when Soviet Union allied with Nazi Germany attacked Second Polish Republic...
as part of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Treaty between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, and the relatives were arrested by the NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
and deported eastwards, deep within the Soviet Union. As a result, the family tried to unsuccessfully enter Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, and then into Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
. Eventually they wound up in Soviet-occupied Lwow. According to Aronson, in Lwow, the Soviets pressured Poles, Ukrainians and Jews to sign up for the Komsomol
Komsomol
The Communist Union of Youth , usually known as Komsomol , was the youth division of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The Komsomol in its earliest form was established in urban centers in 1918. During the early years, it was a Russian organization, known as the Russian Communist Union of...
but he personally refused.
After Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
, the German invasion of the Soviet Union began, German troops entered Lwow. This resulted in a series of pogroms beginning, and the Germans began transporting Jews out of the city. Despite the fact that the Aronson family had documents which listed them as Poles, they were forced to flee again. In the autumn of 1941 they arrived 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 in their view was a better place than the concentration camps that other Jews from Lwow were sent to.
During the liquidation of the Warsaw Ghetto the whole family ended up on Umschlagplatz
Umschlagplatz
In the Holocaust, the Umschlagplatz in the Warsaw Ghetto was where Jews gathered for deportation to the Treblinka extermination camp.During the Grossaktion Warsaw, beginning on July 22, 1942, Jews were deported in crowded freight cars to Treblinka. On some days as many as 7,000 Jews were deported...
where they got separated. Stanisław never saw his family again. He himself was put on a transport to Auschwitz but managed to escape while the train was parked in the countryside near Warsaw. He spent the night hiding in a nearby chapel and then made his way to a nearby village. A local farmer gave him shelter, food and transportation to the nearby rail station. Aronson went back to Warsaw, where he made contact with Polish friends that lived on the "Aryan" side. They organized a hiding place for him and later, false documents in the name of "Ryszard Żurawski" (later Żukowski). Soon he was contacted by the Polish Home Army and asked to join the anti-Nazi resistance. He was member of selected Kedyw
Kedyw
Kedyw , was an underground movement - Armia Krajowa organization during World War II, which specialized in active and passive sabotage, propaganda and armed action against Nazi German forces and collaborators.-Operations:...
groups (patrole) carried out executions of Nazi collaborators and traitors sentenced by an underground courts
Special Courts
Special Courts were the underground courts organized by the Polish Government in Exile during World War II in occupied Poland. The courts determined punishments for the citizens of Poland who were subject to the Polish law before the war.-History:After the Polish Defense War of 1939...
. He also took part in the Warsaw Uprising
Warsaw Uprising
The Warsaw Uprising was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance Home Army , to liberate Warsaw from Nazi Germany. The rebellion was timed to coincide with the Soviet Union's Red Army approaching the eastern suburbs of the city and the retreat of German forces...
of 1944.
Internet
- [English] A story of Stanisław (Shlomo) Aronson
- [Polish] Patrycja Bukalska, Ostatnia wojna Stanisława Aronsona, Polish press article "Tygodnik Powszechny" 2004
- [Polish] Piotr Zychowicz, Z ziemi polskiej do izraelskiej, Polish press article - "Rzeczpospolita" 2008
- [Polish] Piotr Zychowicz, Żyd z Armii Krajowej, Polish press article -"Rzeczpospolita" 2009
- [Polish] http://ahm.1944.pl/Stanislaw_Aronson/?q=aronson, Interview with "Rysiek" in Archiv of Warsaw Uprising Museum, http://ahm.1944.pl
- [Polish] Odznaczenia kombatantów z okazji Dnia Weterana, on internet sites of Polish President - www.prezydent.pl