April 1943, the greatest act of Jewish resistance against the Nazis during World War II began: the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.
Leon Kopelman was born in Poland in 1924. After the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939, they forced millions of Jews to leave their homes and moved them into ghettos. The Warsaw Ghetto, located in the center of the Polish capital, was the largest one.
During Leon’s time in the Warsaw Ghetto, he became active in the underground Jewish militia, the ZOB, which was committed to armed resistance against the Nazis. The militia resisted Jewish deportations to extermination camps and killed German soldiers in the ghetto. But in April 1943, the Nazis entered the Ghetto in full force, killed thousands of Jews on the spot and sent the rest to the Treblinka extermination camp.
Leon was almost sent to Treblinka, but he told the Nazis that he had experience as a mechanic and was therefore saved by being sent to work. He was later freed by Polish resistance fighters in September 1944 and joined them in their efforts against the Nazis. Eventually, Leon managed to reach Israel and was reunited with his sister and father, who also survived the Holocaust.
Leon joined the newly-formed Israel Défense Forces in 1948, fought in Israel’s War of Independence and the 1967 Six-Day War, and served as an IDF reservist until the age of 55. His sons and daughter also served as IDF officers. Leon said his large family was his greatest victory over the Nazis.
Leon was considered to be the last surviving veteran of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. A few months after last year’s anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, Leon sadly passed away in Israel at age 97.
Leon Kopelman’s heroic fight against the Nazis and for Israel’s independence and survival will never be forgotten.
May his memory forever be a blessing.