Chaim Rumkowski Chaim Mordechai Rumkowski ( February 27 , 1877 - August 28 , 1944 ) was a Polish Jew and businessman who was appointed as the German Nazi - nominated head of the " Ältestenrat " ( " Council of Elders " ) , or Jewish authorities in the Łódź Ghetto . He accrued power as he organized the ghetto as an industrial site , believing that productivity was the key to Jewish survival . Before the Nazi German invasion of Poland , Rumkowski was director of an orphanage . On October 13 , 1939 , the Nazi occupation authorities appointed him the " Judenälteste " ( " Elder of the Jews " ) , or head of the " Ältestenrat " , in Łódź . In all other ghettos , the head of the Jewish council was known as the Judenrat . In this position , Rumkowski reported directly to the Nazi ghetto administration headed by Hans Biebow , but he had direct responsibility for providing heat , work , food , housing , and health and welfare services to the ghetto population . When the rabbinate was dissolved , Rumkowski began to perform weddings . The nickname of the ghetto ' s money or scrip , the " Rumki " , sometimes " Chaimki " , was derived from his name , as it had been his idea ; and his face was put on the ghetto postage stamps . Some remember him for his haunting and tragic speech , " Give Me Your Children " , in 1942 , when the Germans insisted on deporting 20 , 000 children to death camps . He was also remembered as an autocrat and tyrant who built a personal empire within the ghetto . He made work the basis of survival and created profit for the Germans , to preserve the Jews . In 1944 , the Germans proceeded to liquidate the ghetto in view of defeats in the East . In August , Rumkowski and his family voluntarily joined the last transport to Auschwitz , and were murdered there August 28 , 1944 . A family friend ( who in 1944 was a teenaged resident of Łódź ghetto ) suggests that Jewish inmates may have murdered him . Although Rumkowski and other Judenrat came to be regarded as collaborators and traitors , since the late 20th century , historians have reassessed this in light of the terrible conditions of the time . A survivor of the Łódź ghetto noted in his memoir that Rumkowski had kept it going for two years beyond the ghetto at Warsaw , and given more people from Łódź a chance to survive , although they were a few thousand . He wrote , " This is a horrific reckoning , but it gives Rumkowski a posthumous victory " . Background and history . The well - known Judenrat member Chaim Rumkowski was a controversial figure due to his leadership role in the Łódź ghetto during the Holocaust . During World War II , the Germans forced the Jewish community to form " Judenräte " , or " Jewish Councils " , in each ghetto in the incorporated territory and the General Government regions of occupied Poland . The " Judenräte " acted as the local government of the ghetto ; these leaders stood as the bridges between the Nazis and the caged population of each ghetto . In addition to running basic government services such as hospitals , post offices , and vocational schools , common tasks of the " Judenräte " included providing the Nazi regime with Jewish residents for slave labor , and the hardest task of all , rounding up quotas of Jews for " resettlement in the East . " The Jews learned that this was a euphemism for deportation to concentration and death camps . Rumkowski ' s approach to being Judenrat leader provoked controversy , at the time and by historians and survivors since . Upon learning of the " Final Solution " and the real meaning of " resettlement " , Adam Czerniaków , the head of the Judenrat of Warsaw , committed suicide . Rumkowski came to believe that the Jews could prove they were essential by being productive workers . He was swayed by the slogan " Arbeit macht frei - Work sets you free " that appeared on the gates of several concentration camps . By industrializing the Łódź ghetto , he hoped to make the community indispensable to the Germans and save the people of Łódź . On April 5 , 1940 , Rumkowski petitioned the Germans for materials for the Jews to manufacture in exchange for desperately needed food and money . By the end of the month , the Germans had acquiesced in part , agreeing to provide food , but not money , in exchange for the labor . Rumkowski ' s plan also included making the ghetto more like a community , with infrastructure such as schools , hospitals , mail delivery system , and other communal necessities . He believed in creating a ghetto which embodied a community of Jewish culture and nationalism . Because of how he carried out his goals and abused his powers , many people remember him very differently . For example , Yehuda Leib Gerst ' s memoirs observe : " This man had sickly leanings that clashed . Toward his fellow Jews , he was an incomparable tyrant who behaved just like a Führer and cast deathly terror to anyone who dared to oppose his lowly ways . Toward the perpetrators , however , he was as tender as a lamb and there was no limit to his base submission to all their demands , even if their purpose was to wipe us out totally . Either way , he did not properly understand his situation and positing and their limits . " Whether or not Rumkowski succeeded in saving the Łódź ghetto is open to debate . Łódź was the last ghetto in Eastern Europe to be liquidated . While only 877 inhabitants survived in the city until liberation , about 7 , 000 ghetto residents lived to see the end of the war . Rumkowski ' s methods are still debated by scholars and historians , who disagree on whether he was a Nazi collaborator or sincerely trying to help the Jews of Łódź . In the early years after the war , Rumkowski and others who had worked with the Nazis were considered to be collaborators and traitors . Research done by Isaiah Trunk on the Jewish Councils under Nazi occupation in his work " Judenrat " revises the view of the " Judenräte " , and specifically of Rumkowski , as traitors . The historian Michael Unger , in his " Reassessment of the Image of Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski " ( 2004 ) explores the materials leading to the reassessment of these leaders . Arnold Mostowicz , who once lived in the Łódź ghetto , justified Rumkowski ’ s policies in his memoirs , saying that Rumkowski prolonged the ghetto ' s existence by two years , allowing more people to have survived from Łódź than from Warsaw . He concludes , " This is a horrific reckoning , but it gives Rumkowski a posthumous victory " . Rumkowski provoked strong opinions . He was described by the following : . . . aggressive , domineering ( person ) , thirsty for honor and power , raucous , vulgar and ignorant , impatient ( and ) intolerant , impulsive and lustful . On the other hand , he is portrayed as a man of exceptional organizational prowess , quick , very energetic , and true to tasks that he set for himself . SS Brigadier General Friedrich Uebelhoer , on September 8 , 1939 , began the ghettoization of Łódź . The top secret report stated clearly that the ghetto was only a temporary solution to " the Jewish question in the city of Lodz . . . " " I reserve to myself the decision concerning the times and the means by which the ghetto and with it the city of Łódź will be cleansed of Jews " . Uebelhoer made the condition that they would provide for the Jews as long as suitable trade could be made , but never implied long - term survival . The Germans immediately replaced the local Jewish Community Council with the Nazis ' official " Judenrat " , or Council of Elders . Rumkowski was appointed head of the Łódź ghetto on October 13 , 1939 . The ghetto was sealed on April 30 , 1940 with 164 , 000 people inside . He reported directly to the Nazi ghetto administration headed by Hans Biebow , who had the responsibility of overall living conditions of the ghetto , including housing , heating , work , and food ( Yad Vashem ) . The mayor Franz Schiffer wrote in a letter to Rumkowski : I further charge you with the execution of all measures . . . necessary for the maintenance of an orderly community life in the residential district of the Jews . In particular you have to safeguard order in economic life , food supply , utilization of manpower , public health , and public welfare . You are authorized to take all measures and issue all directives necessary to reach this objective , and to enforce them by means of the Jewish police under your control . . . On October 16 , 1939 , Rumkowski appointed thirty - one public figures to create the council , however , less than three weeks later , on November 11 , twenty of them were killed and the rest were arrested . Some claim that Rumkowski was indirectly responsible for these murders , saying that he complained about the men to German authorities " for refusing to rubber - stamp his policies . " This accusation , although never proven , shows the discontent and mistrust the people had for Rumkowski , at such an early stage of the war . Because of the events that had transpired with the first round of Judenrat , many people feared such public positions in the ghetto . Although a new council was officially appointed a few weeks later , the men were not as distinguished and were less effective than the previous leaders . This change conceded more power to Rumkowski , and left few to contest or restrain his decisions . Prior to the " Final Solution " . The Germans authorized Rumkowski as the " sole figure authority in managing and organizing internal life in the ghetto " . In addition , Rumkowski gained power because of his domineering personality , and the lack of a forceful council . Biebow , at first , gave Rumkowski full power in organizing the ghetto , as long as it did not interfere with his main objectives : complete order , confiscation of Jewish property and assets , coerced labor , and his own personal gain . Their relationship seemed to work effectively . Rumkowski had leeway to organize the ghetto according to his fashion , believing he was creating a better ghetto life , while Biebow sat back , reaped rewards , and had Rumkowski do all the dirty work . In trying to keep Biebow happy , he obeyed every order with little inquiry , and provided him with gifts and personal favors . Of his willingness to cooperate with the German authorities , Rumkowski is said to have boasted in a speech , " My motto is always to be at least ten minutes ahead of every German demand . " He believed that by staying ahead of German thinking , he could keep them satisfied and preserve the Jews . Because of the confiscation of cash and other belongings , Rumkowski proposed a currency to be used specifically in the ghetto - the " ersatz . " This new currency would be used as money , and by this alone , a person could buy food rations and other necessities . This proposal was considered arrogant and illustrated Rumkowski ’ s lust for power . The currency was , therefore , nicknamed by ghetto inhabitants as the " Rumkin " . It dissuaded smugglers from endangering their lives to get in and out of the ghetto with goods , as people could not pay for them with regular currency . Rumkowski believed that full cooperation with the Nazis would improve the Jews ' chances of survival . He also believed that smuggling would " destabilize the ghetto with regard to the prices of basic commodities " . He wanted to have full control of the ghetto economy . He was extremely serious about his position as Judenrat . He admitted to being a " Communist and a Fascist , " confiscating property and businesses that were still being run by private owners . " He began to organize and take over all areas of life " . This was very difficult to do . From the confusion of relocated people in the crowded ghetto , he tried to create a community within its confining walls . With the help of his assistants , he maintained order and established numerous departments and institutions that dealt with all of the ghetto ' s internal affairs , from housing tens of thousands of people , to distributing food rations . Welfare and health systems were also set up . His administration formed seven hospitals , seven pharmacies , and five clinics , employing hundreds of doctors and nurses . Despite the great effort , many people could not be helped due to the shortage of medical supplies allowed in by the Germans ; in addition , deliberately limited food supplies by the Germans and poor nutrition reduced people ' s resistance to disease . Rumkowski worked extremely hard to establish an education system . Forty - seven schools were in service , schooling 63 % of school - age children . There was no education system in any other ghetto as advanced as Łódź . He " intervened and imposed his control in fields outside the realm of those essential to survival . " For example , he set up a " Culture House , " where cultural gatherings , including plays , orchestra , and other performances could take place . He was very involved in the particulars of these events , including hiring and firing performers and editing the content of the shows . He became integrated in religious life . This integration deeply bothered the religious public . For example , since the Germans disbanded the rabbinate in September 1942 , Rumkowski began conducting wedding ceremonies , and altering the marriage contract ( ketubah ) . Although there were negative feelings toward Rumkowski , he managed to build a strong establishment and organized industry in Łódź , in a relatively short period . Because of this order , distribution of rations and other services could take place in a more efficient and fair way . He believed that he was the best one to make decisions without consulting others . " . . . he understood everything best and that only his way was correct and just . . . He treated the ghetto Jews like personal belongings . He spoke to them arrogantly and rudely and sometime beat them " . Due to Rumkowski ' s harsh treatment , and stern , arrogant personality , the Jews began to blame him for their troubles , and unleashed their frustration on him instead of the Germans , who were beyond their scope of blame . The most significant display of this frustration and resistance was a series of strikes and demonstrations between August 1940 and spring of 1941 . Led by activists and leftist parties against Rumkowski , the workers abandoned their stations and went to the streets handing out fliers : Rumkowski would not allow these demonstrators to get away easily . With the help of the Jewish police , he violently broke up the protesters . On occasion , the Nazis came in to break up the commotion , which usually resulted in protesters being killed . The leaders of these groups were punished by not being allowed to work , which in effect meant that they and their families were doomed to starvation . Sometimes the strikers and demonstrators were arrested , imprisoned , or shipped off to labor camps . By the spring of 1941 , almost all opposition to Rumkowski had dissipated . Rumkowski developed industry in the ghetto from the very beginning , to prove the Jews could have value to the Nazis . In addition , because most of the Jews in the ghetto were of lower classes , laboring for the Germans was their only means to support themselves . In the beginning , the Germans were unclear of their plans for the ghetto , as arrangements for the " Final Solution " were still being developed . For that reason , in the first few months the Nazis had no motive to help Rumkowski achieve his labor agenda . By the summer of 1940 they realized the original plan of liquidating the ghetto by October 1940 could not take place , so they began to take Rumkowski ' s labor agenda seriously . Forced labor became a staple of ghetto life , with Rumkowski running the effort . His slogan , " Labor Is Our Only Way , " defined his belief . He said in a speech on February 1 , 1941 : . . . I accepted the role of leading normal life at any price . The goal will be attained primarily by full employment . Therefore , my principal slogan was to provide work for as many people as possible . . . He believed that work would save them . In another speech he said , " . . . Work is my coin . . . In another three years the ghetto will be working like a clock . . . " . As Michael Unger notes in his " Reassessment of the Image of Chaim Rukowski " ( 2004 ) , " By the end of 1941 , labor not only covered the costs of the ghetto ' s upkeep but also generated huge profits for the Germans . " Debate over Rumkowski ' s role in the Holocaust . Due to his active role in the deportations and his iron rule , Rumkowski ' s behavior remains a topic of bitter debate . Some historians and writers see him as a traitor and as a Nazi collaborator . In all his activities , Rumkowski displayed great zeal and organisational ability , becoming increasingly dictatorial . Within the ghetto , Rumkowski overcame opposition with the aid of Nazi intervention . His attempts to satisfy all Nazi demands and to set up a model ghetto earned him comments such as " a man sick with megalomania " , " King Chaim " , " an old man of 70 , extraordinarily ambitious and pretty nutty " . His ' rule ' , unlike the leaders of other ghettos , was marked with abuse of his own people . He and his council had a comfortable food ration , and their own special shops . The suffering of his ' comrades ' was beneath him . He was known to get rid of those he personally disliked by sending them to the camps . On top of this , he sexually abused vulnerable girls under his charge . Failure to succumb to his abuse meant death to the girl , as Lucille Eichengreen , who claims to have been abused by him for months as a young woman working in his office , testifies to : " I felt disgusted and I felt angry , I ah , but if I would have run away he would have had me deported , I mean that was very clear . " Others say that Rumkowski believed that some proportion of the ghetto would survive if they worked for the Nazis . They argue that Rumkowski believed that in order to save the majority of people , they had to cooperate with the Nazis ' deportation demands . ( Such a move would have immediately set him at odds with Orthodox observant Jews , as there is no justification for delivering anyone to certain death . ) Following the setting up of the extermination camp at Chełmno in 1941 , the Nazis forced Rumkowski to organize a deportation . Rumkowski claimed that he tried to convince the Nazis to cut down the number of Jews required for deportation and failed . Nevertheless , an estimated number of 5 , 000 to 10 , 000 Jews gave him some credit for their survival , and the Łódź ghetto lasted longer than other such establishments in occupied Poland . The Łódź ghetto was also the only ghetto not controlled by the SS . It remains unclear whether , if he had survived the war , Rumkowski would have received thanks for saving the people he did , or a jail - term for allowing so many to go to their deaths . Primo Levi , an Auschwitz survivor , in his book , " The Drowned and the Saved " , gives considerable consideration to Rumkowski , concluding : " Had he survived his own tragedy . . . no tribunal would have absolved him , nor , certainly , can we absolve him on the moral plane . But there are extenuating circumstances : an infernal order such as National Socialism exercises a frightful power of corruption against which it is difficult to guard oneself . To resist it requires a truly solid moral armature , and the one available to Chaim Rumkowski . . . was fragile . " At best , Levi viewed Rumkowski as morally ambiguous and self deluded . Hannah Arendt , in her book " Eichmann in Jerusalem " , was scathing in her opinion of Rumkowski . " Give Me Your Children " . Rumkowski ' s " Give Me Your Children " speech pleaded with the Jews in the ghetto to give up children of ten years of age and younger , as well as the old and the sick , so that others might survive . Some commentators see this speech as exemplifying aspects of the Holocaust .