Szmalcownik: Difference between revisions

Content deleted Content added

Inline

Revision as of 04:16, 20 July 2020

Szmalcownik (Polish pronunciation: [ʂmalˈtsɔvɲik]); in English, also spelled shmaltsovnik) is a pejorative Polish slang expression that originated during the Holocaust in Poland in World War II and refers to a person who blackmailed Jews who were in hiding, or who blackmailed Poles who protected Jews during the German occupation.

Etymology

The term originated in the German word Schmalz (Polish phonetic spelling: szmalc, literally meaning "lard") and indicated the blackmailer's financial motive.

History

Extent and effects

The damage that these indivduals did was substantial.^[1] Gunnar S. Paulsson estimates that the total number of szmalcowniks in Warsaw alone was "as high as 3–4 thousand."^[2] Many szmalcowniks came from the "dregs of society" – either organized or petty criminals. Some were also on the Gestapo's payroll. They included individuals of all ethnicities found in Poland: ethnic Poles and members of the German, Ukrainian, and Lithuanian minorities, and in extreme cases, even Jews themselves.^[1]

Most were interested in money. By stripping Jews of assets needed for food and bribes, harassing rescuers, raising the overall level of insecurity, and forcing hidden Jews to seek safer accommodations, blackmailers added substantially to the danger that Jews and Poles who hid them (endangered by the German-imposed death penalty) faced and increased their chances of getting caught and killed.^[1] At the beginning of the German occupation, szmalcowniks were satisfied with a few hundred zlotys in extortion, but after the death penalty was introduced for hiding Jews, the sums rose to several hundred thousand zlotych.

Countermeasures

Officials of Żegota repeatedly appealed to the Polish Underground State to act against blackmailers, but for the most part were answered that "nothing could be done" because such acts would require a judicial process, which was impossible to conduct during the occupation.^[3] However, the the Home Army (Armia Krajowa) considered collaboration a treasonous act punishable by death,^[4] and in the summer of 1943 did it start carrying out death sentences for szmalcowniks in Warsaw.^[5] A decree of 31 August 1944 by the communist Polski Komitet Wyzwolenia Narodowego (the Polish Committee of National Liberation) also condemned such acts as collaboration with Germany.^{[citation needed]} Approximately 30% of the Special Courts executions in Warsaw were of szmalcowniks.^[6] Overall, however the warnings were left mostly "on paper", and the number of executions remained low.^[7]

According to Władysław Bartoszewski, despite the fact that the Home Army carried out more death sentences on blackmailers than any other resistance organization in occupied Europe, these death sentences did not have a significant effect on the scale of blackmail and denunciation because of the difficulty of tracking down extortionists.^[8] According to Samuel Kassow, who analysed the Emanuel Ringelblum Archives, "even in the relatively simple matter of suppressing the blackmailers and informants who plagued Jews on the Aryan side, the underground state could not be bothered."^[9] However, Joanna Drzewieniecki cites two accounts from the diaries of the Warsaw Jews who believed that the executions deterred at least some of the szmalcowniks.^[5]

The Germans sometimes also treated szmalcowniks as criminals and punished them. The reason was that szmalcowniks also bribed German officials and police: after a rich Jew had been denounced, the szmalcownik and corrupt German shared the loot.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Irene Tomaszewski; Tecia Werbowski (2010). Code Name Żegota: Rescuing Jews in Occupied Poland, 1942-1945 : the Most Dangerous Conspiracy in Wartime Europe. ABC-CLIO. p. 70. ISBN 978-0-313-38391-5.
^ Biuletyn IPN 3 (12)/2013, p. 5, Instytut Pamięci Narodowej
^ Gutman, Israel (2003). "Some Issues in Jewish-Polish Relations during the Second World War". Contested memories: Poles and Jews during the Holocaust and its aftermath. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. p. 216. ISBN 978-0-8135-3158-8. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |editors= ignored (|editor= suggested) (help)
^ Żydzi polscy, zeszyt 24, "Sprawiedliwi wśród narodów" str. 11 artykuł "Śmierć dla szmalcowników" dodatek do Rzeczpospolitej z 23 września 2008
^ ^a ^b Joanna Drzewieniecki (30 November 2019). Dance with Death: A Holistic View of Saving Polish Jews during the Holocaust. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 256–257. ISBN 978-0-7618-7167-5.
^ Joshua D. Zimmerman (5 June 2015). The Polish Underground and the Jews, 1939–1945. Cambridge University Press. pp. 414–415. ISBN 978-1-107-01426-8.
^ Kermish, Joseph. "The Activities of the Council for Aid to Jews ("Żegota") In Occupied Poland". zegota-in-occupied-poland.html. Retrieved 19 July 2020. {{cite web}}: Text "www.yadvashem.org" ignored (help)
^ Andrzej Kunert: Żegota. Rada Pomocy Żydom 1942 – 1945. Warszawa: 2002, p. 34. Cytat: – Andrzej Friszke: Czy skala wyroków śmierci wydawanych w tych sprawach przez sądy Polski Podziemnej była na tyle znaczna, by mogła odstraszyć szmalcowników? – Władysław Bartoszewski: Nie, ale to była bardzo trudna sprawa. Mimo że w żadnym kraju okupowanej Europy podziemie nie wydało tylu wyroków, co u nas, to jednak trzeba zauważyć, że była to sprawa wyjątkowo trudna. Jak wytropić szmalcownika? Muszą być grupy, które obserwują i łapią. Gdzie? Na ulicy. I na gorącym uczynku. Bo przecież ofiara szantażu nigdy go nie znajdzie..
^ Kassow, Samuel (2003). "Polish-Jewish Relations in the Writings of Emmanuel Ringelblum". Contested memories: Poles and Jews during the Holocaust and its aftermath. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. p. 154. ISBN 978-0-8135-3158-8. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |editors= ignored (|editor= suggested) (help)

@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
 Officials of ''[[Żegota]]'' repeatedly appealed to the [[Polish Underground State]] to act against blackmailers, but for the most part were answered that "nothing could be done" because such acts would require a judicial process, which was impossible to conduct during the occupation.<ref>{{Cite book| publisher = Rutgers University Press| isbn = 978-0-8135-3158-8| editors = Joshua D. Zimmerman (ed.)| last = Gutman| first = Israel| title = Contested memories: Poles and Jews during the Holocaust and its aftermath| chapter = Some Issues in Jewish-Polish Relations during the Second World War| location = New Brunswick, NJ| date = 2003| p = 216}}</ref> However, the the [[Home Army]] (''Armia Krajowa'') considered [[collaborationism|collaboration]] a [[treason|treasonous act]] punishable by death,<ref name=rp>''Żydzi polscy'', zeszyt 24, "Sprawiedliwi wśród narodów" str. 11 artykuł "Śmierć dla szmalcowników" dodatek do Rzeczpospolitej z 23 września 2008</ref> and in the summer of 1943 did it start carrying out death sentences for szmalcowniks in Warsaw.<ref name="Drzewieniecki2019">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-9W8DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA256|title=Dance with Death: A Holistic View of Saving Polish Jews during the Holocaust|author=Joanna Drzewieniecki|date=30 November 2019|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-0-7618-7167-5|pages=256–257}}</ref> A decree of 31 August 1944 by the communist [[Polski Komitet Wyzwolenia Narodowego]] (the Polish Committee of National Liberation) also condemned such acts as collaboration with [[Nazi Germany|Germany]].{{Fact}} Approximately 30% of the [[Special Courts]] executions in Warsaw were of szmalcowniks.<ref name="Zimmerman2015">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w4dsCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA415|title=The Polish Underground and the Jews, 1939–1945|author=Joshua D. Zimmerman|date=5 June 2015|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-107-01426-8|pages=414–415}}</ref> Overall, however the warnings were left mostly "on paper", and the number of executions remained low.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kermish |first=Joseph |title=The Activities of the Council for Aid to Jews (“Żegota”) In Occupied Poland | www.yadvashem.org |url=https://www.yadvashem.org/righteous/resources/zegota-in-occupied-poland.html |access-date=2020-07-19 |website=zegota-in-occupied-poland.html |language=en}}</ref>
-According to [[Samuel Kassow]], who analysed the [[Emanuel Ringelblum Archives]], "even in the relatively simple matter of suppressing the blackmailers and informants who plagued Jews on the Aryan side, the underground state could not be bothered."<ref>{{Cite book| publisher = Rutgers University Press| isbn = 978-0-8135-3158-8| editors = Joshua D. Zimmerman (ed.)| last = Kassow | first = Samuel| title = Contested memories: Poles and Jews during the Holocaust and its aftermath| chapter = Polish-Jewish Relations in the Writings of Emmanuel Ringelblum| location = New Brunswick, NJ| date = 2003| p = 154}}</ref> However, Joanna Drzewieniecki cites two accounts from the diaries of the Warsaw Jews who  believed that the executions deterred at least some of the szmalcowniks.<ref name="Drzewieniecki2019" />
+According to [[Władysław Bartoszewski]], despite the fact that the Home Army carried out more death sentences on blackmailers than any other resistance organization in occupied Europe, these death sentences did not have a significant effect on the scale of blackmail and denunciation because of the difficulty of tracking down extortionists.<ref>Andrzej Kunert: ''Żegota. Rada Pomocy Żydom 1942 – 1945''. Warszawa: 2002, p. 34. Cytat: – Andrzej Friszke: Czy skala wyroków śmierci wydawanych w tych sprawach przez sądy Polski Podziemnej była na tyle znaczna, by mogła odstraszyć szmalcowników? – Władysław Bartoszewski: Nie, ale to była bardzo trudna sprawa. Mimo że w żadnym kraju okupowanej Europy podziemie nie wydało tylu wyroków, co u nas, to jednak trzeba zauważyć, że była to sprawa wyjątkowo trudna. Jak wytropić szmalcownika? Muszą być grupy, które obserwują i łapią. Gdzie? Na ulicy. I na gorącym uczynku. Bo przecież ofiara szantażu nigdy go nie znajdzie..</ref> According to [[Samuel Kassow]], who analysed the [[Emanuel Ringelblum Archives]], "even in the relatively simple matter of suppressing the blackmailers and informants who plagued Jews on the Aryan side, the underground state could not be bothered."<ref>{{Cite book| publisher = Rutgers University Press| isbn = 978-0-8135-3158-8| editors = Joshua D. Zimmerman (ed.)| last = Kassow | first = Samuel| title = Contested memories: Poles and Jews during the Holocaust and its aftermath| chapter = Polish-Jewish Relations in the Writings of Emmanuel Ringelblum| location = New Brunswick, NJ| date = 2003| p = 154}}</ref> However, Joanna Drzewieniecki cites two accounts from the diaries of the Warsaw Jews who  believed that the executions deterred at least some of the szmalcowniks.<ref name="Drzewieniecki2019" />
 The Germans sometimes also treated ''szmalcownik''s as criminals and punished them. The reason was that ''szmalcowniks'' also [[bribed]] German officials and police:  after a rich Jew had been denounced, the ''szmalcownik'' and corrupt German shared the loot.