Person    | Male  Born 21/2/1895  Died 11/5/1943

Szmul Zygielbojm

Categories: Tragedy

Countries: Poland

Politician. Born in Borowica, Poland. He became involved in the Jewish labour movement (Bundism), and in 1917, represented Chełm at the first Bundist convention in Poland. He was invited to serve as secretary of the Trade Union of Jewish Metal Workers and in 1924, was elected to the Bund's Central Committee.

Imprisoned after the German occupation of Poland, he was smuggled out of the country and travelled to Belgium and the United States. He arrived in London in 1942, joining the National Council of the Polish Government in exile, and speaking on British radio about the fate of the Jews in Poland. When he heard of the deaths of his wife and son in the Warsaw ghetto, he committed suicide as a protest against the indifference and inaction of the allied governments in the face of the Holocaust. He killed himself at his West London flat, using poison or gas, depending on source.

Credit for this entry to: Alan Patient of www.plaquesoflondon.co.uk

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Szmul Zygielbojm

Commemorated ati

Szmul Zygielbojm

Jewish workers' bund leader. Representative to the Polish parliament-in-exil...

Read More

Other Subjects

Andy Burdett B.A. (Hons)

Andy Burdett B.A. (Hons)

B.A. (Hons) is a university degree. Andrew Kevin Burdett was born on 12 December 1953. He died, aged 34 years, in the King's Cross Underground Station fire on 18 November 1987. The subsequent fire ...

Person, Tragedy

1 memorial
Brian Dorling

Brian Dorling

Killed by a tipper lorry on a Monday 8.30 am on his daily cycling commute from Hounslow to his job as a senior cost consultant at the Olympic site. Andrew Behan has kindly carried out further rese...

Person, Cyclist, Tragedy

1 memorial
Yosef Gutfreund

Yosef Gutfreund

Wrestling coach. Born Yosef (or Yossef) Gutfreund in Romania. He was part of the Israeli team at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. He was awakened by Palestinian terrorists infiltrating the Olympic...

Person, Sport / Games, Tragedy, Germany, Israel/Palestine, Romania

1 memorial
James Bruce MacQuarrie

James Bruce MacQuarrie

Captain James Bruce MacQuarrie was born on 30 September 1933 the younger son of James Granville MacQuarrie (1894-1971) and Joan MacQuarrie née Fisk (1906-1964). Some records show his family name as...

Person, Aviation, Tragedy, Scotland, USA

1 memorial