Michał Klepfisz was born in Warsaw on April 17, 1913. His mother was a school teacher. His family was Jewish, but not particularly religious. He went to university in Warsaw, where he studied polytechnics

Michał Klepfisz was born in Warsaw on April 17, 1913. His mother was a school teacher. His family was Jewish, but not particularly religious. He went to university in Warsaw, where he studied polytechnics. In 1939, after the war started, he lived in Lviv and later in Donetsk. Eventually, Michał heard the rumors of what was happening to his friends in family in Warsaw and came back to the city. He lived outside of the ghetto under a false name: Tadeusz Mecner. 

Eventually, Michał became connected with the ŻOB- the Jewish fighting organization in the ghetto. Due to his knowledge in polytechnics, Michał was able to help the resistance produce explosives. He was later caught and arrested. He was sent to the Treblinka extermination camp, but jumped off the train, therefore escaping almost certain death. He was injured from his jump, but made his way back to Warsaw to continue helping the resistance. 

When he returned home, Michał helped sneak food and weapons into the ghetto. On April 17, 1943, he had his thirtieth birthday. He bought himself a revolver that day. Two days later, on April 19, the Warsaw ghetto uprising began. Michał, of course, went to the ghetto to fight. 

Like the other fighters, Michał knew that his chances of survival were almost zero. On April 20, he and his comrades became trapped in an attic of a house on Jerska street. A surviving friend remembered that Michał had told them: „We’ll all die if we don’t fight our way out.”

As the Germans cornered the men in the attic, Michał rushed the soldiers, which allowed his friends to escape. Several hours later, Michal’s body was found. His friend, Marek Edelmann, wrote: „Several hours later, we find Michal’s body perforated like a sieve by a salvo from two machine guns.”

He was buried soon after. Michał was one of the first Jewish casualties of the uprising. May his memory and his courage be a blessing. 

*NOTE* Michał was married to a woman named Rosa, but I wasn’t able to find any information about her in any archives. He did not have any children.

REMEMBER MICHAL KLEPFISZ. 

#holocaust #warsaw #warsawghettouprising #jewish #zob #shoah #warsawghetto #neverforget