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The initial steps towards creating an
underground began even before the Ghetto was set up in Warsaw. The
organization that grew out of the ranks of Betar, came to be known
as the “Jewish Militia Oganization” – ZZW.
The organization was well equipped with
arms and its members had previous military experience. Over time,
others not connected to Betar, joined their ranks. The organization
grew and functioned independently of the “Jewish Fighter’s
Organization” in the Warsaw Ghetto that had within its ranks,
members of most of the Zionist youth movements. Attempts at
reconciliation between the two organizations were unsuccessful and
they continued to function independently of each other even during
the uprising.
The ZZW were in constant contact with
the Polish underground, – Armia
Krajowa. The contact between the two groups was carried out through
contact people who were chosen for their “Aryan” looks and their
fluency in Polish. They smuggled arms into the Ghetto, smuggled
people out of the Ghetto, and transferred information in both
directions.
As a means of identification, the
contacts used pre-arranged passwords that were changed weekly, in
coordination with their Polish counterparts. An additional means of
identification, used in particular during meetings of higher level
officers, were two identical gold rings set with a red stone
engraved with Jewish symbols. It was not enough for the contacts to
show the ring, they were expected to explain the significance of the
symbols.
The ring that was in the possession of
the Jewish underground fighters, was destroyed in the ruins of the
Ghetto. Its twin remained in the hands of Henryk Iwanski, the leader
of the Polish underground.
In 1960, during the course of research
on the Jewish Militia Organization, Chaya Lazar, a former Partisan
in the Vilna forests, tracked Iwanski down in Poland. He told her of
the existence of the ring, but refused to part with it. On his
deathbed, he asked Chaya and Haim Lazar to take it to Israel and to
exhibit it.
Henryk
Iwanski was recognized as a Righteous among the Nations.
The Lazar Family has loaned the ring to
the permanent exhibition of the Yad Vashem Museum.
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Engraved on the red stone is a
star representing the biblical passage “there
shall step forth a star out of Jacob…“
(Numbers 24: 17). The number 7 engraved in the center of the
star symbolizes the seven branches of the Menorah.
On either side of the ring: fruit,
flowers and plants symbolizing the seven species and the belief
that the Jewish people will flourish and be fruitful once again.
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The lamb engraved on the inside of
the ring symbolizes the people taken like sheep to slaughter. |
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The lion engraved on the
inside of the ring symbolizes the courage of Judah
“Judah is a lion's whelp…”
(Genesis 49:9) |
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