The Warsaw Diary of Adam Czerniakow: Prelude to Doom
by Adam Czerniakow
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Adam Czerniakow was a Polish Jew who killed himself on July 23, 1942--on the face of it not an uncommon occurrence in those times. But there is more to the story than the tragic death of one man among so many millions. Czerniakow was for almost three years the chairman of the Warsaw Judenrat--a Jew, devoted to his people, who served as the Nazi-sponsored "mayor" of the Warsaw Ghetto. His personal dealings with the German authorities bring to this daily record of events a depth of knowledge, show more accuracy of detail, and panorama of view that was possible to no other participant in the epic prelude to the final doom of the largest captive Jewish community in Eastern Europe. This secret journal is not only the testimony of an unbearable personal burden but the documentary of the Ghetto's terminal agony. It is the most important diary to emerge from the Holocaust. show lessTags
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The diary of Adam Czerniakow, who was chairman of the Jews in Warsaw, Poland between 1939 and 1942. A fundamentally decent if unextraordinary man, he committed suicide to avoid having to deport the people of the Warsaw Ghetto to their deaths. Czerniakow's diary is quite laconic -- many entries are just a few sentences long -- but provides many details of his efforts on the behalf of the Warsaw Jews.
Obscure references are demystified in the footnotes. There are also some black and white photographs of ghetto scenes, an appendix of ghetto-related documents and letters, and two introductions totaling seventy pages which provide more information on the life and death of Czerniakow and the story of the Warsaw Ghetto.
This is hardly a gripping show more read, but it is essential if you want to know the story of the Warsaw Jews. Czerniakow worked as best he could from them, but he and they were lost from the start. show less
Obscure references are demystified in the footnotes. There are also some black and white photographs of ghetto scenes, an appendix of ghetto-related documents and letters, and two introductions totaling seventy pages which provide more information on the life and death of Czerniakow and the story of the Warsaw Ghetto.
This is hardly a gripping show more read, but it is essential if you want to know the story of the Warsaw Jews. Czerniakow worked as best he could from them, but he and they were lost from the start. show less
Extremely abbreviated daily descriptions of Warsaw immediately following the German invasion; followed by the excruciatingly incremental, falsely legal destruction of the Jewish population. Written by the Community leader.
Holocaust
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159 works; 3 members
Author Information
4 Works 151 Members
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title*
- Carnets du ghetto de Varsovie, 6 septembre 1939-23 juillet 1942
- Original title
- Dziennik Getta Warszawskiego 6.IX.1939-23.VII.1942
- Original publication date
- 1968 (1e édition originale par Yad Vashem à Jérusalem) (1e édition originale par Yad Vashem à Jérusalem); 1972 (1e édition originale polonaise, Państwowe wydawnictwo naukowe, Varsovie) (1e édition originale polonaise, Państwowe wydawnictwo naukowe, Varsovie); 1996-09-01 (1e traduction et édition française, Texte à l'appui. Série Histoire contemporaine, La Découverte) (1e traduction et édition française, Texte à l'appui. Série Histoire contemporaine, La Découverte); 2003-03-13 (Réédition française, Poche essais, La Découverte) (Réédition française, Poche essais, La Découverte)
- People/Characters
- Adam Czerniaków
- Important places
- Warsaw, Poland; Warsaw Ghetto
- Important events
- Holocaust
- First words
- September 6, 1939 -- I could not sleep from midnight to 5 in the morning.
- Quotations
- I, who never exploited anyone and never lived at anyone's expense, have been paying for those who did just that.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Some officials came to the post office and issued instructions that all incoming letters and parcels be diverted to the Pawiak [prison].
- Original language*
- Polonais
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, History, Biography & Memoir, General Nonfiction
- DDC/MDS
- 943.8 — History & geography History of Europe Central Europe: Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Czech, Poland, Hungary Poland
- LCC
- DS135 .P62 .W2613 — History of Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania Asia History of Asia Israel (Palestine). The Jews Jews outside of Palestine
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 146
- Popularity
- 224,192
- Reviews
- 3
- Rating
- (4.25)
- Languages
- 5 — English, French, German, Italian, Polish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 10
- ASINs
- 2
