QuoteWARSAW, Poland (AP) — Marek Edelman, the last surviving leader of WWII Warsaw Ghetto uprising, died Friday in Warsaw at the age of 90.
Paula Sawicka told The Associated Press that Edelman died at her family's home at 2 p.m. EDT (1800GMT) of old age.
"He died at home, among friends, among his close people," Sawicka said. Feeble and in a wheelchair, Edelman had had lived with Sawicka's family for the past two years.
He was the last surviving leader of the ill-fated 1943 Warsaw ghetto uprising against the Nazis. More than 55,000 people were killed or deported to Nazi concentration camps when the uprising failed.
Due to his defense of freedom and dignity he was considered a great moral authority. He was also member of the democratic opposition to the communist regime in Poland before it was toppled in 1989.
He worked as a cardiologist in the central city of Lodz. But he dedicated most of his life to preserving the memory of the fallen heroes of the ghetto uprising. Every April, on the anniversary of the revolt, he laid flowers at Warsaw's monument to the ghetto heroes, in a call for tolerance.
He was awarded the French Legion of Honor.
He is survived by his son Aleksander, daughter Anna and grandchildren Liza and Tomek.
Funeral arrangements were not immediately known.
:( He was one of the Poles I admired the most. Despite his old age, he was actively involved in many current day matters, and acted as a conscience of modern day Poland. He spoke frequently against racism, homophobia, antisemitism (during the anti-gay propaganda of the previous right wing government, he famously compared anti-gay hatred to antisemitism of the nazis).
Really sad news. :(
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Sounds like a good man. RIP.
How did the Russians miss him? Thought they made a big effort to kill of the real heroes of the war.