http://www2.polskieradio.pl/eo/dokument.aspx?iid=117653
Ghetto hero Edelman buried
09.10.2009
The funeral of Marek Edelman, the last surviving leader of the Warsaw Ghetto, took place in Warsaw Friday.
Friends and family paid their respects at the Ghetto Memorial before the funeral conduct moved to the Jewish Cemetery, where Edelman was given a military burial. The esteemed Edelman was laid to rest with his colleagues from the Jewish Combat Organisation in the historic cemetery.
Many citizens of Warsaw attended the ceremony, including friends of Edelman: former Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki, editor-in-chief of Gazeta Wyborcza and Solidarity activist Adam Michnik, and writer Aleksander Smolar.
During the ceremony, the Chief Rabbi of Poland, Michael Schudrich, said that calling Marek Edelman a hero does not fully reflect his services to humanity, saying that he always held his own.
“He would speak his mind”, said Schudrich, “he knew when to fight, even bear arms. He knew how to save people’s lives for decades after the war as a cardiologist. He never went to the synagogoue; his way to heaven is not the traditional Jewish way, but his own path.”
The former Israeli ambassador to Poland, Shevah Weiss, also paid tribute to Edelman, commenting that he did not want to move to Israel after the war had ended, adding that “he had influence as a leader of the Ghetto Uprising, in the fight for Poland’s freedom.”
Marek Edelman was the last surviving leader of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. He also took part in the Warsaw Rising in 1944, and, after the war, was a renowned cardiologist and stood in staunch opposition to the communist regime. Edelman died on 2 October, aged 87. (jb/mmj)