“Shielding the Flame”: Marek Edelman, Commander in Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, Dies at 90

"Dr. Edelman was one of a handful of young leaders who in April 1943 led a force of 220 poorly armed young Jewish men and women in a desperate and hopeless struggle against the Germans." *

The armed resistance was included breify in the film Korczak and speaks to the oft-stated question about Jews passively going to their deaths, not fighting back. Dr. Edelman rejects such dualisms and hierachies of courage which give special status to the armed resistance saying, it was much more courageous to go to one's death in silence.

*A version of this article appeared in print on October 3, 2009, on page A21 of the New York edition. To read on line, click here.