Szaja Charnam
Szaja Charnam | |
|---|---|
 The sign of the former Szymon Harnam Street in Łódź | |
| Born | 22 November 1908 |
| Died | 25 October 1929 (aged 20) |
Cause of death | Murdered |
Resting place | Doły Cemetery, Łódź |
| Other name | Szymon Harnam |
| Years active | 1926-1929 |
Political party | ZMKwP |
| Movement | Communism |
Criminal penalty | Imprisonment |
Szaja Charnam (1908–1929), also known as Szymon Harnam or Szajek, was a Jewish-Polish communist activist in Łódź, Poland.
Biography
Charnam was born on November 22, 1908.[1][2][3] he joined the underground communist movement around 1926 or 1927.[1] He became a leading figure of the Young Communist League of Poland (ZMKwP) in his hometown, and was known to be a fiery public speaker.[4] He was a member of the Trade Union of Workers of the Textile Industry in Poland.[1] As a 21-year old he had been arrested five times.[5] His underground code name was 'Szajek'.[3] On April 19, 1928 he was sentenced to two years imprisonment.[5]
Charnam was released from prison in 1928 and resumed political and trade union activities.[1] He was named vice-chairman of the youth section at the Trade Union of Workers of the Textile Industry and Related Professions in Łódź, established in 1929.[1] On October 24, 1929 Charnam organized a rally at the gates of the Biderman textile mill, to commemorate the anniversary of the October Revolution.[4][6] A plainclothes policeman sought to arrest him at the event, and Charnam was shot in the stomach during process.[5][7] He died at a hospital the following day.[5]
The Łódź branches of the Communist Party of Poland and the ZMKwP wanted organize a mass funeral procession for Charnam, but the authorities had organized an early burial to avoid that the funeral turn into a political protest.[5] The communists organizations then organized a symbolic funeral procession with an empty coffin, which was dispersed by police and 18 people arrested.[5]
Legacy
Charnam would be elevated as a martyr in the Polish communist movement, and songs were written about him.[7][8] In 1950 the Biderman textile mill was renamed as the 'Szaja Charnam Mill'.[6] A street in the Bałuty district of Łódź was also named in his honour, but the thoroughfare was later renamed after a local industrialist as part of 'decommunisation' policies under the far-right PiS government. However, the Harnam Folk Dance Ensemble has retained its name.[9]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 Instytutu Pamięci Narodowej (Archiwum). ul. Harnama Szymona
- ↑ The National Union Catalogs, 1963-: A Cumulative Author List Representing Library of Congress Printed Cards and Titles Reported by Other American Libraries, Vol. 57. Library of Congress, 1964. p. 93
- 1 2 Polski Indeks Biograficzny. Walter de Gruyter, 2012. p. 203
- 1 2 Romana Torúnczyk. Z dziejów rewolucyjnej walki młodzieży w latach 1929-1933 Iskry, 1961. p. 102
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Józef Ławnik. Represje policyjne wobec ruchu robotniczego 1918-1939. Książka i Wiedza, 1979. p. 204
- 1 2 The New "Folks-Shtimme", in Jewish Life in Poland, Issue 14. Polish Research and Information Service. New York, 1947. p. 4
- 1 2 Schatz, Jaff. The Generation: The Rise and Fall of the Jewish Communists of Poland. Berkeley [u.a.]: Univ. of California Press, 1991. p. 112
- ↑ Holger Michael. Zwischen Davidstern und Roter Fahne: Juden in Polen im XX. Jahrhundert. Homilius, 2007. p. 52
- ↑ Gronczewska, Anna (11 March 2019). "Kim byli dawni patroni łódzkich ulic, którzy zostali zdekomunizowani?". Dziennik Łódzki (in Polish).