Head of the office of Jewish Affairs at the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA) under Reinhard Heydrich, Eichmann was responsible for the coordination of Jewish transports: deportations of Jews from all over Nazi-occupied Europe to killing centers, concentration camps, and forced labor. He was among the presenters at the Wannsee Conference advising top Nazi officials on plans for the “Final Solution.” After the war, he escaped arrest and fled to Argentina, where he was ultimately discovered and captured by Israeli agents in 1960. He was tried in an Israeli court and sentenced to death.
Chairman of the Jewish Council (Judenrat) in Warsaw, appointed by the Nazis to oversee operation of the Warsaw Ghetto. Czerniakow tried to mediate Nazi control over daily activities in the ghetto but was criticized for collaborating with Nazi authorities. When commanded to assist with the deportation of his Jewish community, Czerniakow committed suicide.
Leader of the Jewish “Avengers” partisan unit, who helped nearly 300 Lithuanians survive Nazi destruction of the Vilna ghetto by escaping to a nearby forest. He led efforts to destroy Nazi property and troops, and after the war, assisted others with safe passage to Mandate Palestine. Kovner later became a noted Hebrew language poet.
