Resister · 1918-1943
Tosia Altman
She crossed occupied Poland on forged papers, carrying the news and the weapons that held the ghettos together.
A movement leader
Tosia Altman was born on 24 August 1918 in Lipno (some sources give 1919) to the watchmaker Gustaw Altman and Anka Gutkind. She joined Hashomer Hatzair at eleven, became a counsellor and rose to the movement's central leadership. The movement repeatedly delayed her emigration to Palestine.
The courier
From 1939 to 1942 she travelled between ghettos under the name Krystyna, on forged papers, to Wilno, Grodno, Białystok, Częstochowa, Tarnów, Radom and Zagłębie. In October 1942 she helped establish a ŻOB chapter in the Kraków ghetto. She was also a link between Mordechai Anielewicz at 18 Miła Street and Yitzhak Zuckerman on the Aryan side, and Home Army weapons deliveries in December 1942 were coordinated through couriers like her.
The uprising
When the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising began on 19 April 1943, she was on the Aryan side, relaying messages with Frania Beatus. On 8 May 1943 the command bunker at 18 Miła Street was discovered. Six fighters escaped through the sewers to the Łomianki forest, led by Kazik Ratajzer, and she was among them, wounded in the leg and head.
Her last days
She was hidden in the attic of a celluloid factory on Promyka Street. A fire broke out on 24 May 1943 and she was handed to German forces. She died on 26 May 1943, though the circumstances are disputed. Poland awarded her the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari in 1948.
Further reading
- Diamant, Hana. Tosia Altman. Moreshet / Givat Haviva, 2012.
- Gutman, Israel. The Jews of Warsaw 1939-1943. Indiana University Press, 1989.
- Cohen, Rich. The Avengers. Knopf, 2000.
- Jewish Women's Archive: Tosia Altman
- Wikipedia: Tosia Altman
Related profiles
In the book
Tosia Altman is one of the 36 women whose documented stories are told in Women Without Fear, a book and documentary project of The Legacy Project. The book is being prepared for publication. You can read one full sample chapter now, on Róża Robota.