The Jewish Ghetto Police in Warsaw Ghetto, commonly known as the Jewish Police (German: Jüdischer Ordnungsdienst), was an auxiliary police formation composed of Jews, established by the German occupation authorities. It operated from 1940 to 1943 in the Warsaw Ghetto.
The Jewish Ghetto Police was formally subordinate to the Blue Police. Its creation was directly tied to the German plan to establish a sealed ghetto for Warsaw's Jewish population. Unlike typical police forces, the Jewish Ghetto Police had limited authority, focusing primarily on general order maintenance. Its members were equipped only with batons. Most received no salaries, though service in the Jewish Ghetto Police provided various official and unofficial privileges. The force primarily comprised pre-war civil servants, entrepreneurs, and members of the liberal professions.
Initially, ghetto residents regarded the Jewish Ghetto Police with some trust. However, its reputation quickly deteriorated due to widespread corruption and brutality among its members. Significant resentment arose from the Jewish Ghetto Police's involvement, under German orders, in roundups for forced labor camps in spring 1941. The force was also perceived as dominated by assimilated Jews, though this was largely inaccurate. During Grossaktion Warsaw in summer 1942, Jewish Ghetto Police members assisted Nazis in organizing deportations to the Treblinka extermination camp. Many displayed excessive zeal, brutality, and corruption, making the Jewish Ghetto Police the most despised institution in the Warsaw Ghetto. Despite earlier German promises of safety, many Jewish Ghetto Police members were dismissed and deported with their families to Treblinka and Majdanek during the final phase of the deportation.
Following Grossaktion Warsaw, Jewish Ghetto Police members became targets of attacks by the Jewish resistance. The significantly reduced force also lost influence. The Jewish Ghetto Police was ultimately disbanded after the outbreak of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.
Origins and establishment The origins of the Jewish Ghetto Police in the Warsaw Ghetto date back to late 1939. The Warsaw Judenrat established the Labour Unit (later renamed the Labour Battalion), tasked with supplying forced labor contingents as demanded by the German occupation authorities. In March 1940, due to increasing labour duty evasion, the Labour Battalion formed the Order Guard, primarily responsible for escorting men assigned to forced labor. This guard numbered 111 members. By late May 1940, it was reorganized into a separate department with expanded duties, including overseeing the construction of walls around the future ghetto, patrolling the Jewish Cemetery at 15 , and maintaining order at the Labour Battalion's headquarters and other Judenrat offices. The Order Guard was plagued by corruption. It also faced significant Gestapo infiltration.
On 20 September 1940, the German city governor of Warsaw, , summoned the Judenrat chairman, Adam Czerniaków. An unnamed official from the Warsaw District governor's office proposed forming a 3,000-strong order service, though Leist reduced this to 1,000, stating it was part of plans to grant "autonomy" to Warsaw's Jews. On 12 October 1940, German authorities officially instructed Czerniaków to establish a 1,000-member "Jewish militia". When he raised financial concerns, he was told the service should be voluntary or funded by the Jewish community.
The order to create the "Jewish militia" was directly tied to German plans to establish a sealed ghetto in Warsaw, announced via street megaphones on 12 October 1940. This was part of a broader effort to form Jewish Ghetto Polices in nearly all major Jewish ghettos in occupied Poland.
On 13 October, the Judenrat appointed a verification committee to review candidates for the new formation. Officially named the Jewish Ghetto Police, it was commonly referred to as the Jewish Police. The Order Guard formed the nucleus of the Jewish Ghetto Police, with its members automatically transferred to the new force. Leist left the selection of the Jewish Ghetto Police's commander to Czerniaków. On 26 or 29 October, Józef Szeryński assumed the role. On 12 November, the Judenrat submitted the Jewish Ghetto Police's draft statute to German authorities, which was approved on 29 November.
On 16 November 1940, the Warsaw Ghetto was officially sealed. That day, Jewish Ghetto Police members patrolled its streets for the first time, guided by the Blue Police officers, some of whom included Jewish policemen in their patrols. The Jewish Ghetto Police began fully independent operations on 12 January 1941.
Relationship with occupation authorities and the Judenrat The Jewish Ghetto Police was an auxiliary formation tasked with carrying out duties assigned by the German occupation authorities, the Blue Police, and the Warsaw Judenrat. Unlike the Blue Police, it was not considered part of the German Ordnungspolizei. Its subordinate status was reflected in its designation as an "order service" rather than a full-fledged police force, and its authority was significantly narrower than that of the Blue Police.
The Jewish Ghetto Police was officially subordinate to the Blue Police, with oversight by the Warsaw Polish Police commander, . Operationally, it reported to the Warsaw-North Command, led by . The legal basis for this subordination is unclear, but the Jewish Ghetto Police commander was required to submit orders for approval by the Blue Police, which also vetted candidates, promotions, and demotions. Briefings for Jewish Ghetto Police precinct officers and platoon commanders were held at the four Blue Police stations remaining in the ghetto after its closure. Jewish Ghetto Police and Blue Police precinct officers conducted joint patrols, and each Polish station was assigned a Jewish Ghetto Police unit for auxiliary tasks, along with permanent bicycle couriers.
In practice, the German civil administration, particularly the Commissioner for the Jewish Residential District, Heinz Auerswald, wielded significant influence over the Jewish Ghetto Police's daily operations. He determined food rations for the Jewish Ghetto Police and allocated buildings for its use. The Jewish Ghetto Police commander was required to submit detailed daily and weekly reports to him. Additionally, the Jewish Ghetto Police commander and the Judenrat chairman reported weekly to the headquarters of the SD and Security Police in the Warsaw District at 25 , where they briefed the heads of Section IV B 4 ("Jewish Section"), and Gerhard Mende. The Jewish Ghetto Police was required to submit translations of its daily orders and candidate lists to the Security Police for approval. However, German security services showed little interest in the Jewish Ghetto Police's affairs, and the number of Gestapo informants within its ranks was relatively small,One of the Gestapo agents placed within the ranks of the Jewish Ghetto Police was Józef Ehrlich ("Josełe Kapota"), who later became deputy head of this formation. According to one account, he introduced about 100 of his trusted men into the Jewish Ghetto Police (). , however, argues that the number of Gestapo informants within the Jewish Ghetto Police was small, and certainly lower than in analogous formations that existed in the ghettos of Łódź, Kraków, or Radom. with their actual influence difficult to assess.
Initially, the Jewish Ghetto Police was intended to be closely subordinate to the Warsaw Judenrat. A dedicated Department XVII (Order Service) was established within the Judenrat to oversee the Jewish Ghetto Police, chaired by . However, Kupczykier lacked the qualifications and experience to assert authority over the ambitious Jewish Ghetto Police commander, Józef Szeryński, leading to his resignation. He was replaced by . Zundelewicz maintained a cordial relationship with Szeryński, but he too had limited influence over the Jewish Ghetto Police. Judenrat chairman Adam Czerniaków granted Szeryński significant autonomy, supporting his close ties with the Blue Police leadership as a means to break the isolation of Warsaw's Jews. The two maintained a strong professional and social relationship, with Szeryński among Czerniaków's closest associates.
The Judenrat's influence over the Jewish Ghetto Police was minimal. The Jewish Ghetto Police leadership made no attempts to gain independence from or strengthen its position at the expense of the Judenrat.
Katarzyna Person notes that the Jewish Ghetto Police's subordination to various overlapping authorities was often unclear, forcing its leadership to navigate complex expectations from multiple entities. Compared to similar formations in other ghettos, the Jewish Ghetto Police's authority was relatively limited, at least until Grossaktion Warsaw.
The establishment of the Jewish Ghetto Police was part of a broader effort to create Jewish Ghetto Polices in major ghettos in occupied Poland. It is unclear whether the Warsaw Jewish Ghetto Police was formally linked to similar formations elsewhere. The propaganda newspaper reported that other ghetto services modeled themselves on the Warsaw Jewish Ghetto Police and sought its technical guidance.
Composition
Commander
According to some sources, the initial candidates considered for the position of Jewish Ghetto Police commander were two respected lawyers and community activists: and Maksymilian Schönbach. Berenson was unable to take on the role due to poor health, while Schönbach expressed willingness to accept only a lower position within the new formation. Ultimately, the role was offered to Józef Szeryński. His candidacy was reportedly suggested to Chairman Czerniaków by either Berenson or . According to a report by a Jewish Ghetto Police officer who was also a collaborator with the underground Ghetto Archive, the decision to appoint Szeryński was made at a meeting held at the apartment of Judenrat member and later head of Department XVII (Order Service), . The meeting was attended by Kupczykier, Czerniaków, , and Szeryński himself.
Józef Andrzej Szeryński (born Szenkman or Szynkman) was a convert to Christianity and one of the few individuals of Jewish descent to hold a senior position in the Polish State Police before the war. He served as head of the press office at the Police Headquarters (effectively its press spokesperson) and as an inspection officer at the Provincial Police Command in Lublin from 1935 to 1939. He also authored several specialized publications on police organization. Szeryński's extensive experience and organizational skills were evident in his leadership of the Jewish Ghetto Police's formation. According to Polish Underground State informants, he maintained close relations with the leadership of the Blue Police in Warsaw, including commanders and , and chief of staff Bolesław Buyko. However, due to his conversion to Christianity and pre-war work in Lublin, he was largely alienated from Warsaw's Jewish community.
In May 1942, Szeryński was arrested by the Germans and imprisoned in Pawiak. The acting commander role was assumed by Jakub Lejkin, a lawyer and graduate of the Reserve Officer Cadet School in Jarocin, who headed the Jewish Ghetto Police's service and training department. In the ghetto's early days, Lejkin quickly rose through the Jewish Ghetto Police ranks, distinguishing himself with zeal during roundups for labour camps and a controversial disinfection operation at 15 .
Two months later, during Grossaktion Warsaw, Szeryński was released from Pawiak and reinstated as Jewish Ghetto Police commander, though he did not regain his former authority. His position was further weakened by a mental breakdown following an assassination attempt on his life in August 1942.