The Mutiny of Jewish Policemen in the Białystok Ghetto

500 lat osadnictwa żydowskiego na Podlasiu. Materiały z konferencji międzynarodowej, Białystok, 14 - 17 września 1987 r.500 Years of the Jewish Settlement in Podlasie. Popers From the International Conference, Białystok, September 14 - 17, 1987.The activity of Jewish police (called Ordnungsdienst - OD) in the Ghettoes is definitely evaluated negatively. This assessment results from their cooperation in the extermination of Jews carried out by the Germans. In the Białystok Ghetto Isaac Markus was the leader of Jewish police consisting of tens, or possibly several hundred persons. During the so called „first action" of deportation of 6 000 people from the Ghetto (out of approximately 40 000 inhabitants) a group of OD policemen refused to cooperate with the Germans. They threw off their service caps and went to death with their compatriots. This remains the only case known to the author of a group refusal by Jewish police to cooperate with the Germans in the extermination procedures.333-33