Yitzhak Suknik

Yitzhak Suknik (, 1920 – 8 May 1943), frequently known as Koza, was a fighter in the Jewish Combat Organization (Polish: ŻOB). and a member of Hashomer Hatzair. He played a crucial role in the organisation and building of small arms to be used in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. He took part in the first action of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising on January 18, 1943, saving the life of Mordechai Anielewicz. During the Uprising in April, he was a member of the fighting unit led by Mordechai Growas in the Central Ghetto, and known as an excellent marksman. having achieved the rank of sergeant, and was known as a distinguished marksman.

1939-1942 On 10 September 1939, Suknik's mother and his younger brother Srul were killed during the German attack on Warsaw. Suknik returned to Warsaw, where the city's Jewish population was forced to live in the Ghetto. During 1941, the remaining members of his immediate family died; his grandfather Josef in June, his older brother Moszek in August and finally his father in November; the latter two dying of Typhus.

In September 1941, Suknik escaped Warsaw to join a Hashomer Hatzair training farm near Częstochowa. joining the Jewish Combat Organisation. By the end of 1942, he became one of the most important producers of weapons, heading two workshops, whose production reached a significant volume of up to 50 grenades a day. He also trained other recruits in the Ghetto in the use of guns, going twice a week to the house of Lotek Rotblat on 44 Muranovska Street to give weapons training.

The First Armed Resistance - 18 January 1943 At 07.00 AM, Nazi forces under the command of SS Brigadier General Ferdinand von Sammern-Frankenegg moved into the ghetto to round up 8,000 Jews to be sent to Treblinka, with a further 16,000 Jews to be sent to labour camps around Lublin.

The Z.O.B was able to mobilise five units to the Umschlagplatz. Suknik was in a Hashomer Hatzair unit in the Central Ghetto commanded by Mordechai Anielewicz. They were armed with five revolvers, five grenades, Molotov cocktails, crowbars and clubs.

The fighters joined the line of hundreds of prisoners concentrated on Mila Street. As they reached the corner of Zamenhof and Niska, they attacked, each member of the unit targeting a German soldier. Towards the end, Anielewicz, surrounded by several gendarmes, was saved by Suknik throwing two grenades at the SS officers who were pursuing him, one grenade killing two Germans while the others ran away, allowing Anielewicz to escape. "

The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising – April 1943 The Jewish Combat Organisation - aka Z.O.B - organised into three distinct areas: the Central Ghetto, the Brushmakers Workshop area and the Toebbens-Schultz Workshop area. Suknik fought in a combat unit commanded by Mordechai Growas in the Central Ghetto.

On 21 April, the Z.O.B's HQ at Mila 29 caught fire and had to be evacuated. Anielewicz led a group of around twenty fighters towards Nalewki street but decided to spend the night at Mila 17, where they were joined by other fighters. Suknik was part of this Z.O.B group at Mila 17. On 22 April, the Germans were positioned in Kupiecka Street, parallel to Mila, when the fighters positioned themselves in a large yard and prepared to ambush the Nazis. Suknik was posted just in front of the gate to the yard and shot two of the Germans dead with one bullet. describes an ambush of the Nazis that took place on May 1, which unusually took place during the day rather than at night. "When the right moment came we attacked. Yitzhak Suknik (Koza), a member of Hashomer Hatzair, sent a burst of fire at the Germans, felling three of them." Another member of the group was . Their guide was supposed to take them to Bielanska St. but the sewer system was a hazardous maze and they ended up at Dluga St instead. As it was on the Aryan side, they decided to leave the sewers. Just before dawn on 8 May, as they were exiting the sewer, they were spotted by Polish police. There was an attempt to bribe the policemen but German troops nearby heard the commotion and came over. Hela Schupper's recounts, "I heard gunshots. Koza, who was probably one of the best shooters in the Z.O.B, ran towards the German to shoot him with his gun. As he was shooting, the others dispersed. I ran as well." Helena evaded capture. Yitzhak Suknik was shot dead.