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יצחק מלמד

Yitzchak Melamed

Yitzhak Melamed is a symbol of individual heroism in the struggle of the Jews in the Bialystok ghetto against the Nazi soldiers.

His life story

Yitzhak Melamed (1903-1943) was a Jewish hero, from Bialystok ghetto. In February 1943 the first action took place in the Bialystok ghetto. When the Germans entered the building on 29 Kopiecka Street (now Melamed Street,) Itzhak poured an acid on a face of the Nazi officer. Out of panic, the officer fired in all directions and accidentally killed a German soldier. During the riot Melamed managed to escape. In retaliation, the Germans arrested over 100 Jews, men, women, and children building from nearby buildings and shot them at 19 Szlachecka Street (this street that does not exist today).Mordechai Tanenbaum , the leader of the Jewish underground in the ghetto described Melamed's courage in his diary. When asked why he killed the German soldier, he replied: "I hate you. I am sorry that I killed only one. My parents were murdered before my eyes. Ten thousand Jews were murdered. I have no regrets." And the next day he was hanged near the square where the incident happened. There is a memorial plaque on the wall in Bialystok next to the place where Itzhak was hanged.

In the city of Yehud, in Kiryat Bialystok, there is a street named Itzhak Melamed.

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