Ignacy Schwarzbart

Who was Ignacy Schwarzbart?

Ignacy Schwarzbart was a prominent Polish Zionist, and one of two Jewish representatives on the Polish National Council of the Polish Government-in-Exile during the Second World War, along with Szmul Zygielbojm.

Schwarzbart and Zygielbojm played key roles in highlighting reports of Nazi atrocities against Jews in Poland. In 1942 Schwarzbart held a press conference in London alleging that 1 million Jewish people had already been killed. The figures were reported in the media but were treated sceptically by both the British and by some other Polish politicians.