Rasner Chaim – prisoner T2

Rasner Chaim was born on May 5, 1882 in Warsaw into artisanal family. He was the owner of an embroidery workshop, a journalist and a social activist. As an embroidery and passementerie worker he dealt with production of decorative strips, accessories and military insignias. He served as councilor of the Jewish Community in Warsaw and member of Warsaw Municipal Council. In the years  1923-1938 he was President of Central Jewish Craftsmen Society in Poland, then became President of the Society of the Jewish Craft and Small Industry and Vice President of the World Association of Jewish Craftsmen. He was also an editor of Jewish magazines such as: “Handwerker un Industri-Cajtung” (Craft and Industrial Magazine), and “Handwerker Sztyme” (Craftsmen’s Voice). In 1921 – after the resignation of Hirsz Nomberg – Rasner Chaim was elected Member of the Polish Parliament (the Sejm) from the Jewish People’s Party. In 1928, he again became a Member of Parliament from the party-list of the National Minority Bloc. As parliamentarian he was active in economic committees. As a delegate of the Sejm he participated in the Conference of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Berlin. Rasner Chaim ended up in the Warsaw Ghetto, from where he was brought to the German Extermination Camp Treblinka II and murdered in 1942. He was commemorated on a plaque in the Sejm of the Republic of Poland along with other members of parliament who gave their lives during World War II.

Source: Kto był kim w II RP, red. J. Majchorowski; M. Czajka, M. Kamler, W. Sienkiewicz, Leksykon historii Polski, 1995, s. 620; Posłowie na Sejm II Rzeczypospolitej, ofiary wojny i okupacji, Warszawa 2009, s. 70; https://www.jhi.pl/psj/Rasner_Chaim

A.R.

Translation: P.M