Adam Czerniakow refused to be the GermansΓÇÖ lackey in the deportation of the Warsaw Ghetto Jews. At 4:00 p.m. on July 23, he poisoned himself to death. According to one account, a note was found on his desk, addressed to his wife, stating, "They are demanding that I kill the children of my people with my own hands. There is nothing for me to do but die." CzerniakowΓÇÖs death stands as the protest of a Jewish leader and Judenrat chairman who refused to cross the line between conducting ghetto activities and handing over Jews.
