The Judenraete were councils of Jewish elders in charge of daily operational matters in the ghettos. The German authorities formed these councils to decrease the bureaucratic burden the ghettos placed on them. The Judenraete were required to carry out all German decrees, including selecting who would be deported from the ghettos for “resettlement” — which really meant transport to concentration camps or death camps. The Judenraete found themselves in a no-win situation. To the Jews, they represented oppressive German rule. To the Germans, they were a disposable tool in their program of exploiting and murdering European Jews.
Setting up the Judenraete was typical of the Nazi technique of giving certain prisoners power over other prisoners. This benefited the German authorities by delegating responsibility for tedious and unpleasant tasks, but it also had the effect of turning the victims against each other rather than against their oppressors.
