Nachman Blumental

Nachman Blumental (1905–1983) introduced scientific rigor into research on the Holocaust and brought it from Poland to Israel.

Ein Mann in Brille und Anzug steht an einem Tisch und spricht zu einer Gruppe von Menschen, die ihm zuhören. Im Hintergrund sind Wände und möglicherweise eine Karte zu sehen. Der Raum hat eine formelle Atmosphäre, und der Mann wirkt engagiert und sachkundig.
© Yad Vashem Photo Archive, Jerusalem. 1427/221
Nachman Blumental, Łódź, 1945.

He was born in Borszczów, Galicia, and studied Literature in Warsaw. He worked until 1939 as a teacher in Lublin and survived the war under a false identity.

Eine Gruppe von vier Männern sitzt an einem Tisch. Einer der Männer, in einem Anzug, spricht und gestikuliert lebhaft. Die anderen hören aufmerksam zu, während sie untereinander diskutieren. Die Szene vermittelt eine Atmosphäre von intensiver Kommunikation und Austausch von Ideen.
© Yad Vashem Photo Archive, Jerusalem. 1427/358
Polish investigators in a conversation with Blumental, Łódź, date unknown. Blumental served as an expert during several postwar trials of Nazi perpetrators.

In 1944, Blumental joined the Central Jewish Historical Commission in Poland. In 1947, he became the main expert of the prosecution in the trial against the commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höß. In the same year, Blumental was named the first director of the Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw. He edited a dictionary of terms used by the Germans in ghettos and concentration camps.

In 1950, Blumental emigrated to Israel, where he published the two most influential journals on the Holocaust: Dapim leḥeker hashoah vehamered (Pages for Research of the Holocaust and Resistance) and the Bulletin of the State Memorial Yad Vashem. The political prerogative of his Holocaust research was important to him.

“In addition to the scholarly work we are doing what we call applied history. [...] Everything we do is a weapon in the war against Fascism and anti-Semitism.”

Nachman Blumental
Eine Gruppe von Männern steht eng beieinander. Einige von ihnen tragen Uniformen, andere einfache Kleidung. Einer der uniformierten Männer notiert etwas, während er die anderen ansieht, die gespannt wirken. Der Hintergrund zeigt Gebäude, die an eine historische Szenerie erinnern.
© Yad Vashem Photo Archive, Jerusalem 1427/221
Blumental (middle) in an interview with a witness of the Holocaust, shortly after the war. In 1941, the Germans set up the first extermination camp near the Polish village Chełmno nad Nerem named „Kulmhof“. Blumental worked for the Polish commission which investigated this site of crime.

Blumental considered the collection of sources to be indispensable for a scientific analysis of the Holocaust. In 1954, he summarized his thoughts with succinct words: “Remember that research will always be possible later, but collecting documents will eventually cease to be possible.”