Michael Smuss, who fought Nazis with Molotov cocktails during the...

Michael Smuss, a 99-year-old Jewish fighter in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, died after a life of resistance against the Nazis and legacy as a painter in Israel.

Michael Smuss fought against the Wehrmacht during the heroic Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, using Molotov cocktails to resist Nazi oppression in 1943.
After surviving the horrors of the Holocaust, Smuss became a painter in Israel, channeling his trauma into art and preserving the memory of the Jewish struggle.
His death on October 21 was confirmed by his wife in Israel, marking the passing of a significant figure from the Warsaw Ghetto, where so many Jews fought bravely.

Why It Matters

Michael Smusss passing represents the loss of a vital witness to the atrocities of the Holocaust and the Jewish resistance during World War II, highlighting the importance of remembering such histories in combating contemporary antisemitism.