In early October 1939, shortly after the
Wehrmacht entered Warsaw, the
Einsatzgruppe IV command requested the establishment of a 24-person Jewish Council (
Judenrat), with Adam Czerniaków appointed as chairman. Lichtenbaum was among its first members and served as deputy chairman. In April 1940, when the German authorities ordered the construction of walls around the area that would become the
Warsaw Ghetto, Lichtenbaum supervised their construction on behalf of the
Judenrat. He later oversaw multiple reconstructions of the walls due to frequent changes in the ghetto's borders. Additionally, he was a member of the hospital commission operating within the ''Judenrat's'' health department. He often accompanied Czerniaków to meetings with German officials. Lichtenbaum's reputation in the Warsaw Ghetto was poor. He was described as a "wretched creature, a troublemaker, and a boor." Despite this, Czerniaków valued Lichtenbaum for his organizational skills and toughness, which enabled him to discipline
Judenrat officials and employees of ghetto enterprises—tasks for which Czerniaków, known for his gentler demeanor, was less suited. Lichtenbaum's two sons also had a bad reputation. They were considered "spoiled brats" and
machers who, along with their father, were accused of profiting at the expense of the
Judenrat. Nonetheless, Czerniaków appreciated their loyalty. One of the young Lichtenbaums even served as an intermediary in Czerniaków's dealings with Nazi officials. In February 1940, Lichtenbaum and Czerniaków were stopped on the street by
German policemen who intended to take them to perform
forced labour. During the incident, Lichtenbaum was beaten with a
whip. Later, between April 6 and 10, 1941, he and Czerniaków were briefly arrested and beaten again. To further humiliate him, the Germans shaved off Lichtenbaum's mustache. According to some accounts, this experience made Lichtenbaum more submissive to the occupiers. On July 23, 1942, the second day of the
Grossaktion Warsaw, Czerniaków committed suicide, refusing to cooperate with the Nazis in deporting Jews to the
Treblinka extermination camp. Following his death, the Germans appointed Lichtenbaum as the new chairman of the
Judenrat. During the
Grossaktion, Lichtenbaum demonstrated complete submissiveness to the Nazis. In August 1942, he also became chairman of the presidium department of the
Judenrat. After the
Grossaktion, Lichtenbaum remained chairman of the
Judenrat. In the autumn of 1942, he moved to 40 Muranowska Street. However, his position became largely symbolic, as the Jewish Council was stripped of significant powers. Despite this, the Nazis sought to maintain an appearance of normality in the ghetto. To this end, in late October or early November 1942, Lichtenbaum—marking a first in the history of the Warsaw
Judenrat—was summoned to a meeting with the
SS and Police Leader in the
Warsaw District, SS-Oberführer
Ferdinand von Sammern-Frankenegg. After the so-called , the ''Judenrat's
activities effectively ceased. From that point forward, the council was almost entirely confined to managing food supplies. In discussions with the Germans, Lichtenbaum admitted that he no longer had control over the situation in the ghetto, as the Jewish Combat Organization (Żydowska Organizacja Bojowa
, ŻOB) had assumed real authority. The ŻOB forced Lichtenbaum to allocate 250,000 złoty from the Judenrat's'' treasury to purchase weapons, threatening to kill his son if he refused. On April 19, 1943, the Nazis began the final liquidation of the Warsaw Ghetto. The
Jewish resistance responded with an
armed uprising. When German forces entered the ghetto, Lichtenbaum and several other
Judenrat members were held hostage in the so-called
Befehlstelle at 103 Żelazna Street. Four days later, they were taken to the
Umschlagplatz, where they were executed. Their bodies were discarded in the garbage. == Notes ==