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One of the last surviving fighters of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising dies aged 99
Global tributes paid to the heroism of Michael Smuss, who fought Nazis with Molotov cocktails from the rooftops
One of the last surviving fighters of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising has died, with international tributes paid to his bravery – and his legacy.
Michael Smuss passed away on Tuesday at his home in Israel.
Born on April 15 1926, in the Free City of Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland), Smuss was still a teenager when war engulfed Europe. At the age of fourteen, he and hundreds of thousands of Jews were forced behind the walls of the Warsaw Ghetto, the largest of the Nazi ghettos created during the Holocaust.
At its height, as many as 460,000 Jews were imprisoned there. Many were transported from there to multiple Nazi death camps, most notably Treblinka.
Joining the resistance under Mordechai Anielewicz, commander of the Jewish Combat Organization (ŻOB), Smuss secretly collected helmet-repair fluids from a German workshop to create Molotov cocktails. He said: “We filled up bottles which were then put up on the roofs with the expectation that, once they’re going to come, we’ll be throwing them down.”
The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was the largest single act of Jewish resistance during the war.
On April 19th, 1943, thousands of German troops entered the Ghetto. Two groups of Jewish fighters stood against them, the ZOB, the Jewish Combat Organization and the ZZW, the Jewish military union, in a stand of resistance, uprising and ultimate bravery.
They fought valiantly with the few arms they had, and stood their ground for nine days. Smuss was one of the very few to survive.
It’s thought that around 13,000 Jews were burnt alive or suffocated as the Nazis burnt down the ghetto. The remaining 50,000 Jews were transported to concentration camps in the east to be murdered.
Smuss narrowly escaped death when his transport was diverted from Treblinka to a forced-labour site. He endured multiple camps and a death march before liberation in 1945, going on to rebuild his life in the US, and then Israel, dedicating his efforts to Holocaust education.
He used art as a way of dealing with the profound trauma he had experienced with his work being exhibited internationally.
In September 2025, German Ambassador to Israel Steffen Seibert awarded Smuss the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany at the Anita Miller-Cohen Home for the elderly in Ramat Gan in September,
In a recent interview Smuss said: “We were the last group of 50,000 Jews in Warsaw. A British plane came down on the Kampinos Forest at night and they dropped weapons during the uprising. So we were using whatever was possible. I’m 99 years old. I speak 5 languages, and Almighty G-d gave me that I remember everything, which is terrible.”
Speaking in tribute, Dr. Shmuel Rosenman, Chairman, March of the Living, said: “Michael Smuss embodied defiance, dignity, and Jewish courage. With many of the last of Warsaw Ghetto fighters now gone, a historic page has turned. The role of telling the story has now officially passed to the next generation – to us.
“We do not inherit these memories as spectators but as guardians. We carry an obligation – to teach the truth, to confront denial and distortion, and to ensure that the voices of the ghetto and the ashes of Warsaw speak through our classrooms, our marches, and our lives. We will tell the story – fully, faithfully, and forever.”
Speaking to the JNS, Aliza Vitis Shomron, a comrade of Smuss in the Warsaw Ghetto Jewish underground, said: “He was a brave fighter and a man of exceptional character. His courage embodies the will and resilience that carried us through the darkest days of the Holocaust.”
She added: “It is important to remember the heroism and bravery of the members of the underground. I feel increasingly alone; so many of my comrades are gone. May his memory be a blessing.”
In a statement, the British Embassy in Israel said: “We are deeply saddened by the passing of Michael Smuss, the last survivor of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. We were honoured to host him at the Ambassador’s residence this year where his charm, wisdom and life story left a lasting impression on us all. May his memory be a blessing.
The Polish Embassy in Israel posted in tribute: “Today we are saying goodbye to the Last Fighter of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising (1943) … Michael Smuss. After the war he lectured youth on the history of Polish Jews and expressed his memories through his art. His legacy endures. זיכרונו לברכה.”
Steffen Seibert, the German Ambassador to Israel wrote: “Sad to learn that Michael Smuss has died, last survivor of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. He devoted his life to Holocaust education. I will never forget Zikaron BaSalon with him. Only last month I was honoured to present him with the Federal Cross of Merit. יהיה זכרו ברוך.”
The European Jewish Congress said: “We mourn the passing of Michael Smuss, the last surviving Warsaw Ghetto Uprising fighter, who died at the age of 99. From rooftop defiance wielding Molotov cocktails to the darkest camps of the Holocaust, Smuss embodied the enduring spirit of Jewish Resistance.
“His survival became a lifelong mission: to teach, to paint and to confront the lies of forgetting. His memory is not only one of courage, but of purpose: ‘The role of telling the story has now officially passed to the next generation.’ As the archives may close on the era of living witnesses, our responsibility to remember, educate—and act—remains. May his legacy inspire us to stand unyielding in the face of hatred and to preserve truth for all who follow.”
Israel Educational organisation StandWithUs posted: “Michael Smuss, the last known survivor of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, has passed away at the age of 99. His life was a testament to courage, survival, and the unbreakable spirit of the Jewish people. Even after enduring the darkest chapter of history, he chose to live with strength and dignity, sharing his story so the world would never forget.”
Michael Smuss is survived by his second wife, Ruthy.
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