The Germans established Jewish Councils (Judenraete) in the ghettos during World War II. Jewish Councils were required to implement Nazi policies in the ghettos. This role meant impossible moral dilemmas. Council members had to decide whether to refuse or comply with German demands. They also sought to provide basic community services in the ghettos.
![A meeting of the Kovno ghetto Jewish council. Chairman Elchanan Elkes sits at the center. [LCID: 77503]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/2e032e5d-691c-4d54-b2d6-e59156321233.jpg "A meeting of the Kovno ghetto Jewish council. Chairman Elchanan Elkes sits at the center. [LCID: 77503]")
A meeting of the Kovno ghetto Jewish council. Chairman Elchanan Elkes sits at the center. Kovno, Lithuania, 1943.
Item View![Employees of the Jewish council in the Kovno ghetto assemble during roll call, which was taken on a daily basis. [LCID: 70895]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/0dbafd13-6044-48db-8e3c-526c967866d6.jpg "Employees of the Jewish council in the Kovno ghetto assemble during roll call, which was taken on a daily basis. [LCID: 70895]")
Employees of the Jewish council in the Kovno ghetto assemble during roll call, which was taken on a daily basis. Kovno, Lithuania, 1941–43.
Item View![Scene photographed by George Kadish: Jewish prisoners behind a barred window in the Kovno ghetto jail. [LCID: 81155]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/165efe24-b104-4585-8637-5fcceebbb2f2.jpg "Scene photographed by George Kadish: Jewish prisoners behind a barred window in the Kovno ghetto jail. [LCID: 81155]")
Scene photographed by George Kadish: Jewish prisoners behind a barred window in the Kovno ghetto jail. The Jewish council administered its own jail in the ghetto. Kovno, Lithuania, 1943.
Item View![Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski, Jewish council chairman in Lodz ghetto, seen here speaking amongst Jewish ghetto policemen. [LCID: 80540]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/bd195e30-3b9b-452f-a823-b1b691580348.jpg "Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski, Jewish council chairman in Lodz ghetto, seen here speaking amongst Jewish ghetto policemen. [LCID: 80540]")
Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski, Jewish council chairman in the Lodz ghetto, seen here speaking amongst Jewish ghetto policemen. Lodz, Poland, ca. 1942.
Item View![Jewish council chairman Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski delivers a speech. [LCID: 86228]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/beb0625d-bc07-4ee9-b4f4-5875c2460069.jpg "Jewish council chairman Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski delivers a speech. [LCID: 86228]")
Lodz ghetto Jewish council chairman Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski delivers a speech. Lodz, Poland, 1941–43.
Item View![Jews in the Lodz ghetto line up outside the labor office of the Jewish council in the hopes of finding employment outside the ghetto. [LCID: 80561]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/015e8e2b-5e86-49c8-beee-3112ca138e74.jpg "Jews in the Lodz ghetto line up outside the labor office of the Jewish council in the hopes of finding employment outside the ghetto. [LCID: 80561]")
Jews in the Lodz ghetto line up outside the labor office of the Jewish council in the hopes of finding employment outside the ghetto. Lodz, Poland, between 1941 and 1943.
Item View![Members of the Lvov Jewish council are hanged by the Germans. [LCID: 78772]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/44c002cb-2fa8-449c-9a0b-6c1ed3c0f2e7.jpg "Members of the Lvov Jewish council are hanged by the Germans. [LCID: 78772]")
Members of the Lvov Jewish council are hanged by the Germans. Lvov, Poland, September 1942.
Item View![Jacob Edelstein, chairman of the Jewish council in Theresienstadt. [LCID: 77557]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/a8b94056-19c1-4125-8baa-3e618e41caf4.jpg "Jacob Edelstein, chairman of the Jewish council in Theresienstadt. [LCID: 77557]")
Jacob Edelstein, chairman of the Jewish council in Theresienstadt. He was deported, and shot in Auschwitz in 1944. Theresienstadt, Czechoslovakia, 1942–1943.
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