Attitude of partisans to the hiding Jews
The attitude of partisans to the hiding Jews: without a doubt, a certain, difficult to estimate number of Jews died from the hands of partisans or common criminals who claimed to be one of them, when hiding in villages and woods. In the consciousness of Jews, Polish Home Army (Armia Krajowa - AK) and Polish National Armed Forces (Narodowe Siły Zbrojne - NSZ), i.e. Polish conspiratorial armed forces, are perceived as guilty of many such crimes. Israeli historians documented 120 cases of crimes committed on Jews by partisans from Polish formations. Among the motives one can list nationalist ideology, robbery, care for the safety of the Forces, protecting the local population from food requisition made by Jews, and the connections of Jews with a communist guerilla fought off by the Polish independence underground. However, abuse and taking advantage of the tragic situation of Jews was easy. On the other hand, many criminal organizations claimed to be AK or NSZ, or were considered to be one of them. In many cases, the question of belonging of the organization committing a crime to the underground is impossible to adjudicate.