What were judenrats during the Holocaust?

Answer 1

Judenrat is German for Jewish council. These were administrative bodies that the Germans required Jews to form in the occupied territories of Poland and the Soviet Union and also in some other areas. Obviously, the role of these Jewish council (which were appointed by the Nazis) was difficult, and they were - or were regarded as - collaborators.

Answer 2

During WWll (1939-1945) the Jewish people, at great risk, were trying to maintain their culture, religion, and community. The Nazis, fearing this, established the Judenrate to maintain control over the growing Jewish population in the ghettos. These were Jewish Councils that were to assist in the Nazi plans toward the "Final Solution" of the Jewish issue. The leaders of the Judenrate understood they were to interact between the German state and the Jewish community. This created real dilemmas as the Jewish administration under a German government could not help but become a Nazi tool. How the Jews faced this dilemma varied from ghetto to ghetto but two common patterns emerged-compliance and resistance.

(interesting side fact: The word Aryan [which by German definition was the "master race"] has no actual racial meaning. It is strictly used in reference to speakers of long-ago Indo-European languages and has nothing to do with ethnicity or physical type. Hitler misused the term to refer to Caucausians of the Nordic type.)