Today some people call him the Jewish Al Capone. Bornsztajn started his criminal career after the tsarist policeman killed his father. Although he belonged to the criminal underworld, he could be sensitive to the fate of the poorest citizens.

Menachem Bornsztajn was born into a Jewish family on January 15, 1890, in Łęczyca (today’s central Poland). He did not live there long because he moved with his parents to Łódź. At that time, a lot of people migrated to this Polish industrial center. Łódź, under Russian rule, was developing rapidly and was the most important textile center in the Kingdom of Poland. Within the Russian Empire, it was second only to Moscow with its cotton factories.

Bronsztajn’s first steps as a criminal

The family of the future gangster moved to the working-class district of Bałuty, which is infamous until today. Soon a tragedy struck the Bornsztajns- his father was killed by a tsarist policeman, which caused hunger and poverty to his family. As a half orphan Bornsztajn started begging outside churches. There, he attracted the attention of a receiver of stolen goods called “Natan the Priest”.

He lost an eye through revenge

This criminal dragged the boy into the underworld, allowing him to earn first money. Bornsztajn grew up to be a solid and strong man. He was able to use his strengths for evil purposes.

One day, Menachem met the same tsarist policeman who killed his father. The two men clashed in battle. Bornsztajn lost an eye but the policeman lost his life. This way, the gangster took revenge for the death of his parent. After the assault, he was called “Blind Max”.

Gangster’s “Game of Thrones”

When World War I was hanging around, Bornsztajn was thinking about getting married. He married Gołda Goldberg, the daughter of Aron Goldberg, his biggest competitor in the dark business. Thanks to this, “Blind Maks” took control of almost the entire criminal community in the city. From then on, the gangster could afford to live in the center of Łódź. In one of his tenement houses, he opened the Office of Requests and Applications “Defense”. He was contacted mainly by people who had lost something or had been robbed. Bornsztajn used his influence and skills to quickly find lost property. Many people respected him for that.

Violence under the guise of aid

In 1918 “Blind Maks” left for Germany. Apparently, he worked as a sales agent in Berlin, Hamburg and Leipzig. Other sources confirm that he was robbing German transports destined for soldiers on the Eastern Front.

When the struggle for the Polish borders, Bornsztajn returned to Łódź. Although he continued his criminal activity, he did not forget about the people in need. In 1928, he founded the “Brotherly Help” (“Ezras Achim”) association to help the poor Jews. The association launched a dintojra. Usually, it is a rabbinical court, but in that case, the institution was a kind of justice of criminals. “Brotherly Help”, apart from helping the poor, began to impose penalties by force, collect debts and settle accounts. It helped some people and brought a terror to others.

Brotherly help – brotherly homicide

On September 19, 1929, Bornsztajn met his close associate, Srul Kalma Balberman, in one of the breweries in Łódź. He wanted to get back the money he owed him. Balberman refused and a fight started between them. The debtor gained an advantage over Menachem and locked him in a suffocating embrace. Then Bornsztajn drew his revolver and fired shots at Balberman. Srul fell dead.

“Blind Maks” was brought to trial but the judge’s sentence acquitted him innocent. The judiciary found that Bornsztajn acted in self-defense. So, the gangster felt that he was untouchable. This was the case only for some time.

Police did not help? Go to “Blind Max”!

Bornsztajn was able to quickly find lost or stolen things. The violinist Bronisław Huberman, who came to perform in Łódź, learned about it, when a thief stole his violin and the artist lost his source of income. The police were helpless, so they went to Menahem. He found the violin in a secret manner and returned it to the artist within 12 hours.

In Bornsztajn’s house, there was a mannequin dressed in clothing with many pockets, speckled with bells. Young thieves were supposed to perfect their skills on a mannequin. The exam consisted in taking the contents out of the pocket in such a way that none of the bells made a sound.

Prison and war

Extortion, beatings, threats, blackmail and persecution – such complaints about “Blind Maks” were received by the Polish State Police in Łódź in the 1930s. It was too much and Menachem was brought to trial. The sentence was announced in 1935. Bornsztajn was sentenced to three and a half years in prison.

His biographs do not know what happened to “Blind Maks” after the outbreak of World War II. It is believed that he escaped to Kazakhstan. However, in 1943, one of the German newspapers published false information about Bornsztajn’s death.

Small sewing room and gold trade

“Blind Maks” returned to Poland in 1946 and settled in Łódź. In 1952 he married Alicja who was 42 years younger than him. Various legends circulated regarding the gangster. He allegedly cooperated with the Security Office and still maintained control over the criminal community in Łódź.

His wife claimed he worked as a doorman at a clothing company. Unofficially, Bornsztajn was supposed to run a small sewing room and under this cover, he dealt in gold trading at the Grand Hotel in Łódź. In the same place, in the 1990s, gangsters from a dangerous criminal group known as the “Łódź octopus” met.

Menachem Bornsztajn died on May 18, 1960. He was buried in the Jewish cemetery at Bracka Street in Łódź. The representative place where he was buried shows how important person he was for the Jews of Łódź, despite his shadowy past.