Peter Rachman
| Peter Rachman | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Perec Rachman 1919 Lwów, Poland |
| Died | 29 November 1962 (aged 43) Edgware, London, England |
| Cause of death | Heart attack |
| Resting place | Bushey Jewish cemetery 51°39′23″N 0°21′02″W / 51.6565°N 0.3505°W |
| Nationality | Polish, later stateless |
| Occupation | Landlord, property developer |
| Spouse(s) | Audrey O'Donnell (1960–62, his death) |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |
 Poland
|
| Service/branch | Polish Armed Forces in the West |
| Years of service | 1941–1948 |
| Unit | II Corps |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Perec "Peter" Rachman (1919 – 29 November 1962) was a landlord of Polish-Jewish origin, who operated in Notting Hill, London, England in the 1950s and early 1960s. He became notorious for his exploitation of his tenants, with the word "Rachmanism" entering the Oxford English Dictionary as a synonym for the exploitation and intimidation of tenants.
Rachman was born in Lwów, Poland, in 1919, the son of a Jewish dentist. After the German invasion of Poland in 1939, Rachman may have joined the Polish resistance. He was first interned by the Germans and, after escaping across the Soviet border, was reinterned in a Soviet labour camp in Siberia and cruelly treated. After the Germans declared war on the Soviet Union in 1941, Rachman and other Polish prisoners joined the 2nd Polish Corps and fought on behalf of the Allies in the Middle East and Italy. After the war he stayed with his unit, which remained as an occupying force in Italy until 1946 when they transferred to Britain. Rachman was eventually demobilized in 1948 and became a British resident.
Rachman began his career by working for an estate agent in Shepherd's Bush. By 1957, he built up a property empire in west London consisting of more than one hundred mansion blocks and several nightclubs. His office was at 91–93 Westbourne Grove, in Bayswater, and the first house he purchased and used for multi-occupation was nearby in now-fashionable St Stephen's Gardens, W2. In adjacent areas in Notting Hill (W11), including Powis Square, Powis Gardens, Powis Terrace, Colville Road and Colville Terrace, he also subdivided large properties into flats and let rooms, initially often for prostitution. Much of this area, south of Westbourne Park Road, having become derelict, was compulsorily purchased by Westminster City Council in the late 1960s and was demolished in 1973–74 to make way for the Wessex Gardens estate.
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