How It Started
On September 21, 1939, Reinhard Heydrich, head of the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA) in the SS, sent the Schnellbrief, a directive that laid out the procedures and treatment towards the Jews in the areas of occupied Poland. It declared that Jews living in towns and villages would be transferred to join larger populations of Jews in the bigger cities, & that Jewish councils, known as “Judenräte”, should be established, whose purpose was to carry out the orders of the German authorities. The Jews were generally housed in the poorest neighbourhoods, and these areas were eventually turned into sealed ghettos, in which the majority of Polish Jewry was incarcerated. A large, hermetically sealed ghetto was established in Lodz in the spring of 1940, and in the autumn of 1940, the largest of the ghettos was established in Warsaw, where nearly half a million Jews were interned.
In June 1941, ghettos were established in many regions. The Germans intended to leave the Jews in these ghettos for a short time only before murdering them. The largest of these ghettos was established in Minsk, Belorussia, which held approximately 100,000 Jews. The Germans occupied Hungary in March 1944. In May they began deporting Hungarian Jewry to Auschwitz & in November, the establishment of a ghetto in Budapest in which approximately 70,000 Jews from the city were imprisoned. In all, the Germans established more than 1,000 ghettos in Eastern Europe & a few ghettos in central and Southern Europe.
In June 1941, ghettos were established in many regions. The Germans intended to leave the Jews in these ghettos for a short time only before murdering them. The largest of these ghettos was established in Minsk, Belorussia, which held approximately 100,000 Jews. The Germans occupied Hungary in March 1944. In May they began deporting Hungarian Jewry to Auschwitz & in November, the establishment of a ghetto in Budapest in which approximately 70,000 Jews from the city were imprisoned. In all, the Germans established more than 1,000 ghettos in Eastern Europe & a few ghettos in central and Southern Europe.
Life in the Ghettos
Life in the ghettos were unbearable. Overcrowding was common. One apartment might have several families living in it. Plumbing broke down & human waste was thrown in the streets along with the garbage. Contagious diseases spread rapidly in such cramped, unsanitary housing. People were always hungry. Germans deliberately tried to starve residents by allowing them to purchase only a small amount of bread, potatoes & fat. Some residents had some money or valuables they could trade for food smuggled into the ghetto; others were forced to beg or steal to survive. During the long winters, heating fuel was scarce, & many people lacked adequate clothing. People weakened by hunger & exposure to the cold, became easy victims of disease. Tens of thousands died in the ghettos from illness, starvation, or cold. Some individuals even killed themselves to escape their hopeless lives.
Warsaw
In Warsaw, the capital of Poland, the Nazis established the largest ghetto in all of Europe. 375,000 Jews lived in Warsaw before the war. The Jews were forced to wear a white armband with a blue Star of David and economic measures against them were taken that led to the unemployment of most of the city’s Jews. A Judenrat (Jewish council) was established under the leadership of Adam Czerniakow & in October 1940 the establishment of a ghetto was announced. On November 16 the Jews were forced inside the area of the ghetto.
Surrounded by walls that they built with their own hands & under strict & violent guard, the Jews of Warsaw were cut off from the outside world. Within the ghetto their lives fluctuated in the desperate struggle between survival and death from disease or starvation. The living conditions were unbearable & the ghetto was extremely overcrowded. On average, between six to seven people lived in one room & the daily food rations were the equivalent of one-tenth of the required minimum daily calorie intake. Economic activity in the ghetto was minimal & generally illegal, smuggling of food being the most prevalent of such activity. Those individuals who were active in these illegal acts or had other savings were generally able to survive longer in the ghetto.
Surrounded by walls that they built with their own hands & under strict & violent guard, the Jews of Warsaw were cut off from the outside world. Within the ghetto their lives fluctuated in the desperate struggle between survival and death from disease or starvation. The living conditions were unbearable & the ghetto was extremely overcrowded. On average, between six to seven people lived in one room & the daily food rations were the equivalent of one-tenth of the required minimum daily calorie intake. Economic activity in the ghetto was minimal & generally illegal, smuggling of food being the most prevalent of such activity. Those individuals who were active in these illegal acts or had other savings were generally able to survive longer in the ghetto.
The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
In the summer of 1942, about 300,000 Jews were deported from Warsaw to Treblinka. When reports of mass murder in the killing center leaked back to the Warsaw ghetto, a surviving group of mostly young people formed an organization called the Z.O.B. (for the Polish name, Zydowska Organizacja Bojowa, which means Jewish Fighting Organization). The Z.O.B., led by 23-year-old Mordecai Anielewicz, issued a proclamation calling for the Jewish people to resist going to the railroad cars. In January 1943, Warsaw ghetto fighters fired upon German troops as they tried to round up another group of ghetto inhabitants for deportation. Fighters used a small supply of weapons that had been smuggled into the ghetto. After a few days, the troops retreated. This small victory inspired the ghetto fighters to prepare for future resistance.
On April 19, 1943, the Warsaw ghetto uprising began after German troops and police entered the ghetto to deport its surviving inhabitants. Seven hundred and fifty fighters fought the heavily armed & well-trained Germans. The ghetto fighters were able to hold out for nearly a month, but on May 16, 1943, the revolt ended. The Germans had slowly crushed the resistance. Of the more than 56,000 Jews captured, about 7,000 were shot, & the remainder were deported to camps.
An in depth chapter by chapter summary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising:
http://www.warsawrising.eu/
On April 19, 1943, the Warsaw ghetto uprising began after German troops and police entered the ghetto to deport its surviving inhabitants. Seven hundred and fifty fighters fought the heavily armed & well-trained Germans. The ghetto fighters were able to hold out for nearly a month, but on May 16, 1943, the revolt ended. The Germans had slowly crushed the resistance. Of the more than 56,000 Jews captured, about 7,000 were shot, & the remainder were deported to camps.
An in depth chapter by chapter summary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising:
http://www.warsawrising.eu/