Warsaw Ghetto and Uprising: "What good fortune for those in power that people do not think."
Adolph Hitler.



The Warsaw ghetto was the largest of many ghettos created by the Nazi's throughout Europe. The creation of ghettos was one of the first steps in the organized annihlation of the Jews. Ghettos were nothing new to the Jews. Throughout history these enclaves were used to contain Jews. According to the U.S. Holocaust Museum the first ghetto was formed in 1516 in Venice, Italy. As the Germans over ran western Europe and before war consumed the world, ghettos were set up in Vilna, Kovno, Lvov, Bialystok, and of course Warsaw.Warsaw was the largest of these ghettos, housing upwards of 400,000 Jews, in slightly over 1.3 square miles. There were three types of ghettos: open, closed, and destruction ghettos. Warsaw was a closed ghetto. With such a large concentration of people in such a small area, diseae became endemic. German austerity programs kept food and supplies at a starvation level. In 1941 alone, over 43,000 Jews died of disease, which could be attributed to lack of food, infectious diseases, poor sanitary conditions, and almost no medical supplies. In addition, Germans were repeatedly rounding up Jews in their infamous Aktions. From July 22, 1942 to August 12, 1942 the Germans deported over 253,000 Jews from Warsaw to death camps.

The final days for the remaining Jews were growing near. The surviving Jews started hearing about death camps and decided to act. Starting in early 1943 several Jewish political action groups decided to act by collecting and stockpiling weapons and ammunition. Two groups emerged to set up some type of ghetto defense force. The Z.O.B. led by Mordecai Anielewicz and a smaller organization called the Z.Z.W. decided to fight. At their zenith, both organizations totaled only 750 men , women, and children. Most were armed with ineffective and antiquated handguns. A few automatic weapons stolen from the Germans were available. Mostly there aresenal included homemade grenades, knives, and the now famous Molotov cocktail. The earliest fighting between Warsaw resisters and Germans was reported as early as January, 1943, as the Germans attempted another Aktion.

Sustained fighting started in earnest in the ghetto on April 19, 1943. Intense street and block to block fighting was initiated by the Jews as a response to another effort by the Germans to round up Jews for deportation. The Jews fought from roof tops, homemade bunkers, and in general any place from which they could kill Germans. Early on the Ghetto Fighters enjoyed some success. Their ferocity, ingenuity, and knowledge of the ghetto led to some stunning results. Their first confrontation stunned the Germans, forcing the 850 man detachment to withdraw, leaving many dead, two tanks destroyed, and one personnel carrier. The German S/S General Jurgen Stroop was seething at the reversal he suffered at the hands of the Jews. Stroop returned in short order, except with an Armored Brigade of seasoned S/S troops. His goal was to employ the Eastern Front tactic of scorched earth and no mercy!Going block by block the S/S razed every building and took no prisoners. The Jews despite heroic efforts and early successes were no match for the numerically superior and better equipped S/S. The Ghetto resisters, all 750 of them, held out for almost a month. On May 16, 1943, S/S Brigadier General Jurgen Stroop sent a message to Berlin- Warsaw is once again ours! The S/S showed no mercy to the 56,000 Jews they captured. Over 7,000, mostly men, were executed unceremoniously on the spot to prevent any martydom. The remaining 49,000 Jews were deported to killing centers.



William Faulkner in his book The Sound and the Fury touched on the importance of remembering when he said : "The past isn't dead and buried. In fact it isn't even past."

Sources-
1) 'The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising"- downloaded from www.ushmm.org on 6-17-08.

2) 'Ghetto's'- downloaded from www.ushmm.org on 6-17-08.

3) 'Warsaw Ghetto', Europe Since 1914: The Encyclopedia of the Age of War and Reconstruction by Ed Merriman and Jay Winter.

4) Photos from the U.S. Holocaust Museum downloaded on 6-17-08.