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Behind the Aegis

(53,833 posts)
Thu Apr 19, 2018, 04:32 PM Apr 2018

The Jews who fought back: the story of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

During the Second World War, Jews forced to live in the Warsaw Ghetto in Poland had little choice: they could either fight their Nazi oppressors, or be transported to certain death at Treblinka extermination camp. Here, Alexandra Richie explores the events of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, a remarkable act of Jewish resistance that began 75 years ago today

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, one of the most significant and tragic events in the history of the Second World War. It was a demonstration of heroic resistance, when Jews decided to fight against their oppressors rather than be forced to die in a concentration camp. It has left a remarkable legacy, which reverberates to this day.

By the outbreak of the Second World War, Jews had been living in Poland for more than a thousand years. Around 10 per cent of the country’s pre-war population was Jewish, but in some cities the proportion was much higher. Only New York had a higher number of Jewish residents than Warsaw, which was home to around 375,000 Jews – approximately 30 per cent of the city’s population. They had created a rich and diverse culture – something that the Germans were determined to destroy.

The Nazi persecution of the Jews in Poland began with the invasion of the country in 1939. Jews very quickly lost their rights; by October 1939 they were forced to register and have the word ‘Jude’ stamped on their identity papers. They were soon forbidden from many ordinary activities, such as walking on the pavement, or going to schools, libraries or museums. Synagogues were blown up, or turned into prisons or factories, and many Jews were abused and humiliated on the streets.


April 19, 2018 at 12:53 pm

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The Jews who fought back: the story of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising (Original Post) Behind the Aegis Apr 2018 OP
I think of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising... malthaussen Apr 2018 #1
They died fighting, taking some of their killers with them. MicaelS Apr 2018 #2
"It wouldn't have saved them." malthaussen Apr 2018 #3
Well... discntnt_irny_srcsm Apr 2018 #4

malthaussen

(17,066 posts)
1. I think of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising...
Fri Apr 20, 2018, 10:07 AM
Apr 2018

... whenever any gun-nut twit asks what would have happened if the European Jews had been "armed."

-- Mal

MicaelS

(8,747 posts)
2. They died fighting, taking some of their killers with them.
Fri Apr 20, 2018, 02:36 PM
Apr 2018

What is wrong with that, given that they were targeted for extermination anyway? So what is your point?

malthaussen

(17,066 posts)
3. "It wouldn't have saved them."
Sat Apr 21, 2018, 09:45 AM
Apr 2018

The ammosexuals seem to believe that, if only the European Jews had been armed, they would not have been exterminated. The Warsaw Ghetto tends to contradict this assertion.

-- Mal

discntnt_irny_srcsm

(18,470 posts)
4. Well...
Sat Apr 21, 2018, 12:56 PM
Apr 2018

..."ammosexuals"


A weapon in the hand of a victim decides whether an assault is a fight to the death or just another murder..... or worse.


On Jan. 18, 1943, the Germans rounded up 7,000 Jews and sent them to the extermination camp at Treblinka; they killed 600 more right in Warsaw. But on that day, an uprising began. In the beginning, the Jewish Fighting Organization had about 600 volunteers; the Jewish Military Association had about 400, and there were thousands more in spontaneous small groups. The Jews had only 10 handguns, but the Germans did not realize how under-armed the Jewish fighters were.

After four days of fighting, the Germans on January 21 pulled back from the ghetto, to organize better. A diary written in the Warsaw ghetto exulted, “In the four days of fighting we had made up for the shame of Jewish passivity in the first extermination action of July, 1942.” [Ber Mark, “The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising,” in “They Fought Back" ed., Yuri Suhl (N.Y.: Paperback Library, 1968; 1st pub. 1967), pp. 104-06].
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2015/10/10/the-warsaw-ghetto-uprising-armed-jews-vs-nazis/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.c0cfb2937c41
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