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The conditions within the Warsaw Ghetto were disgusting and dehumanizing. Created by the Nazis following the invasion of Poland during WWII, the ghetto was initially designed to confine the Jewish population of Warsaw into a small, walled-off area of the city. With overcrowded and unsanitary living conditions, mass starvation, unmaintained buildings and roads, and even human excretion dumped in the streets when pipes busted. Families of usually about 7 were crammed into small apartments. Disease and malnutrition plagued the young and elderly population, leading to tens of thousands of deaths. The ghetto was surrounded by brick walls lined with barbed wire and heavily guarded by Nazi forces, imprisoning its residents. Guards treated residents like circus mice and both verbally and physically abused them for their own entertainment. Overall, the Warsaw Ghetto dehumanized and humiliate the Jewish population of Warsaw.

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The deportations in the Warsaw Ghetto were a series of actions carried out by the Nazis during the Holocaust to liquidate the ghetto and exterminate its Jewish population. The deportations began in July 1942 and continued until the destruction of the city. Nazis would select individuals and families to send away on trains to these camps, targeting those who would not be useful in the workforce inside the ghetto. As more and more Jews began to be deported and sent to concentration camps, rumors and speculations began to rise. Finally, after learning about the mass extermination and labor camps, the Jewish population decided to not let the Nazis take them alive and form a resistance. Even after the uprising had come to an end, the Nazis continued to deport all captured Jews that were not killed on the spot to camps where they would be killed. The some common destinations/camps of the deportations were Lublin and Majdanek.

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After years of torture, being stripped of their dignity, and a dramatic increase in deportations to concentration camps, the remaining residents of the Warsaw Ghetto decided it was time to resist. Ultimately, this decision came in fear of the rumors relating to the mass extermination/death camps that the Nazis were sending train loads in hopes of liquidating the Jewish population. Organizations such as the Jewish Combat Organisation and Jewish Military Union led the rebellion with preparations through the Polish Underground (the ghettos smuggling system). The resisters of the ghetto smuggled arms (mostly pistols) and bullets, they even manufactured homemade weapons including grenades and Molotovs. In order to defend against German counter-attacks, the resistance also built bunkers and secret hiding places.

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Initiated by a Nazi attack led by SS General Jürgen Stroop on April 19, 1943, the uprising of the Warsaw Ghetto had officially started. Though German forces were severely outnumbered, they intensely outgunned the poorly armed resistance. On the first day, the Jewish forces surprised the Nazis with a vigorous retaliation, causing them to retreat on day one. The Nazis reconsidered their strategy and pivoted to a slower yet more destructive attack. Throughout the next 27 days of the uprising, the Nazis slowly burned down the city, leveling each and every building. Though the Nazis were crushing the Jewish resistance, they still fought strongly in the small street-held battles. Most members of the uprising believed that dying while fighting was better than what the Nazis would do to them if captured. This "smoked out" all of the hiding Jews making them target practice for the relentless Nazi soldiers. Only 42,000 people survived the 28-day rampage, though nearly all would be eventually killed in the death and labor camps that they were sent to following their capture. Leaving only rubble and ruins of the city behind

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Quote: "we are segregated and separated from the world and the fullness thereof, driven out of the society of the human race."- Warsaw Ghetto Resident

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Quote: "we are segregated and separated from the world and the fullness thereof, driven out of the society of the human race."- Warsaw Ghetto Resident

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This quote conveys the idea of segregation during the formation of the Warsaw Ghetto. The Jewish population truly was separated and shut out from the rest of civilization. The ghettos penned Jewish people up like animals and segregated them from the entire human race.

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The Aftermath of The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

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The Aftermath of The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

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Following the destructive attacks of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, the Nazis left the city in ruins. Remaining Jewish residents were sent into hiding, they hid in leveled buildings and struggled to find any food. Any surviving Jew found in the city was either killed on the spot or sent to their death at a camp. This event served as an example of how soul shattering the Nazi actions were to communities, especially Jewish communities across Europe.

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Survivor and Leader of the Uprising :  Icchak Cukierman

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Survivor and Leader of the Uprising :  Icchak Cukierman

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Icchak Cukierman was a major part of organizing and leading the Jewish resistance during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. As a member of the Jewish Combat Organization (ŻOB), Cukierman was vital to the armed resistance against the Nazi forces, coordinating the attacks and efforts. He was a commander for the ŻOB and helped plan and execute various acts of sabotage and urban warfare against the Nazis. Cukierman recruited fighters, organized weapons, and strategized defensive positions within the ghetto. He also helped create communication networks with other resistance groups. Cukierman and the resistance fought vigorously until the end, inspiring others with their bravery and determination despite the extreme threat of death and torture. Cukierman survived the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and after the uprising was came to a close, Cukierman continued his resistance across Poland. Cukierman established himself as an extremely strong and honorable advocate in the Jewish community

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The Impact of The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

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The Impact of The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

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While the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was technically a failure for the Jewish community in Warsaw, it was a sign of hope for the rest of Europe. Even though they were severely outgunned, the Jewish resistance persistently stayed in the fight with the power of perseverance and resilience. The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising is still remembered as one of the biggest and most honorable acts of resistance in history. This did not only set a bar for those struggling in Nazi-controlled Europe at the time but still represents hope today. The uprising inspired other Jewish ghettos especially, most notably the Bialystok Ghetto. Overall, the Warsaw Ghetto had a major and everlasting impact on not just the Holocaust but society and history as a whole.

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The Kotwica was the symbol of the uprising for residents of Warsaw Poland. "Kotwica" is Polish for anchor which relates to the Jews of Warsaw resisting and anchoring down defying the Nazis orders of deportation. This was a very famous symbol in Poland during WWII.

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Quote:  "It seems to me that people will no longer go to the slaughter like lambs. They want the enemy to pay dearly for their lives. They’ll fling themselves at them with knives, staves, coal gas…they’ll not allowed themselves to be seized in the street, for they know that work camp means death these days"- Emanuel Ringelblum

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Quote:  "It seems to me that people will no longer go to the slaughter like lambs. They want the enemy to pay dearly for their lives. They’ll fling themselves at them with knives, staves, coal gas…they’ll not allowed themselves to be seized in the street, for they know that work camp means death these days"- Emanuel Ringelblum

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This quote shows that people began to recognize and admire the fight that the Jewish resistance put in. This quote proves that the movement did not go unnoticed and actually did make an impact.

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This song represents a call to action, protest, and a resistance. The people of the Warsaw Ghetto came together and stood up for their community even though it meant losing their lives and their loved ones. I think that this is a very good song and relates to the topic of resistance and a group call to action pretty well.

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Jewish captives were deported and sent to their deaths at labor and extermination camps following the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

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German Artillery targeting buildings full of the Jewish Resistance  

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The Warsaw ghetto was the largest Jewish ghetto in German-occupied Europe. Established by the Germans in October 1940, and sealed that November, the ghetto housed approximately 400,000 Jews.

The "Great Action"

From July 22 until September 12, 1942, German SS and police units, assisted by auxiliaries, carried out mass deportations from the Warsaw ghetto to the Treblinka killing center. During what was described as the "Great Action," the Germans deported about 265,000 Jews from Warsaw to Treblinka. They killed approximately 35,000 Jews inside the ghetto during this operation. By early 1943, the surviving Jews in the Warsaw ghetto numbered approximately 70,000 to 80,000 individuals.

The Jewish Underground (ŻOB and ŻZW) in the Warsaw ghetto

The "Great Action" had been disguised as a "resettlement operation." However, by late summer 1942 it was clear to many ghetto inhabitants that deportations from the ghetto meant almost certain death.

In response to these deportations, several Jewish underground organizations banded together on July 28, 1942. They created an armed self-defense unit known as the Jewish Combat Organization ( Żydowska Organizacja Bojowa ; ŻOB). It is estimated that ŻOB had roughly 200 members at the time of its formation.

There was also a second force organized by the right-wing Revisionist Zionist movement, especially its youth group, Betar. This second force was called the Jewish Military Union ( Żydowski Związek Wojskowy ; ŻZW).

Although initially there was tension between the ŻOB and the ŻZW, both groups worked together to oppose German attempts to destroy the ghetto. At the time of the uprising, the ŻOB had about 500 fighters in its ranks and the ŻZW had about 250.

During the summer of 1942, efforts to establish contact with the Polish military underground movement, called the Home Army ( Armia Krajowa ; AK), did not succeed. But in October, the ŻOB managed to establish contact with the AK. They obtained a small number of weapons, mostly pistols and explosives, from AK contacts.

The First Attempt at Resistance against the Germans

In January 1943, German SS and police units returned to the Warsaw ghetto to resume mass deportations. They planned to send thousands of the ghetto's remaining Jews to forced-labor camps in the Lublin District of the General Government.

A small group of Jewish fighters, armed with pistols, infiltrated a column of Jews being forced to the Umschlagplatz (transfer point). At a prearranged signal, this group broke ranks and fought their German escorts. Most of the Jewish fighters died in the battle. However, the attack disoriented the Germans. As a result, the Jews who were arranged in columns at the Umschlagplatz had a chance to disperse.

Jewish resistance leaders also encouraged fellow ghetto inhabitants to defy deportation orders and hide from German authorities. Seizing only 5,000-6,500 ghetto residents, the Germans suspended further deportations on January 21.

Encouraged by the apparent success of the resistance, people in the ghetto began to construct subterranean bunkers and shelters. They were preparing for an uprising should the Germans attempt a final deportation of the remaining Jews from the ghetto.

April 19, 1943-May 16, 1943

On April 19, 1943, the eve of the Passover holiday, the Jews of the Warsaw ghetto began their final act of armed resistance against the Germans. Lasting twenty-seven days, this act of resistance came to be known as the Warsaw ghetto uprising.

The Jewish Combat Organization (ŻOB) had received advanced warning of a final deportation action planned by the Germans. In response, the ŻOB warned residents of the ghetto to retreat to their hiding places or bunkers.

German Preparations

Based on their experience earlier that year in January, German authorities had knowledge of the ghetto's defense organizations. On the eve of the action, they replaced the chief of the SS and Police in Warsaw, Obergruppenführer Ferdinand von Sammern-Frankenegg, with SS and Police Leader [ SS- und Polizeiführer ] Jürgen Stroop. Stroop had considerable experience in partisan warfare. He also had considerable forces at his disposal. These forces included around 2,000 soldiers and police, reinforced with artillery and tanks.

Jewish Resistance

Twenty-four year old ŻOB commander Mordecai Anielewicz commanded the Jewish insurgents. The ŻOB fighters were armed with only pistols, grenades (many of which were homemade), and a few automatic weapons and rifles. Nonetheless, they stunned the Germans and their auxiliaries on the first day of fighting. They forced German troops to retreat outside the ghetto wall. Stroop reported losing 12 men during the first assault on the ghetto. These men were either killed or wounded.

About 700 young Jewish fighters clashed with German forces, sometimes in hand-to-hand combat. These fighters were poorly equipped and lacked military training and experience. The ŻOB did have the advantage of waging a guerilla war. They would strike, and then retreat, to the safety of ghetto buildings, bunkers, and underground tunnels. The general ghetto population likewise thwarted German deportation efforts, refusing to assemble at collection points and burrowing in underground bunkers.

In the end, the Germans razed the ghetto to the ground. They burned and demolished this part of Warsaw, block by block, in order to smoke out their prey.

The ghetto fighters and the civilian population who supported them held the Germans at bay for nearly a month. On May 8, 1943, German forces succeeded in seizing ŻOB headquarters at 18 Mila Street. Anielewicz and many of his staff commanders are thought to have committed suicide in order to avoid capture.

On May 16, Stroop announced in his daily report to Berlin that "The former Jewish Quarter in Warsaw is no more."

The entire sky of Warsaw was red. Completely red.
- Benjamin Meed (oral history)

To symbolize the German victory, Stroop ordered the destruction of the Great Synagogue on Tłomackie Street on May 16, 1943. The ghetto itself lay in ruins.

Casualties

The SS and police deported approximately 42,000 Warsaw ghetto survivors who were captured during the uprising. These people were sent to the forced-labor camps at Poniatowa and Trawniki, and to the Lublin/Majdanek concentration camp. Most of them would be murdered at these camps in November 1943 in a two-day shooting operation known as Operation Harvest Festival ( Erntefest ).

At least 7,000 Jews died fighting or in hiding in the ghetto. Approximately 7,000 Jews were captured by the SS and police at the end of the fighting. These Jews were deported to the Treblinka killing center where they were murdered.

For months after the liquidation of the Warsaw ghetto, individual Jews continued to hide in the ruins of the ghetto. On occasion, they attacked German police officials on patrol. After the ghetto was liquidated, perhaps as many as 20,000 Warsaw Jews continued to live in hiding on the so-called Aryan side of Warsaw.

Legacy and Remembrance

The Warsaw ghetto uprising was the largest and, symbolically, most important Jewish uprising during World War II. It was also the first urban uprising in German-occupied Europe. The Jewish resistance in Warsaw inspired uprisings in other ghettos such as in Bialystok.

Today, Days of Remembrance ceremonies to commemorate the victims and survivors of the Holocaust are linked to the dates of the Warsaw ghetto uprising.

Last Edited: Apr 17, 2023

Author(s): United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC

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The Warsaw ghetto uprising was the largest, symbolically most important Jewish uprising, and first urban uprising in German-occupied Europe.

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Jewish resister captured by Nazi soldiers following the attacks of the uprising 

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Nazis walking the streets of Warsaw as they burn the city down following the uprising

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Overcrowded Streets of the Warsaw Ghetto

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In the fall of 1940, the Jewish Population of Warsaw, Poland which accumulated to more than 400,000 residents were forcefully relocated into a small sectioned off portion of the city called the Warsaw Ghetto. This was the biggest Ghetto in all of Europe at the time and resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths. Ghettos were very popular areas across Nazi-controlled Europe and were meant to segregate and dehumanize Jews in Europe. Conditions in the ghetto were extremely poor, starvation and disease taking the lives of many, and 7 people crammed in a room on average. It is safe to say that the dogs outside of the ghetto were living much better than these innocent civilians. With any form of Allied liberation from Russia still years away, the Jewish population had no one but themselves to rely on.