Ghettos

Ghettos in History From the Word Geti meaning Foundry Jewish Ghetto in Rome/Venice Established by Pope Paul IV in 1555 Jews forced to live in the Ghetto and wear distinctive Yellow Hat

Jewish Ghettos in Occupied Europe Biala Podlaska Bialystok Bochnia Brody Czestochowa Grodno Izbica Jozefow Kielce Krakow **Krakow Krasnystaw Kovno Kutno Lodz **Lodz Lubartow Lublin Lvov Miedzyrzec Minsk Piaski Prague Przemysl Radom Rawa Ruska Riga Rzeszow Siedlce Tarnow Tluszcz Vilnius Warsaw **Warsaw Zamosc Zwolen

Major Ghettos in Occupied Europe

How many ghettos? In total, the Nazis established at least 1,000 ghettos in German-occupied and annexed Poland and the Soviet Union between 1939 and 1945.

Forced to Relocate Jews were forced to locate to pre established Ghettos in larger cities.

Segregating Jews from Non Jews German and Polish police were used to ensure only Jews were allowed into the Ghettos

Sealing the Ghetto Jews were put to work sealing their own ghetto. Not all Ghettos were sealed, but most were.

Forced Labor Most able bodied Jews were forced to work in either physical labor or in factories for the war effort. Some work was purely to exhaust Jews.

Struggle to Survive Children were often on their own Many resorted to pan handling and street peddling Others participated in resistance activities (which we will discuss resistance later on) Some were runners outside the Ghetto

Ghetto Diet No sanitation Restricted to 800 calorie a day diet Inequalities quickly pronounced in ghettos Disease and hunger killed over 75,000 in Warsaw alone

What does 800 calories look like? Awesome Blossom (2,710 calories) Southwestern Egg Roll (810 calories)

Victor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning During the latter part of our imprisonment, the daily ration consisted of very watery soup given out once daily, and the usual small bread ration. In addition to that, there was the so-called "extra allowance," consisting of three-fourths of an ounce of margarine, or a slice of poor quality sausage, or of a little piece of cheese, or a bit of synthetic honey, or a spoonful of watery jam, varying daily. In calories, this diet was absolutely inadequate, especially taking into consideration our heavy manual work and our constant exposure to the cold in inadequate clothing. The sick who were "under special care"--that is, those who were allowed to lie in the huts instead of leaving the ghetto for work--were worse off. When the last layers of subcutaneous fat had vanished and we looked like skeletons disguised with skin and rags, we could watch our bodies beginning to devour themselves. The organism digested its own protein, and the muscles disappeared. Then the body had no powers of resistance left....

Resistance Active v. Passive Resistance Warsaw Ghetto Uprising (1943) Survival as Resistance –Self help groups –Maintaining Religion and Culture

Warsaw Ghetto Uprising The 1943 act of Jewish resistance that arose within the Warsaw Ghetto. It was an opposition in Nazi Germany's final effort to transport the remaining Ghetto population to Treblinka extermination camp. The most significant portion of the rebellion took place from 19 April, and ended when the poorly armed and supplied resistance was crushed by the Germans, who officially finished their operation to liquidate the Ghetto on 16 May. It was the largest single revolt by Jews during World War II.

Liquidation to Death Camps Ghettos were slowly liquidated until camps were complete Final liquidation happens in 1943 Some Ghettos remain in operation throughout

What tactics did the Nazis use to get the Jews to leave the Ghettos ? Tactics Starvation The Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto were only fed a 1000 calories a day. A Human being needs 2400 calories a day to maintain their weight Terror The SS publicly shot people for smuggling food or for any act of resistance Deception The Jews were told that they were going to ‘resettlement areas’ in the East. In some Ghettos the Jews had to purchase their own train tickets. They were told to bring the tools of their trade and pots and pans. Hungry people are easier to control New arrivals at the Death camps were given postcards to send to their friends.

Evil is when a few good men decide to do nothing.