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Warsaw Ghetto Uprising - 16th May 1943

On 16th May 2008 we will commemorate the 65th anniversary of the end of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. We urge others to remember the lives of those who fought and were captured during and after the revolt. We should take the time to consider those who decided to Stand Up To Hatred by fighting their oppressors although they risked their own lives.

Esther Brunstein, a Holocaust survivor recalls hearing the news of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising whilst living in the Lodz Ghetto “in April 1943 news reached us about the uprising in the Warsaw ghetto. How we rejoiced and how proud we were of them! How we longed to have the opportunity to do the same! But alas, in the Lodz ghetto nothing could be done because of our total isolation from the outside world, although there was talk of it.”

The fighters of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising act as an inspiration to each of us today, to stand up and act when we see hatred being carried out, whether that is through using abusive language or terminology, witnessing and reporting a hate crime or by examining the way we interact with those who are ‘different’ to ourselves.

About the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

Starting on April 19th 1943, the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising lasted a little over one month before Nazi troops ended the revolt in the Ghetto. Organised by the Z.O.B (Zydowska Organizacja Bojowa: Jewish Fighting Organisation), and headed by 23 year old Mordecai Anielewicz with the aim of calling to Jewish inhabitants to resist being rounded up into rail cars which would take them to the concentration camps.

In January 1943, shots had been fired during one such deportation by the Z.O.B Ghetto fighters using the small number of arms that had been smuggled into the Ghetto. After a few days of the attack, Nazi troops retreated. This success inspired further revolt.

On 19th April 1943, when the Nazis entered the Warsaw Ghetto to carry out its liquidation, approximately 750 Z.O.B fighters fought the well-armed and trained soldiers. The revolt lasted for just over a month until, on 16th May they were finally defeated. More than 56,000 Jews were taken from the Warsaw Ghetto during the liquidation with 7000 being shot upon capture and the remaining 49,000 deported to concentration camps.

Further information

Images of the Warsaw Ghetto
http://www.hmd.org.uk/resources/item/53/

http://www.hmd.org.uk/resources/item/64/

Life and Inhabitants of the Warsaw Ghetto

The late Irena Sendlerowa directed a children’s rescue group to smuggle Jewish children from the Ghetto.

Janusz Korczac was the head of an orphanage in the Ghetto. He chose to stay with the children from the Ghetto. These children were eventually sent to the Treblinka death camp. Korczak was an outstanding educator who, as early as 1912, spoke and wrote extensively about the right of each child, regardless of background or social standing, to be a happy and constructive citizen. He was committed to social justice and believed that education had a vital role to play in this, and gained an international reputation for what were then groundbreaking ideas. Many of his ideas were included in the UNESCO charter for children’s rights after the war.

Wladyslaw Szpilman was a Polish-Jewish musician and composer who survived the Warsaw Ghetto. His entire family was murdered at the Treblinka concentration camp. Szpilman later wrote “The Pianist” about his time in the Warsaw Ghetto. HMDT have produced a book group activity on The Pianist

For further information on the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, you can visit external sites. Information contained on these sites are the responsibility of the website owners and may not reflect the views or opinions of HMDT.

http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/article.php?ModuleId=10005188

http://www1.yadvashem.org.il/search/index_search.html for video footage from survivors of the Warsaw Ghetto.