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In September 1939 the Germans took control of Poland and Warsaw after a three week siege. There was no love lost between the Germans and the Poles and it soon became clear that the Nazis, considering themselves a 'Master Race', valued Polish life at next to nothing. As was later demonstrated, on an unprecedented scale, this was one step up from the value they put on Jewish life.
As early as November 1939 in Warsaw the first decrees intended to denigrate the Jewish people were issued by the Nazis - the most notable of which was that all Jews over the age of twelve years were forced to identify themselves by wearing a Star of David on their sleeve. These first measures were just the start of a long process however, and with more edicts issued every month it wasn't long before the Jews were reduced to the status of slaves and chattel. They were forbidden to work in either key industries or government institutions, to bake bread, to earn more than 500 zloty a month, to travel by train or trolley-bus, to leave the city limits without special permits, to possess gold or jewellery, plus all Jewish shops and enterprises had also to be marked with the Star of David. In addition to these official oppressions, Jews were summarily humiliated, beaten or even executed for little or spurious reason. In short they lived their lives in a state of constant fear.
Plans for a Jewish ghetto had in fact existed since the beginning of the Nazi occupation of Warsaw, but in October 1940 they finally began to take form. A small district South West of the Old Town, in the centre of the city, was chosen and 113,000 Poles were evacuated to make way for Warsaw's 400,000 Jews. Thirty percent of the city's population were now living in an area that constituted less than three square miles, or 2.4 % of the capital. In November that area was closed off by a formidable wall, topped with barbed wire. 
Life in the ghetto started off tough and quickly got worse. At first some semblance of normal life presided: cafes were still open, newspapers published (newspapers from 'the outside' were forbidden), school lessons took place and people strived to continual a normal existence as best as they could. Those who had managed to hold on to any of their wealth in particular were able to live in a small degree of comfort. Smuggling food into the ghetto was common, either by bribing guards at the gates, or carrying it in via underground canals - whilst poorer people would send their children over to the 'Aryan side' to steal what they could. The official food ration of around 200 calories a day per person was less than 10 percent of the ration for Germans (and about 25% of the ration for Poles).
As more and more Jews were brought in from the neighbouring towns and villages, conditions became yet more cramped. Money for bribes was drying out (and was only ever the privilege of a few) and the poor people of the ghetto, skeletal and wretched, began starving en masse. In addition to death by starvation a typhoid epic, caused by the poor sanitary conditions, broke out; meaning that by April 1941 the mortality rate in the ghetto was a staggering six thousand people per month. Funeral carts would come and collect the bodies every morning, between 4-5am; mostly the corpses were dumped naked on the streets - the families were forced to strip their relatives in order to sell the clothes.
Whilst the Jews in the ghetto were dying, they weren't dying quickly enough as far as Berlin was concerned. Hitler's original plans to ship all European Jews to Africa were proved impractical, and so it was that the chilling 'Final Solution' was decided upon, early in 1942. Between July and September of that year 300,000 ghetto Jews were transported to the Treblinka Extermination Camp, in the Nazis first mass deportation effort. At first few believed, including the Jews themselves, that the rumours of these death camps were real - preferring to believe that they being sent to hard labour camps. Eventually the evidence that was fed back (by escapees from the camps and by various secret agents and journalists) became irrefutable. The 60,000 remaining occupants of the ghetto had no choice but to confront the awful truth.
When the Nazis prepared to organise a second deportation to Treblinka in 1943 the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising began.
* Several survivors of the ghetto are still alive today. And out of respect to all the internees of the ghetto, we kindly ask that reviewers write only essential comments. Thank you.
This article on the Warsaw Ghetto is meant to be an informative introduction to Warsaw's history for travellers, and is not meant to be used for academic research. Please do not use it for any academic papers, but instead refer to published academic works and textbooks.*
| | | |
 | | "To "shannon" from the US practically abusing that black american, elderly i might add. You are more stupid and ignorant than her comment that you claim to be stupid and ignorant. How rude, i am a 42 year old jewish woman and i am disgusted at your attitude towards this lady. She was simply just speaking her mind and feeling SYMPATHY for the jews and you had to come along and turn it into something when its not. Your comment sounds like your suggesting that the attempt of genocide of the jews is more important than the slavery and rights of the blacks, well you are in fact wrong. Nothing that includes genocide or the loss of life is a god thing, so quit trying to make out that the happenings of 1939 is more important than things that happened earlier, because ALL people are equal. Past or Present" | Sabrina
New Zealand
May.08.2010
rates this page 4/5 |
| | "This is so sad... I'm so sorry! For anyone who had to live through this, know that everyone is on your side!" | Morgan
United States
May.02.2010
rates this page 3/5 |
| | "i thought the article was very well written and had a lot of interesting facts that i did not before know." | kayla
Canada
Apr.26.2010
rates this page 4/5 |
| | "Shannon...u cant be serious...u r the one who sounds ignorant.." | John
United States
Apr.19.2010
rates this page 5/5 |
| | ""it helped my group with our 'special' project but my focus was on the liquidations of Warsaw Ghetto and the actions... since no website was able to 'supply' me with the information i needed. this 'specific' website should try and get information on those topics... im not trying to be rude i was told to speak my mind and speak it loud... an this may help you in the long run..." " | Orianna Bennett
United States
Apr.15.2010
rates this page 2/5 |
| | "I'm doing a report on the Holocaust and this article was very helpful.
To the person that asked, "Why are people doing this to other people?", I'd like to point out that some events in history are inhuman. And the people that supported Hitler wanted to blame the Jews after they were poverty-stricken. They were the scapegoats, the Jews. The people that everybody wanted to blame. Hitler, however, was the first person to point a finger and soon managed to persuade many others to do it. People form an alliance, they build up, and no one can stop them. That's just how things are (were?). " | Kaushika
United States
Apr.13.2010
rates this page 5/5 |
| | "To the black american who wrote the stupid ignorant comment. Its annoying that us white people are to blame for everything. You have no idea and could never sympathize with the Jews. Slavery was not genocide like the Holocaust. The only genocide done to you people is by your own people in Africa. Blacks are more racist then whites so grow up" | shannon
United States
Apr.08.2010
rates this page 4/5 |
| | "For eunice, I find it quite vexing that you, a citizen of 21st century america, would compare your "hardships" to that of a jew during this horrid era-that is, during the second world warn of course. Unless you live in alabama, in which case, I apologize." | violette
United Kingdom
Apr.05.2010
rates this page 5/5 |
| | " well honestly, this page is good but just a bit biased.... if your going to report somthing be nuetral. not that im with nazis.......... i mean im jewish:D" | stormie
United Kingdom
Apr.05.2010
rates this page 3/5 |
| | "Excellent article! More Poles in Greenpoint Brooklyn should read this! Also, Eric, know history. Waring tribes in Africa sold their conquests (from other tribes) to the Dutch and then England, Spain etc. Because the English came to America for religious freedom, slaves came too! I wasn't even a twinkle in God's eye when all this happened. I take no responsibility. I also don't agree with slavery of anyone.
Also, I wasn't born until after World War II to a Polish mother and German/Dutch father. You don't understand that America is made up of many ethnic groups who came over during different generations. Very few have been here long enough to take claim for Slavery, Indian wars and broken treaties and as to Vietnam, unless you were there fighting you WILL NEVER KNOW WHAT AMERICAN SOLDIERS WENT THROUGH. You have only seen pictures that the media used to manipulate our government to get out of the war. True we should never have been there, but since we were our soldiers diserve respect. I believe it was one of the hardest wars to try to win since you NEVER knew who your enemy was.
I'm American - though 2nd generation on my Mom's side - and prod of it!
" | Betty
United States
Apr.03.2010
rates this page 4/5 |
| | "My now deceased elderly relatives had numbers tattooed on their upper arms and survived and made it to America but this sounds almost exactly like Gaza today. How shameful and how happy I am that my relatives aren't here to see Gaza. They have surely turned in their graves." | Jeff Prager
United States
Mar.27.2010
rates this page 2/5 |
| | "it was a well written article and it helped me not really directly but i instead granted authors wishes but it helped me find out more. And to Eunice Taylor u claim that we as Americans are racist us non blacks but by excluding us and even mentioning the separatism have shown racism. i believe in equality but don't blame me for my forefathers actions even though they only followed your example because many blacks sold themselves to Americans for money and to escape poverty and u mentioned the bigotry of whites in this land id like to point out that caucasians do not have an all white channel wheres Blacks do, so really think about that with an open mind and dont hate another race for they are another race and dont blame children of forefathers. Last of all as for you being able to sympathize with the many exterminated Jews i or yourself must be seriously misunderstanding because i doubt you or any one reading this have ever been to a concentration camp or gas vans or chambers or just exterminated for fun and pleasure please be more clear and precise and less benighted or ignorant of what you say about racism because you may learn something
yours truly
pseudonym John" | pseudonym John
United States
Mar.24.2010
rates this page 4/5 |
| | " As a black person living in the United Staes of American I can fully understand and sympathise with the unhumane treatmants of the Jewish people. For, you see in this country, we as a black people are still enduring the racist strife, and hsve been doing so for hundreds of years. It is a forgoing stigma placed on my people by the white Europeans during slavery and the teaching of such ignorance to their offsprings. Yes, we are a faithful people, otherwise we would not have lasted this long in a land that teaches seperatism. At sixty one years of age, I will probably not see a chance in this bigotry by the whites in this nation. Yes, you may say that we have come a long way, but we have still a longer journey to partake before complete freedom rings." | Eunice Taylor
United States
Mar.23.2010
rates this page 4/5 |
| | "this gave me a lot of good information for a research project, its very sad that someone can be so cruel" | tyler manien
United States
Mar.16.2010
rates this page 5/5 |
| | "Americans from the states spell it rumor and labor. Europeans spell it rumour and labour. " | Amber
United States
Mar.16.2010
rates this page 3/5 |
| | "This is for Michelle from the States, about the spelling....In the UK and Australia (for example) it is totally correct to spell LABOUR and RUMOUR with a U where as The American English spelling is regarding as wrong." | Liz Du Plessis
South Africa
Mar.16.2010
rates this page 4/5 |
| | "how can humans hate other humans this much?" | Jenn
Costa Rica
Mar.15.2010
rates this page 3/5 |
| | "very useful and interesting information " | rachel
Australia
Mar.15.2010
rates this page 4/5 |
| | "I don't think that it was right to do that to the Jews." | Steven bardo
United States
Mar.15.2010
rates this page 5/5 |
| | "Yes the Nazis are mostly to blame for the extermination of Jews but you can't forget that America didn't even try to help the Jews until the Japanese bombed pearl harbor because it supposedly "wasn't our problem". Also don't use the words Nazi and German interchangeably because some of the Jews Nazis were killing were Germans too." | Madison
United States
Mar.13.2010
rates this page 4/5 |
| | "This really hepled me with my ghetto project good info but 2 spelling mistakes lol . :) i am part poilsh. :P" | Hannah
United Kingdom
Mar.12.2010
rates this page 5/5 |
| | "...Why cant i use this in my english paper? you say i cant use if for academic use??? :p" | erika
United States
Mar.10.2010
rates this page 3/5 |
| | "i think this is a greate website its sad but speaks the truth was great so that i could get info!" | avery
United States
Mar.10.2010
rates this page 4/5 |
| | "it's you Americans that don't spell correctly!" | to michelle
United Kingdom
Mar.09.2010
rates this page 3/5 |
| | "really great information base... helped me heaps with my english essay and my presentation ... " | Mel
Australia
Mar.09.2010
rates this page 4/5 |
| | "good info but you spelled rumors nd labor wrong.:)" | michelle
United States
Mar.08.2010
rates this page 3/5 |
| | "this atricle was very fasinating and i understood the reflection of both sides" | simon b
United States
Mar.04.2010
rates this page 3/5 |
| | "this page was great...im part polish and very imterested in learning everything about the human survival during a time like this....quit argueing over this website about who blames who and what not...thats not what ths is hear for....please learn from history..dont repeat it and be filled with anger and hate
peace.n.love" | Bobbie
United States
Mar.04.2010
rates this page 5/5 |
| | "This was somewhat helpful to my story for English, but maybe you should add whether or not the Nazis forced the Jews into the Warsaw Ghetto.Now that would be helpful." | Krissy
United States
Mar.02.2010
rates this page 3/5 |
| | "Great information. It was much help for my english essay! But, for future reference, it'd be a good idea to put for info about the author, etc for citations. " | Hannah
United States
Feb.22.2010
rates this page 3/5 |
| | "I think that we even though we and think about how bad the Germans were as a whole. I think we often forget about those that died trying to help the Jews and oter so called "subhumans"" | Cole Byrd
United States
Feb.22.2010
rates this page 4/5 |
| | "You guys need to get over yourselves...AMERICA IS ALL FOR PEACE" | Helga
United States
Feb.22.2010
rates this page 1/5 |
| | "You guys need to get over yourselves...AMERICA IS ALL FOR PEACE" | Helga
United States
Feb.22.2010
rates this page 1/5 |
| | "its Good " | Parth Gadhia
United States
Feb.18.2010
rates this page 5/5 |
| | "Eric,the Holocaust was not germanys fault as a whole, im sure there were many germans opposed the Hitler's ideas of a greater race,but many germans are to blame. im not saying we, as americans are perfect, we have our own problems and there are many things we have done that i myself am ashamed of. but just as you are saying that we are blaming you for things that the current generation had nothing to do with, you are doing the same to us. im only 14, i had nothing to do with Vietman, just as you had nothing to do with the holocaust." | Mallory
United States
Feb.12.2010
rates this page 5/5 |
| | "Wouldn't it be good if you could go back in time and punch Hitler in the face." | Matthew Webb
United Kingdom
Feb.06.2010
rates this page 4/5 |
| | "i think these conditions were terrible. i cant believe people could be so cruel to other humans!!! " | stormy
United States
Feb.05.2010
rates this page 3/5 |
| | "I am in the 7th grade doing a research project on the Warsaw Ghetto after picking it as a topic from reading the book Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli. And what happend was very, very sad. It makes me sick to my stomach that this actually happend. " | Sabri
United States
Feb.03.2010
rates this page 4/5 |
| | "Okay, Eric, sure us Americans aren't the best, but Hitler started the entire idea ov the holocaust. Adolf was orgianlly from Austria but moved to Germany where he started the Socialist Party. They'd already had the ideas ov extermination ov Jews and death camps before any ov it actually became reality. Germany itself isn't to blame, but Hitler is. And yes, I know, many other races were enslaved in America. Okay!" | Maddie Sventevith
United States
Feb.03.2010
rates this page 4/5 |
| | "eric from the Netherlands:
As a history teacher I have read your comments and some are off base. In the 19th century it is true that many in the US Government were hell bent on rounding up Native American Indians and putting them on reservations. There were skirmishes and outright murders. However, the government was not exterminating them (not that some individuals didn't think of it). In Vietnam the military used napalm to try and get at the enemy in tunnels and to destroy enemy villages. The military however was not rounding up North Vietnamese and exterminating them in death camps.
I won't say that Germans are to blame because almost every adult German that was alive during the 1930's and 40's has since died. They were to blame. They were to blame for supporting a dictatorship, for turning a blind eye and for allowing a subset of their population to undergo the stripping of their civil rights and suffering other abuses. Those people were the Nazis and they are responsible. The Germans of today are not responsible.
You act a bit over sensitively and it makes one wonder if you even understand the enormity of the extermination camps and the systematic rounding up of human beings to be slaughtered. " | Kevin
United States
Feb.01.2010
rates this page 3/5 |
| | "What can I say? Hitler was a sociopath who committed suicide, not even being able to face that he was wrong- and evil- and his Nazis couldn't really have been worse. Three cheers for the people of the Warsaw Ghetto and more for the survivors of Sobibor. " | doesn't matter
United States
Jan.31.2010
rates this page 3/5 |
| | "" I really think everyone as equals. They shouldn't been treated like that"." | whiteagle711
United States
Jan.27.2010
rates this page 3/5 |
| | "um, yeah eric from the netherlands, germany is ENTIRELY to blame for the holocaust...pretty sure the USA didn't ship millions of Jews to death camps and kill people in the street at random durin WWII" | Jay
United States
Jan.24.2010
rates this page 4/5 |
| | "This is very sad!" | Henry Leyva
United States
Jan.22.2010
rates this page 3/5 |
| | "I'm Polish and my wife is from Warszawa and I had no idea that some of the building are still standing and being lived in ! As to the detailed description of the facts that happened in Warsaw and the Ghetto uprising and what to the plans that Hitler had ? I had no idea , sorry enough to say i really am sad that more couldn't been done to save all this people ! the Nazi vermin should have been doubt with faster unfortunately the poles had no resources or help from Allies till 1944 . Sadly said this is a part of historical genocide that forever will haunt Polish nation do to German ignorance and political believe ! For my conclusion Im extremely upset that there is still racial differences in America and the World and that we haven't learned anything from this horrible events ! Sadly that most American people haven't even heard about Holocaust !! Very Sad !! Im proud to be Polish and sad to read details how it all went down ! We should have done more against the Nazi PIGS !! " | Konrad Spedzia
Canada
Jan.21.2010
rates this page 5/5 |
| | "This website has fantastic info but im still trying to find out why the Germans made the ghetto and what was the reasoning behind it." | Mario Figueroa Jr
United States
Jan.21.2010
rates this page 4/5 |
| | "this is very sad it is sick that someone could do this to another human being" | morgan
United States
Jan.15.2010
rates this page 5/5 |
| | "I would Like to say that what the germans did was wrong to me personaly and I hope most feel that way. Im 2 years into highschool and I am studing The uprising of the warsaw ghetto and am really interested to learn more." | Brandon greer
United States
Jan.14.2010
rates this page 5/5 |
| | "my flight back to the US was re-directed to Warsaw the first week of 2010, from there to London I was sitting next to a Warsaw girl and never thought of Poland being the way it is until that experience, she was accurate on what part Poland plays on the world, well educated, beatiful and still going to school, conveyed a lot of high values in life and was a conversation that I will never forget, now for sure I WANT to go to Warsaw and learn more about that beautiful city but specially I want to eat walk and live the way they live, to have better life they tend to go to London, I can understand that being an immigrant in the US, I love Warsaw now, may God Bless all that great people" | Leon Garcia
United States
Jan.10.2010
rates this page 4/5 |
| | "its a good website " | vitor aka (unabrow)
Brazil
Jan.07.2010
rates this page 4/5 |
| | "Always the whole world, and especially the USA blaims Germany for several cruelties in the second world-war, buth America isn't very innocent too! What about the Indians, you killed by hundredthousands, how did you threath the negroes in the past, how did you behave in Vietnam, with your napalm.
You americans aren't any better as all other people on the world, so don't be so hypocrite to blaim Germany again and again for the holocaust!" | Eric
Netherlands
Jan.04.2010
rates this page 3/5 |
| | "I like this passaged, it gave me lots of info i needed" | Joshua Avington
United States
Jan.01.2010
rates this page 4/5 |
| | "Thank you.
To be able to survive such events is remarkable and i thank you for being able to let us know what really happened. The jewish citizens in warsaw are the true meaning of courage. Never giving up. no matter what.
thank you - it helped me do my final " | thankful
Canada
Dec.16.2009
rates this page 5/5 |
| | "This site really helped me out with my project for school. It's horrible to think that they actually made the Jewish people go through all of that pain and misery." | Abbey
United States
Dec.16.2009
rates this page 5/5 |
| | "The pianist is a good but sad movie " | Charlie
United Kingdom
Dec.15.2009
rates this page 3/5 |
| | "i like this topic and it gave alot of imformation
" | kynt
United States
Dec.15.2009
rates this page 5/5 |
| | "It was made in 1939, i am doing it at school and this is the best site i have found " | Hatty
United Kingdom
Dec.07.2009
rates this page 4/5 |
| | "i need a lil help when was warsaw built?
" | king
United States
Dec.03.2009
rates this page 3/5 |
| | "this really helped me thanks a lot!!! :) ilove researching this its so intereting to me. im using all this information to write a research paper in my english class so thanks a lot for all the help!!! im sure to get an A with allthe good information i got fromthis website!!!!" | Clarissa lopez
United States
Dec.03.2009
rates this page 3/5 |
| | "in language arts we are doing a reserch projct on the holocaust. it was so sad to see this and how it happend i almost cried" | morgan
United States
Dec.02.2009
rates this page 3/5 |
| | "haha. i am doing a reseach project on this right now!! (:" | Bethany
United States
Nov.25.2009
rates this page 1/5 |
| | "I want facts on Jews that were free." | boby
United States
Nov.23.2009
rates this page 1/5 |
| | "The Holocaust is still happening every day. What happened to those people was horrific and sadly we still have Hitlers in our world." | SZ
United States
Nov.15.2009
rates this page 4/5 |
| | "IT was so FREAKIN SAD I SWEAR I JUST WANT TO BUST OUT IN TEARS" | megan da playa
United States
Nov.12.2009
rates this page 5/5 |
| | "Your information has helped me write a paper for my English class but more importantly realize how lucky i am that i didn't have to go through this." | Malcolm Fuller
United States
Nov.11.2009
rates this page 4/5 |
| | "your info has helped me learn more about world war 2 " | Cristina Macias
United States
Nov.04.2009
rates this page 5/5 |
| | "u guys are all so aweful and very predjudice and this article didnt help gotta look somehweres else" | biotch
United States
Apr.06.2009
rates this page 1/5 |
| | "im glad that happened to them." | Toriii
United States
Apr.06.2009
rates this page 5/5 |
| | "OMG that is sad " | shorty
United States
Apr.06.2009
rates this page 4/5 |
| | "well I think this is wrong for the people because they dont do anything to the people that treats them so bad " | joanna
United States
Apr.03.2009
rates this page 3/5 |
| | "Whooaaaaa!!!! Awesome." | Janiqua
United States
Apr.03.2009
rates this page 1/5 |
| | "what i think of the holocaust is that it was very sad and it makes me want to cry whenever i think about it. i wish i was there to stop it." | kara pipher
Palau
Apr.01.2009
rates this page 5/5 |
| | "we're learning bout the holocaust in history. it's so sad. i nearly burst into tears every lesson! :(" | emz
United Kingdom
Apr.01.2009
rates this page 4/5 |
| | "the holocaust would suck to live through." | gobstoper 17
United States
Apr.01.2009
rates this page 1/5 |
| | "this really helped me out with my research thanks alot." | jim
United States
Mar.26.2009
rates this page 4/5 |
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