Medieval ghettos
A permanent, although separate, place of Jewish residences.
Purpose of Jewish ghetto's
- Not the same as medieval ghettos- They served as a provisional measure to control, isolate and segregate Jews in territories that came under Nazi occupation.
Why did Jewish ghettos develop?
- After synagogues went up in flames, Jews were mocked, abused, injured and murdered Polish Jews' property was confiscated, and they were forced to move into ghettos.- Even in the depths of winter, Jews were forcibly removed from their homes, marched out on the highway with few belongings they were permitted to take, packed in sacks, baby carriages, wheelbarrows and carts.- Within a few months, thousands of Jewish settlements were erased from the map.
How did Jewish ghettos look?
High walls or barbed wire fences sealed off the ghettos
First Jewish ghetto
Piotrkow Trybunalski - October 1939
Other important Jewish ghettos
- Lodz- Warsaw- Both sealed off in 1940
Last ghetto's established
1943
Amount of Jewish ghetto's
Approximately 400
Where was the ghetto located? (other than Poland)
- Silesia (SW Poland)- Hungary- Amsterdam- Czechoslovakia- Parts of Soviet Union
Population" of Ghetto's
3 million Jews were confined to ghetto's between 1940-1944
Deportation to Jewish Ghettos in Poland
All deportation plans between 1939 and 1941 took for granted the deaths of several people who would die from:- hunger, - disease, - lack of medical care, - slave labour conditions, - exposure to freezing winter weather,- wretched overcrowding conditions of resettlement.
Ghetto Life
Characterized by:- Overcrowding- Filth- Starvation- Disease- Dispair- Slave work (hard labour)- Beggars everywhere- Dead bodies covered by only newspapers- Faced danger of being rounded up by SS and killed
Warsaw Ghetto
Between November 1940 and July 1942 = 100 000 Jews died
From 1942
Jews who survived ghettos were systematically deported to 1 of 6 death camps
Initial identification of Jews
- Forced to wear distinctive sign- White armband with blue star
Identification of Jews from September 1941
- Forced to wear distinctive sign if they were over the age of 6 years old in Germany and German territories.- Yellow 6 pointed star, at least 10cm high, on the left side of theit chest and back of outer garment.
Resistance from Jews
- Ghetto inmates were involved in different forms of spiritual resitance as physical resistance was not an option.- They organized: * youth groups * music * theatre * prayer meetings * illegal distribution of newspapers * smuggled food- When death became apparent, they planned uprisings.