Transcript The Jews 1940

Ghettos
The Holocaust
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
Forced to Relocate
• Jews were forced to
Locate to pre
established Ghettos in
larger cities.
• Most Jews lived in
rural communities
called Shtetls
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
Forced Labor
• Most able bodied Jews
were forced to work,
many outside of the
camp in support of the
war effort
• Some work was purely
to exhaust Jews
Struggle to Survive
• Children were often
on their
• Many resorted to pan
handling and street
peddling
• Others participated in
resistance activities
• 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
Children Dying of Starvation in
the Warsaw Ghetto
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 camp
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
Jewish Newspapers In Lodz
• A ghetto newspaper
published in Yiddish
in the Lódz ghetto
from March 4, 1941 to
September 21, 1941
Liquidation to Death Camps
• Ghettos were slowly
liquidated until all 6
camps were complete
• Final liquidation
happens in 1943
• Some Ghettos remain
in operation
throughout 1944
What tactics did the Nazis use to get the
Jews to leave the Ghettos?
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.
New arrivals at the
Death camps were
given postcards to
send to their friends.
Tactics
Starvation
The Jews in the
Warsaw Ghetto were
only fed a 1000
calories a day .
Terror
A Human being needs
2400 calories a day to
maintain their weight
The SS publicly shot people
for smuggling food or for
any act of resistance
Hungry people are
easier to control
The End
Evil is when a few good men decide
to do nothing.
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