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The Warsaw Ghetto was the largest of the Jewish ghettos established by Nazi Germany in Poland during the Holocaust in World War II. In the three years of its existence, starvation, disease and relocations to concentration camps dropped the population of the ghetto from an estimated 380,000 to 70,000. The Warsaw Ghetto was the scene of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising the first mass uprising against Nazi occupation in Europe. 1 Background
Plans to isolate the Jewish population of Warsaw and its nearby suburbs in a ghetto first circulated immediately after the German occupation of Poland in 1939. At the time, the administration of the Generalgouvernment had not been fully organized, and there were conflicting interests among the three major players: the civilian administration, the military, and the SS. Under these circumstances, the Jewish Council, or Judenrat, headed by Adam CzerniakowAdam Czerniakow (sometimes also spelt Adam Czerniakow born in Warsaw, Poland in 1880 committed suicide in the Warsaw Ghetto on July 23, 1942. He studied engineering and taught in the Jewish community's vocational school in Warsaw. From 1927 to 1934 he ser, was able to delay the establishment of the Ghetto by one year, mainly by appealing to the military to consider how Jews were a valuable labor resource.
The Warsaw Ghetto was finally established by the German Generalgouverneur of Poland Hans FrankHeinrich Himmler during a visit to Krakow in 1940. Hans Frank ( May 23, 1900 — October 16, 1946) was a senior Nazi official in Nazi Germany and Governor-General of Poland during World War II. Frank was born in Karlsruhe and joined the German army in 1917. on October 16October 16 is the 289th day of the year (290th in Leap years). There are 76 days remaining. Events 456 Magister militum Ricimer defeats the Roman Emperor Avitus at Piacenza and becomes master of the western Roman Empire 1775 Portland, Maine burned by the, 1940Events January-February January 5 FM radio is demonstrated to the FCC for the first time. January 6 World War II: Mass execution of Poles, committed by Germans in the Poznan, Warthegau. January 12 World War II: Russia bombs cities in Finland. February 2 F. At this time, the population of the Ghetto was estimated to be about 380,000 people, about 30% of the population of Warsaw. However, the size of the Ghetto was about 2.4% of the size of Warsaw. Nazis then closed off the Warsaw Ghetto from the outside world on November 16November 16 is the 320th day of the year (321st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 45 days remaining. Events 534 A second and final revision of the Codex Justinianus is published. 1384 Hedwig is crowned King of Poland, although she is a woman.th that year, building a wall. During the next year and a half, Jews from smaller cities and villages were brought into the Ghetto, while diseases (especially typhoid) and starvation (rations for Jews were officially limited to just 184 kcal per day, as opposed to 1,800 for Poles and 2,400 for Germans in Warsaw) kept the inhabitants at about the same number.
On July 22July 22 is the 203rd day (204th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 162 days remaining. Events 1499 Battle of Dornach The Swiss decisively defeat the Imperial army of Emperor Maximilian I. 1587 Colony of Roanoke: A second group of E, 1942Events January January 1 World War II: The word " United Nations" is first officially used to describe the Allied pact. January 2 World War II: Manila is captured by Japanese forces. January 5 Amy Johnson disappears in flight over River Thames estuary ass, the mass expulsion of the inhabitants started; in the next 52 days (till September 12, 1942) about 300,000 people were taken to the Treblinka extermination camp or murdered on the spot. Czerniakow became openly despondent over the mass deportations and killed himself in July 23.
The situation for the remaining 55,000 to 60,000 Jews changed for the better initially: The famine ended and the once overcrowded houses were largely empty. The Jews either worked in German factories within the Ghetto or lived in hiding.
During the next six months, what was left of several political organizations was brought together under name ZOB (Zydowska Organizacja Bojowa, Jewish Fighting Organization), headed by Mordechaj Anielewicz, with 220-500 persons; another 250-450 were organized in the ZZW (Zydowski Zwiazek Walki, Jewish Fighting Union). The members of these groups had no illusions about the German plans and wanted to die fighting. Their armament of the ZOB consisted largely of handguns, homemade explosives and Molotov cocktails; the ZZW was better armed as a result of better contacts to the Polish underground outside the Ghetto.
