Holocaust Ghettos
Life in the Ghetto
In 1939, Hitler was unsure of what he was going to do with the Jews; the Nazis were tossing around options and ideas with the goal of removing Jews from the population. The German invasion into Poland, allowed for the first ghetto, regarded as a provisional measure to control and segregate Jews. Ghettos were enclosed, isolated urban areas designated for Jews. Living under strict regulations, with unthinkable living conditions, and crammed into small areas, the ghettos destroyed all hope of retaliating. In this paper, I will discuss what life would be like to be a Jew inside one of the 1,000 of ghettos within Poland and the Soviet Union. I will imagine myself a member of the Jewish council, describing the conditions of ghetto life and reflect on my role and relationships inside the ghetto.
Ghettos were set up all over Poland and the Soviet Union, with some of the major ghettos including Warsaw, Lodz, Lvov, Lublin, Krakow, and Bialystok. The German authorities were supposed to oversee the daily activities of the Jews inside the ghettos. Instead, the Nazis appointed Jewish Councils or “Judenrat” in each ghetto to implement Nazi policies. The Jewish Council served at the whim of the German authorities but also tried to be the voice for the Jews. “In each ghetto the Jewish Council also distributed scarce resources, organized social life, set up charities, and tried to find ways to maintain some kind of human community” (Genocide 115). As the book explains, “They [Nazis] appointed recognized Jewish leaders-prominent people, businessmen, teachers, lawyers-to these boards and assigned them the task of carrying out German orders within the ghetto” (Genocide 115).
Living conditions inside the Ghettos were absolutely horrendous with overcrowding, starvation, disease, little running water or electricity, lack of medical aid, and hard labor. Alternative ways to feed their families by smuggling in food or sending their children out
In 1939, Hitler was unsure of what he was going to do with the Jews; the Nazis were tossing around options and ideas with the goal of removing Jews from the population. The German invasion into Poland, allowed for the first ghetto, regarded as a provisional measure to control and segregate Jews. Ghettos were enclosed, isolated urban areas designated for Jews. Living under strict regulations, with unthinkable living conditions, and crammed into small areas, the ghettos destroyed all hope of retaliating. In this paper, I will discuss what life would be like to be a Jew inside one of the 1,000 of ghettos within Poland and the Soviet Union. I will imagine myself a member of the Jewish council, describing the conditions of ghetto life and reflect on my role and relationships inside the ghetto.
Ghettos were set up all over Poland and the Soviet Union, with some of the major ghettos including Warsaw, Lodz, Lvov, Lublin, Krakow, and Bialystok. The German authorities were supposed to oversee the daily activities of the Jews inside the ghettos. Instead, the Nazis appointed Jewish Councils or “Judenrat” in each ghetto to implement Nazi policies. The Jewish Council served at the whim of the German authorities but also tried to be the voice for the Jews. “In each ghetto the Jewish Council also distributed scarce resources, organized social life, set up charities, and tried to find ways to maintain some kind of human community” (Genocide 115). As the book explains, “They [Nazis] appointed recognized Jewish leaders-prominent people, businessmen, teachers, lawyers-to these boards and assigned them the task of carrying out German orders within the ghetto” (Genocide 115).
Living conditions inside the Ghettos were absolutely horrendous with overcrowding, starvation, disease, little running water or electricity, lack of medical aid, and hard labor. Alternative ways to feed their families by smuggling in food or sending their children out