Resistance To The Holocaust

Unarmed forces seems like an unlikely form of resistance, but in the context of the Holocaust, it represents small, individual acts of courage and bravery that resulted in a life or lives being saved. One of these acts included leaving the ghetto and living on the Aryan side, as a mean to stay alive, this was known as ‘passing’. This was supported as resistance because of it’s nature to outwit, defy and ultimately resist the aims of the Germans. The danger of being caught did not stop after the passing of the ‘border’ of the ghetto, but rather changed from the physical tortures in the ghetto to a minefield of mental and psychological warfare, where you are constantly being filled with terror and anxiety that you’ll be recognised or ousted.
For some like David and Alicia, whose passer experience was spurred on by witnessing their parents being killed, the torture never ended - David eventually ended up returning to the ghetto as a result of the constant worry of being caught. Others like Bronka Klibanski, also performed passing as an act of defiance and smuggled large volumes of arms into the ghetto as part of a tactic developed by the underground resistance. A second concept was also developed by later historians like Yehuda Bauer, the concept was called “sanctification of life” and touches on the existence of meaningful acts that aided jewish survival and includes actions done to extend physical survival. A sensitive example of this was the role of the judenräte, a body or council of individuals that represented the Jews of the ghetto. The judenräte were responsible for the distribution of essential resources and services in the ghetto, like food, coal, medical help, sanitation, and education. Despite their distributive role they were often seen as collaborators with the Nazi’s, seeming complicit in the annihilation of their people. Historian Aharon Weiss developed a view that aims to paint the judenräte in a more positive light. He argues that without the help of this body, acts of escaping or ‘passing’ would not be possible, as well as the establishment of factories and workshops that provided employment for the Jews in the ghetto. Weiss concluded that to comprehend this side of the judenräte, you have to understand that their intentions were to protect the Jewish people as best they could, even if that meant following German orders under duress. These events contribute to the armed resistance forces and the acceptance of the existence of Jewish Resistance.