Jewish ghettos (Holocaust)

Jewish council leaders did feel obligated to care for the population of their ghetto, despite heavy criticism that they helped German authorities in deporting Jews. ”

It was believed that work would maintain the unity of the ghetto, but with deportations occurring on a regular basis, even the “greatest optimists have lost hope. ” Instead of running “out into the street, have set fire to everything in sight, have torn down the walls and escape to the other side” , the Jews followed German orders, which ultimately lead them to their deaths. ” Those who spoke up on others behalves were also deported, along with their families. ” In retrospect, the Jews are “ashamed of having put up no resistance at all. ” During times of resettlement, the Jewish Police often exceeded the daily quotas they needed to fulfil. They’ll fling themselves at them with knives, staves, coal gas. ”

These attempts at standing up to the German authorities did little to help the Jews in their fight for survival. Most of the times, they did not know what was going to happen next. In hindsight, strong resistance should have come during the first signs of repression. He selected the “element of our ghetto which was a festering boil” with the list of deportees including “members of the underworld and other individuals harmful to the ghetto. The Jewish population’s realisation of this coincides with a rise in armed resistance within the ghettos. With next to no resistance and sub standard conditions in the ghettos, this made the German’s task in deporting and subsequently liquidating the Jews much easier. “There were rumours of greetings, letters, and people who allegedly returned from deportation. It has so documented that the Lodz ghetto was one of the longest surviving ghettos.