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Warsaw, the capital of Poland and its largest city. Warsaw has gone under this name since the 13th century, and became the capital in 1596. The city sits on the banks of the Vistula River, which divides the city so that two thirds of the city are on the west bank, and the rest on the east. In 1935, Warsaw's size was approx. 55 square miles, with some 1.3 million inhabitants. After World War I, Warsaw was a major center, not only for European Jewish community for world Jewry as well. The city boasted major Jewish political parties, aid groups, trade unions, and cultural and religious institutions. In contrast to the harsh financial condition, and in fact widespread poverty of most Jews of the city, the Warsaw Jewish community featured a vibrant cultural life, in the fields of art and literature, in the publishing world, and in theaters and clubs. In the months leading up the war, tensions arose between Jews and the Polish population, with a degree of discomfort and uncertainty.

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The Jews in WarsawJewish demographics of Warsaw

The earliest documents of a Jewish presence in Warsaw date to the 15th century. In the 1792 census, the Jews of Warsaw numbered 6,750, roughly one tenth of the population. During the 19th century the Jewish population increased significantly, and became the largest center of Jews in Europe and second largest in the world, after New York. On the eve of World War I, some 337,000 Jews lived in Warsaw (38.1% of the population), and on the eve of World War II, some 375,000 (29.1%). Jews lived in all parts of the city, though many lived in the north end of the city, such that certain areas, and even certain streets, housed only Jews.

Jews Economic Life in WarsawAccording to statistics from 1931, some 47% of the Jews worked in manufacture and industry, and some 33% worked in trade and finance. Jews also significantly held positions on the liberal professions; Jews made up some 8% of the city's liberal professions. Outside of education, Jews were almost absent in the government and municipal sectors, as these were generally barred for Jews.

Synagogues• The "Ashkenazi" Synagogue• Tłomackie Synagogue• Adas Yeshurun Synagogue• Nożyk Synagogue• Some 600 Shtiblech, centers of prayers and

Hasiddic synagogues

Cultural Life in WarsawMany Jewish writers and poets operated in Warsaw, writing in Yiddish, Polish, and in Hebrew. Among the more prominent were Itzhak Katzenelson (1886-1944), one of the greatest Hebrew poets. Katzenelson lived his whole life in Poland. Julian Tuwim (1894-1953), who was born in Lodz but lived and wrote in Warsaw, was a known author, poet, translator and linguist. Also, Sholem Asch (1880-1957), the greatest of the Yiddish authors operating between the two World Wars, author and composer, lived and wrote in Warsaw. Numerous Jewish painters, sculptors, architects, journalists, operated in Warsaw, as well film and theater actors and directors.

Politics and Political Parties in WarsawMany Jewish political parties operated in Warsaw, including the "Bund", "Agudat Israel", Revisionist Zionist, "Hamizrachi", "Torah Va'avoda", "Poalei Zion – Hitachdut", "General Zionists" and more. Between the wars, Polish Jewry was very active politically, nationally, and socially. Jewish parties had youth movements, in which scores were members. These youth movements would later be noticeably active in resistance during the War.

War and the HolocaustOccupation of Warsaw and the First Period under Nazi RuleOn September 1st, 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland. The Polish civilians, Jews and non-Jews alike, found themselves unprepared for this invasion. During the first week of Nazi conquest the Polish army capitulated to the German advance, and the Nazis stood at the entrance to Warsaw. The city had been bombarded from first days of the war.

Establishment of the Generalgouvernement and Anti-Jewish DecreesOn October 26, the "General Government for the Occupied Polish Territories" (Generalgouvernement) was established. Warsaw was included, and was one of its four major districts. In November, the first anti-Jewish decrees were issued, including obligatory wearing on a white band with a blue Star of David, marking of Jewish stores and businesses, confiscation of radios, banning of travel on trains, and more.

Establishment of the GhettoIn mid-November 1940, an area in the middle of the northern Jewish neighborhood was sealed off, including inside it the predominantly Jewish streets."[T]he ghetto was sealed off. They concentrated all in the people in a few streets, in one particular quarter. Those who lived in the streets that weren't to be part of this ghetto, had to move to the streets that the Germans had designated for the Jews. Our street was divided in the middle by the wall, with the non-even side for the Christians. We lived in Number 30, and stayed. It was forbidden to leave through this street. They made an entrance in the parallel street, and that's where we would leave."Testimony of Rachel Rubin, Yad Vashem Archives, O.3/10316

With the establishment of the ghetto, refugees began entering in large numbers. Some 30% of the city's population was crammed into an area of only 2.4% of the city. Of some 1,800 streets in Warsaw, only 73 were included in the city. According to German records, there were some six to seven people to a room. Homes inside the ghetto were dilapidated and lacking in sanitary conditions. There were no trees or grassy areas. The ghetto was surrounded by 10-foot high walls, with barbed wire on top.

Hunger and Daily HardshipMany Jews received some 181 calories a day, a quarter of the allotment for Poles, and some 8% of the allotment for Germans according to official food stamps. In November 1940, the month of the ghetto closing, there were 445 deaths. This number rose steadily: in January 1941 there were 898 deaths; in April – 2,061; in June - 4,290; in August 1941 – 5,560. The August rate was the ghetto's highest, with the death rate holding at between 4,000 and 5,000 until the destruction of the ghetto. In May 1942, shortly before the mass deportation, the death rate fell to 3,636.

Work in the GhettoA small part of the ghetto population managed to survive through their work – mainly smugglers of food and valuables from outside the ghetto, or workshop owners (such as Bernard Hallman, Fritz Schultz, and Walter Toebbens) who had business dealings with the Germans in order to survive. Overwhelmingly, however, ghetto inhabitants could not meet subsistence levels through their work. The wages for workers, who over time numbered in the tens of thousands, allowed for less than 10% of them to live this way. The vast majority had to complement their earnings from savings and selling of their prewar possessions. In this way most of the Jews underwent a rapid process of impoverishment, pushing more and more of the population towards death by starvation.

The Mass Deportation from the GhettoThe great deportation from Warsaw began on Wednesday, July 22, 1942, the eve of the Jewish high holiday Tisha B'av. The first deportees were the most unfortunate and defenseless inhabitants-refugees, the elderly, and the homeless, then those out of work. The deportation continued until September 21, with 300,000 Jews deported overall – of which 265,000 were sent to the Treblinka extermination camp, where they were murdered.

The establishment of the UndergroundThe deportation was the impetus for the realization and, more importantly, the internalization, that the murders and deportations that were occurring elsewhere in occupied Europe could happen in Warsaw, as well. This understanding, in turn, was the impetus for the creation of the ZOB (Jewish Fighting Organization), on July 28, 1942 – seven days after the beginning of the deportation. Among the founding members were Yitzhak Zuckerman, Josef Kaplan, Shmuel Breslaw, Zivia Lubetkin, Mordecai Tenenbaum (Tamaroff), and Israel Kanal. The organization set up headquarters, and began disseminating information about the murder, obtaining weapons, establishing connections with the Polish underground, and preparing for armed conflict. By October 1942, the ZOB included members of various youth movements such as HaShomer HaTzair, Dror Freiheit, Gordonia,

Akiba, the Bund, etc .A parallel fighting organization, the ZZW (Jewish Military Union), comprised of youth members from the opposite side of the political spectrum – Betar and the Revisionists –also organized somewhat later.

Preparations for Destruction of the GhettoAlongside the preparation of the fighting organizations, the ghetto was thrown into feverish action ahead of the deportation, which most understood to be the final deportation. Most of the population was busy preparing bunkers and hiding places, usually in hidden corners inside houses or underground. They were spurred on, to a degree, by the perceived success of an early ambush of German forces by ZOB fighters in January 1943, which resulted in several casualties on the German side. Following the attack a comparatively small number of Jews were deported, and amongst the Jews of the ghettos this was perceived a result of the January attack. The impression emerged among some of the ghetto inhabitants, that if they take hiding, a successful uprising might be a means of survival. Today we know that the January deportation was intended to be of limited proportions and that the Germans had not planned to deport all the Jews of the ghetto on this date.

The Warsaw Ghetto UprisingOn April 19, 1943, on the eve of the Jewish Passover holiday, the final deportation began, and the underground organizations began armed resistance. Members of the ZOB, under the command of Mordechai Anielewicz, and the ZZW, under command of Paweł Frenkel, took part in the fighting. The Germans were taken by surprise, with fighters emerging from bunkers and hiding places.After five days of fighting, the Germans began systematically torching the homes of the ghettos, which became fire traps for their inhabitants. The brave fighting continued for a month; only a small part of the Jewish fighters survived. It was the first non-military uprising in an urban area in Nazi-controlled Europe. The uprising became an inspiration for Jews in other camps and ghettos, and further uprising would erupt, although much smaller in scale due to the extreme difficulties in doing so.

The Warsaw Ghetto UprisingEven with the formal destruction of the ghetto, several hundred Jews lived in underground bunkers. They would usually emerge at night, searching for food and water, and managed to contact each other. Some of these last fighters managed to form connections with Polish resistance forces and escape out of the ghetto. A very few managed to hold on in the bunkers until the Polish uprising of August 1944, and some of these survived to the liberation of the city by the Red Army.In 1948, a monument was erected by Nathan Rappaport in the heart of the former Jewish neighborhood, a replica of the monument at the Warsaw Ghetto Square at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem.

Sources:Havi Ben Sasson and Hava Baruch (ed.), Warsaw: Polish Jewry Between the Two World Wars (Student's Booklet) [heb.], Yad Vashem, Jerusalem.Israel Gutman, Warsaw entry, The Encyclopedia of the Holocaust [Heb.], Yad Vashem and Sifriyat Hapoalim, 1990.Yad Vashem Photo Archives