The Ghettos
The use of ghettos by the Nazis is yet another example of their radical anti-Semitism. During the Second World War, hundreds of ghettos were organized throughout Nazi-occupied Europe in order to isolate Jews into tightly packed areas within cities. The first major ghetto was formed in Lodz, Poland in April 1940. The largest ghetto was established in Warsaw in October 1940. Formation of most of the ghettos was completed by the end of 1941, with only a few to be completed in 1942 (Hilberg, 79).
The formation of ghettos typically involved the Nazis choosing a location, issuing orders that all Jews suddenly move there, and then sealing the ghetto off. Ghettos were slum areas with brutal living conditions. People were densely packed into small areas that could barely hold them. Although some Jews were allowed to leave the ghettos if they had a permit, most ghettos were eventually sealed off completely. The Secret Police were ordered to kill any Jew that attempted to leave (Dawidowicz, 56). Lack of food, overcrowding and poor sanitation resulted in disease and starvation. The ghetto Jews had to struggle to survive every single day. People would collapse from exhaustion in the streets and be dead in the morning. Corpses waited to be carried off by cemetery carts.
The formation of ghettos typically involved the Nazis choosing a location, issuing orders that all Jews suddenly move there, and then sealing the ghetto off. Ghettos were slum areas with brutal living conditions. People were densely packed into small areas that could barely hold them. Although some Jews were allowed to leave the ghettos if they had a permit, most ghettos were eventually sealed off completely. The Secret Police were ordered to kill any Jew that attempted to leave (Dawidowicz, 56). Lack of food, overcrowding and poor sanitation resulted in disease and starvation. The ghetto Jews had to struggle to survive every single day. People would collapse from exhaustion in the streets and be dead in the morning. Corpses waited to be carried off by cemetery carts.
Edi Weinstein, a Jewish survivor, and his family were forced to move into the Losice ghetto. His family experienced the overcrowding as they shared a single room with another refugee family. He described life in the ghetto as “unbearable.” The restrictions were brutally enforced with harsh punishments. For example, Jews were only allowed to cross the sidewalk at two places in the ghetto. Anyone who forgot this risked immediate death. If someone did die, only one family member was allowed to attend the burial at the Jewish cemetery (Weinstein, 1).
Life in the ghetto was no life at all. Between 1941 and 1942, the monthly death rate more than doubled in the Lodz and Warsaw ghettos (Hilberg, 95-96). Although the ghettos resulted in the deaths of thousands of Jews, the process took too long. The Nazis would eventually have to decide on a more final solution.
Top Image: Wall of Warsaw Ghetto. Source: HolocaustResearchProject.org
Bottom Image: Bridge of the Lodz Ghetto. Source: Yad Vashem
Life in the ghetto was no life at all. Between 1941 and 1942, the monthly death rate more than doubled in the Lodz and Warsaw ghettos (Hilberg, 95-96). Although the ghettos resulted in the deaths of thousands of Jews, the process took too long. The Nazis would eventually have to decide on a more final solution.
Top Image: Wall of Warsaw Ghetto. Source: HolocaustResearchProject.org
Bottom Image: Bridge of the Lodz Ghetto. Source: Yad Vashem