The 27th of Nisan. That’s today. Of course, back in 1943, this day fell on 19 April. It is but 5 days since celebrated the holiday of Pesach, the holiday of Freedom (Passover).
Yet, starting today- and continuing for another 27 days- a ragtag group of starving, virtually unarmed group of Jews held off the mightiest power in Europe. The Nazis.
The Nazis had just deported 300,000 ghetto residents to their death at Treblinka. Only 60,000 Jews remained in the Warsaw ghetto. And they knew they were to be murdered at Treblinka very soon.
So, a 23 y old, Mordechai Anielewiscz, exhorted those Jews remaining in the ghetto to refuse deportation and resist the Nazis.
So, when Himmler ordered his new SS chief to eradicate the ghetto on 27 Nisan, 750 folks with 17 rifles, a few (59?) pistols, and Molotov cocktails held off the 2000 SS troops armed with flamethrowers and tanks. Even with reinforcements, the Jews held off the Nazis for 27 days. So much for the planned 3-day liquidation of the Warsaw Ghetto. Warsaw, the capital of Poland, housed the largest Jewish population in Europe.
This was the largest single revolt by the Jews during the war. It required the fighters to hide in the sewers systems- which the resisters clearly undertook. Had their been outside help- from the quote-unquote Polish resistance (who were generally as anti-Semitic as the Nazis) or from other sources, a different outcome may have come about. But, I personally doubt it.
In the end, the Nazis destroyed the Jewish section of the city- with the Jews still in the ghetto- and eradicated the Jews of Poland from the face of the earth. With the help of the Polish citizenry.
I had not heard of this event before Roy, so thank you for sharing. Though so grim and unfortunate and totally unnecessary like every other thing that happened during this time, we need to remember and share these so we can be better humans at least now
I am going to look for more information and books about this
I remember learning this story in 2nd grade. It was in the one of the very first all Hebrew books I ever read.
Sounds like they tried their best, another sad part of our history.
Martha recently posted..A to Z Ice Cream
Amazing to me how they held off the Nazi army for 27 days, Martha
Brave souls. What a violent ending to their lives.
I think they knew they were going to die either way. This way left them with more integrity.
Yes. Integrity, dignity, and a searing memory to light a flame of resistance in future generations. If you know you’re going down, take a few of the enemy with you if you can.
It must have been an impossible choice – but 27 days is an amazing feat. I’ve often thought of the cruelty of hope under such circumstances – that you could be led quietly to death while hoping compliance would be the thing that would give you that unlikely reprieve. Better to go down swinging, biting, clawing, I think. If you can. But either way, never forget who the criminal is. HOW the victim responds is their RIGHT, absolutely.
I learned last week about the Vel d’Hiv. You know, had I watched the movie, “Sarah’s Key,” before Hurricane Katrina, I would not have had the same perspective. It would have been horrific, either way, but present-day accounts of the Superdome in New Orleans during Katrina – and knowing that this was ten thousand times worse without hope of being saved – puts things into a more immediate frame of reference. We’re losing that, and it shows in the world. And that terrifies me.
Holly Jahangiri recently posted..Freedom – #AtoZChallenge
Thanks for adding to the conversation, Holly, with your thoughtful, insightful comments. You helped put the event in perspective.
This last stand in the face of impossible ods is so inspirational that it gains powers throughout the years, and it should inspire us to be the best that we can be But then I think of the Holocaust deniers and those scum (no other word for the) who wore Camp You-know-where T-shirts to a day full of hate and violence right in our capitol. How close did our country come to going down a path that we can’t imagine? Never Forget!!
Alana recently posted..Kershaw (Park) #AtoZChallenge
Well said, Alana!