Essay on The Jewish Partisans of The Holocaust

The Holocaust systematically murdered 11 million people across Europe, more than half of those people were Jewish. The Jews were blamed for the German’s failures, such as World War I. As a result, Hitler established anti-Semitism throughout his army and the majority of Europe. The Holocaust consisted of three phases

Preparing for the resistance brought up both feelings of terror, and excitement over the fact that the Nazis would not be able to get away with at least one of their plans so easily. Zivia Lubetkin, who was a resistance fighter in the ghetto, describes the feeling of the resistance organization on the 18th of April after getting the news of the final roundup that was to take place the next day. She says “[e]ven though we were prepared, and had even prayed for this hour, we turned pale. A tremor of joy mixed with a shudder of fear passed through all of us. But we suppressed our emotions and reached for our guns” (Gilbert 557). Resistance was a new idea to the Jews. Since the Nazis had taken over, the Jews had found themselves in a rather helpless situation. There was almost no way to escape the ghettos, and those who did manage to make it out knew they were costing the Jews they had left behind. This was the first real attempt at an actual organized armed resistance. Lubetkin tells how the Germans were determined, especially after being forced to retreat in January, but so were the Jews. Determination was certainly something

Their main goals were to organize uprisings, break out of the ghettos, and join partisan units in the fight against the Germans.The Jews knew that uprisings would not stop the Germans and that only a handful of fighters would succeed in escaping to join the partisans. Still, some Jews made the decision to resist. Weapons were smuggled into ghettos. Inhabitants in the ghettos of Vilna, Mir, Lachva , Kremenets, Częstochowa, Nesvizh, Sosnowiec, and Tarnow, among others, resisted with force when the Germans began to deport ghetto populations. In Bialystok, the underground staged an uprising just before the final destruction of the ghetto in September 1943. Most of the ghetto fighters, primarily young men and women, died during the fighting.The Warsaw ghetto uprising in the spring of 1943 was the largest single revolt by Jews. Hundreds of Jews fought the Germans and their auxiliaries in the streets of the ghetto. Thousands of Jews refused to obey German orders to report to an assembly point for deportation. In the end the Nazis burned the ghetto to the ground to force the Jews out. Although they knew defeat was certain, Jews in the ghetto fought desperately and

While the White Rose, Le Chambon and Zegota groups were all resisters, their goals were different and their reasons for resisting were very different. The main goal of the White Rose group was to crate a public uprising against the German government, to take a stand against the crimes they have been committing, and to show the world that the German people do not support the acts they have done. The Zegota groups’ purpose was to directly help those affected by the Nazi reign, by using moral obligation and political finances to help house and assist hiding Jews. The Le Chambon resistance incorporated a morally charged village who’s own persecution lead them to protecting the refugee Jews and citizens. While each group had different methods, and reasons for resisting, each of these groups fought against a government that they knew was wrong and took a stand against

Warsaw Resistance Attempt During the Holocaust Throughout the Holocaust, Jews organized resistance movements in ghettos, concentration, and extermination camps. Although they had virtually no weapons and faced one of the largest arsenals in the world, the Jewish people fought for their honor and freedom. Without any hope victory and in the

Despite all of these internal and external factors contributing to a lack of Jewish resistance to the Holocaust, there was resistance in existence in many forms; the resistance that did occur must not be diminished or overlooked. When considering the definition of “resistance”, historians divide themselves on what this entails; some believe it to be only active, armed resistance attempts, while others define it more liberally. According to Yehuda Bauer, resistance entails “any group action consciously taken in opposition to known or surmised laws, actions, or intentions directed against the Jews by the Germans and their supporters.” Considering resistance with a broad definition such as this ensures that the efforts made at resistance

To conclude, Jewish partisans, the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, and non-Jewish people led Jews to exemption. Day after day we are reminded of these terrible times. From political to comedic views, there is no way of forgetting what happened in Germany. It is an amazing feeling to know that there were some individuals who stood against the Nazis, proudly. Without those magnificent people, the war may have never ended, who knows? From young to old, big to small, this event had an impact on everyone’s hearts, and it continues to today. Maybe it is a lesson well learned, that making an impact and trying to help does not always turn out so

Summary: This article was an introduction to the Holocaust. The German Nazi’s thought that the Jews were a community. Not only the Jews were targeted, anyone with a racial inferiority was targeted. For example, although the Jews were the main threat the gypsies, Jehovah’s witnesses, and homosexuals and the disabled were also targeted. The Holocaust was a way to decrease the Jewish population; the final solution was to murder the Jews of Europe or anyone that was a threat to their German culture. Many died of incarceration and maltreatment. During the war they created ghettos, forced-labor camps between 1941 and 1944 the Nazi German Authorities would deport the Jews to extermination camps where they were murdered in gassing facilities. May 7, 1945 the German armed forces surrendered to the allies.

Firstly, the Jews in Europe organized a Jewish military league to resist the Nazi brutality. In Vilna, the first organized Jewish armed resistance arose from the youth movements. After the invasion of the Soviet Union is 1941, two-thirds of the Jewish population of Vilna were deported by the Nazis (“Jewish Combat Organization.”). Those who survived warned the other Jews of the ordeal awaiting them, which paved the way for the “First Manifesto”. This document called out for Jewish resistance and was written by Abba Kovner, a future leader of the ghetto fighters in Vilna. The manifesto was directed at the Jews of Vilna and the youth movements, and explained the fate of the ghetto deportees (that they were all killed), Hitler’s plot to “destroy all the Jews of Europe”, and called for Jewish resistance. This manifesto was significant, as it was the first call for the Jews to arm themselves and resist the Nazis. Not soon after,

Something that not many know about the Holocaust is there were many acts of resistance performed by the Jews being affected. For example, “On October 7, the...prisoners forced to handle the bodies of gas chamber victims...succeeded in blowing up one of the four crematoria at Aushwitz” (“Holocaust”). Another example is “On August 2,700 Jews torched parts of the Treblinka death camp” (“Holocaust”).

There was a love hate relationship with their fellow Jews. “Above them loomed German orders; below them spread the ever more desperate needs of the Jewish communities” (Genocide 116). Some of the Jews resented the Jewish Council, saying they should have warned them or done more. They didn’t like the Council collaborating with the Germans. “…the Jewish Councils tried to help their people, to maintain order, save lives, and to feed, clothe, and doctor the Jews in the ghettos” (Genocide 116). There was hostility from their own people and in some ways it pushed them to behave the opposite of their goal. They tried to mediate and plead on the Jews behalf. Some Council members helped with the resistance and some believed it would doom the entire ghetto. An example of the Jewish Council in the ghetto is, “New proclamations from the Judenrat have been hung up which have caused panic among the Jews. The families of those working are no longer protected” (Images 161). The Jewish Council formed its own Jewish Order Police. The Jewish police were also made to enforce order and deport Jews following the commands of the Germans. Like the Council, the Order Police were also disliked among the ghetto tenants. The purpose of the police was to prevent crime, supervise sanitation, and direct traffic. “The Jewish police delivered to the Germans exactly the number of people needed, rounding them up

The Holocaust Nearly six million Jews were killed and murdered in what was called the holocaust. In the years between 1933 and 1945, the Jews of Europe were marked for death. Inanition anti-Semitism was given legal sanction. It was directed by Adolf Hitler and managed by Heinne Himmler, Reinhard Heydrich, and Adolf Eichmann. There were many other great crimes and murders, such as the killing of the Armenians by the Turks , but the holocaust stood out as the "only systematic and organized effort by a modern government to destroy a whole race of people." The Germans under Adolf Hitler believed that the Jews were the German troubles and were a threat to the German and Christian values.

There were many different resistance efforts throughout the Holocaust. On 12 September 1942, the town was assaulted by about 150 partisan soldiers who killed thirty SS officers, soldiers, and police. They broke through the wall, evacuated the 30 Jews remaining and burned the ghetto to the ground before retreating into the surrounding woodland.

The Bielski brothers, the leaders of one of the largest Partisan units, were able to save over twelve hundred Jewish lives. They did this by providing a semi-permanent home in the forest for all Jews (Partisans 2 Bielski Brothers, pages 6,8). Having a place to live with a sense of normality helped Jews that had escaped from Ghettos and camps to feel safe and at home inside of the forest. Women were allowed in some partisans, but not all. It was more dangerous for a woman than a man in a partisan unit. The women not only had the same fears that the men did over capture, but they also had to worry about being raped. The jobs of women were limited in the partisans. In most cases, they were not even allowed to have guns to protect themselves. Women were nurses, doctors, cooks, wives, and caregivers. Having women around often raised the morale of the men fighting in the partisans (Women in partisans pages 2-5). Women gave the men an incentive to go home to, and some even started families together. In contrast to the armed partisan units, who only accepted physically fit fighters, family units provided a home for everyone. They were made up of men who were rejected from the armed resistance, women, and children, and were often protected by a group with weapons (Partisans 3 pages 1-2). While individual partisans could not accept everyone, for fear of getting too large and chancing

The Italian resistance movement included Italian and Jewish partisans. There were about 2,000 Jewish partisans that fought in Italian partisan groups. Many of the Jews held very high ranking positions in the resistance (Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation, 2006-2015). The Jewish Italian resistance groups were, for the most part, not founded on Jewish identity, but instead were integrated groups that readily accepted Jews to fight alongside them against the common fascist enemy. Italian Jewish partisans were not deeply religious. After the September 8 treaty, Germany annulled the contract it had created with Italy’s Fascist Government not to deport Italian Jews (who were living in Germany). The Jewish resistance group was highly appealing