From Despair to Defiance: The Seeds of Resistance
In the early years of the German occupation, many Jews believed that their persecution would be limited to confinement within the ghettos. However, by 1942, the Nazis' true genocidal intentions became clear as mass deportations to extermination camps such as Treblinka, Sobibor, and Auschwitz began under ‘Aktion Reinhardt’. Faced with the horrifying reality of extermination, a shift occurred within Jewish communities. It was no longer merely about surviving—it became a fight for dignity and agency.
Civil resistance was one of the earliest forms of defiance. In the Warsaw ghetto, organizations such as ‘Oneg Shabbat’, led by historian Emanuel Ringelblum, documented daily life under German-Nazi rule. This underground effort preserved a record of Jewish suffering and resistance, ensuring that their story would not vanish into the fog of history. Schools, theatres, and libraries operated in secret, and social welfare organizations attempted to provide food, healthcare, and some semblance of normalcy, particularly to children.
However, as deportations escalated, it became clear that passive resistance would not be enough. Armed resistance began to form in the ghettos, spurred by youth movements like ‘HaShomer HaTzair and Dror’. In July 1942, the ‘Żydowska Organizacja Bojowa’ (ŻOB, Jewish Fighting Organization) was established in the Warsaw Ghetto, led by Mordechai Anielewicz, along with figures like Icchak Cukierman and Cywia Lubetkin. Their aim was not just to resist deportation but to demonstrate that Jews could and would fight back against their oppressors.
Civil Resistance: A Silent Defiance
Civil resistance in the ghettos began almost immediately after their establishment. One of the most important early acts of defiance was the creation of secret schools, hospitals, and cultural activities. Jewish intellectuals and educators set up underground classes for children, ensuring that the younger generation could continue learning in the face of cultural obliteration. Teachers like Rosa Simchowicz, who continued to educate children in the Warsaw ghetto despite extreme deprivation, embodied this spirit of resilience. She succumbed to typhus, a disease rampant in the ghetto, but her commitment to preserving Jewish identity through education left a lasting impact.
These underground efforts were not just about education; they were about preserving Jewish culture in defiance of German efforts to erase it. Social welfare organizations, such as the ‘Żydowska Samopomoc Społeczna’ (Jewish Social Self-Help), worked tirelessly to support the most vulnerable members of the ghetto, including orphans and the elderly. By ensuring that cultural and intellectual life persisted, Jews in the ghettos asserted their humanity against the dehumanizing conditions imposed by the occupiers.
Armed Resistance: From Skirmishes to Uprisings
By mid-1942, as the grim reality of mass extermination became undeniable, armed resistance started to take shape. In the Warsaw ghetto, youth groups like ‘HaShomer HaTzair’, ‘Dror’, and the ‘Bund’ joined forces to create the Jewish Fighting Organization (ŻOB) in July 1942. This group, along with the more right-leaning Jewish Military Union (ŻZW), spearheaded the preparation for armed conflict, gathering weapons, building bunkers, and planning for a coordinated defence.
When the Germans launched a final deportation in January 1943, ŻOB fighters, led by figures like Mordechai Anielewicz and Icchak Cukierman, launched a spontaneous but determined resistance, catching the Germans off-guard. This initial success marked a turning point, both psychologically and militarily, inspiring further preparations for what would become the full-scale Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in April. Despite being vastly outnumbered and outgunned, the Jewish fighters held out for nearly a month, engaging in guerrilla tactics and urban warfare. Their efforts did not stop the ultimate destruction of the ghetto, but the uprising became a powerful symbol of Jewish defiance.
The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising: A Symbol of Defiance
The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, which began on 19 April 1943, stands as the most emblematic act of Jewish resistance during the Holocaust. For nearly a month, 750 poorly armed Jewish fighters held out against the heavily armed German forces. The significance of the uprising was not in its military success—there was none—but in the symbolic act of defiance. The fighters knew they could not win, but they refused to go down without a fight. They transformed the Warsaw ghetto into a battleground, where, for the first time since the German invasion of Poland, Nazi forces were pushed back and suffered losses.
As historian Martyna Grądzka-Rejak points out, the scale and intensity of Jewish resistance surprised even the Germans, who had expected the Jews to submit to their fate passively. The ŻOB and ŻZW fighters, though vastly outnumbered and outgunned, demonstrated extraordinary bravery. In the face of certain death, they proved that even the seemingly powerless could fight back. The significance of the uprising extended beyond its immediate military implications. It sent a message to the Germans, to the world, and to future generations that Jews were not passive victims—they were capable of resistance, even when the odds were overwhelmingly against them.
The Role of Women in Resistance
Women played a critical role in both the civil and armed resistance in the ghettos. Figures like Cywia Lubetkin were central to the organization and coordination of underground activities. Lubetkin, along with other prominent fighters like Mira Fuchrer and Tosia Altman, was central to both planning and executing acts of defiance. These women participated in the tactical preparations for the uprising, including military training, organizing underground networks, and securing crucial resources like weapons and false documents. For many women, these activities weren't limited to the confines of the ghetto; they also acted as couriers, moving across the Aryan side, a highly dangerous task that involved frequent close encounters with German-Nazi authorities.
Women were not only strategic planners but active combatants. During the uprising, women fought side by side with men, throwing Molotov cocktails, using firearms, and even leading groups through the labyrinthine sewers in a bid to escape the ghetto and continue the resistance. Figures like Niuta Tajtelbaum and Dorka Goldkorn became symbols of this defiance, with many losing their lives in battle, including Rachela Zylberberg, who perished in the bunker alongside Mordechai Anielewicz.
Women's participation in the resistance was not only physical but also deeply emotional. Many were motivated by personal loss, having seen their families deported or killed during the mass deportations to Treblinka in 1942. This profound grief turned into a fierce drive to resist, often turning personal pain into a collective struggle for dignity and revenge.
Resistance Beyond Warsaw
While the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising is the most well-known, by no means it was not the only example of Jewish resistance during the Holocaust. Similar uprisings took place in ghettos in Białystok, Częstochowa, and Kraków, as well as in extermination camps like Treblinka and Sobibor. These revolts were often short-lived, and the participants knew that military success was impossible. Yet, their acts of resistance were about more than survival; they were about asserting their dignity in the face of annihilation.
A Legacy of Defiance
The Jewish resistance in the ghettos was multifaceted, encompassing civil, cultural, and armed efforts – from secret schools and underground presses to armed uprisings. It challenged the narrative of passive victimhood and reminds us that even in the darkest times, the human spirit is capable of extraordinary resilience. The fighters of the Warsaw ghetto, and countless others across German-occupied Europe, left behind a powerful message: in the face of annihilation, they chose to fight back—not because they believed they could win, but because resistance was a way to reclaim their humanity.
As Marek Edelman, one of the few survivors of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, poignantly said: ‘There are such beautiful words: dignity, humanity. That is what we fought for.’
Discover the detailed history of the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising by exploring this comprehensive resource on the Hi-story Lessons platform: Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.
In 2018, the Warsaw ghetto Uprising was one of the leading themes of ‘Sound in the Silence’ project. Take a look at recap of this history through art lesson here.
Each year on 19 April, the world marks anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising – the first large-scale metropolitan uprising in German-occupied Europe, which the ENRS becomes a part of. Read more about the campaign here.
References:
Skala i zaciekłość żydowskiego oporu zaskoczyła także Niemców…
– wybuch powstania w getcie warszawskim (Muzeum Historii Polski)
80 lat temu powstała Żydowska Organizacja Bojowa (Dzieje.pl)
Powstanie w getcie warszawskim. Informacje historyczne (Polin)
Dr M. Grądzka-Rejak: w żydowskim ruchu oporu oraz w Powstaniu w getcie kobiety stanęły do walki, działały ramię w ramię z mężczyznami (Dzieje.pl)
Z parabelką i „karą” przez kanały. Jak zbroiło się getto warszawskie (Muzeum Getta Warszawskiego)