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Deportation
Deportations to concentration camps from the Warsaw Ghetto began. Months passed before the people within the ghetto started to recognize and believe the terrible truth about the gas chambers. -
Period: to
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
Events in the Warsaw Ghetto and the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising -
Jewish Fighting Organization formed
The coordinated Jewish Fighting Organization of Warsaw, ZOB, was formed. Vladka, a member of the Jewish Labor Bund underground, was ordered to live among the Poles outside the ghetto in order to obtain arms for our fighters' organization. More than 500 fighters were organized into 22 units. Other armed groups were also formed by other Jews. The core of the armed resistance was made up of the various illegal youth organizations: Socialists, Bundists, Communists, remnants of the pre-war. -
Stepping up with Weapons
Vladka and some other Jews of the Warsaw Ghetto got their hands on revolvers. As soon as they got hold of these revolvers, the first German soldiers fell in the Warsaw ghetto. The surprise act forced the Germans to halt the deportations. January 18th marked a turning point, for on that day, the ghetto dared to strike back in an organized fashion. -
Passover
German soldiers marched, in full gear, into the Warsaw ghetto, to make it "Judenrein." Suddenly, the Nazis came under fire. From buildings, from windows, from the rooftops of houses, Jews were shooting. The enemy withdrew. The Germans set up artillery around the ghetto walls and systematically bombarded the Jews positions. Vladka and the other Jews were so poorly equipped; only a small number of grenades and revolvers and primitive Molotov cocktails against the combined might of the Wehrmacht. -
End of the Warsaw Ghetto
General Jürgen Stroop, who was in charge of destroying the Warsaw ghetto, stated in an official report that the Jewish uprising came to an end on May 16th, after four weeks of struggle. Many Jews others were burned to death. But for long weeks after May 16th, Jews remained hidden in the still-smoldering ruins and bunkers and would not give themselves up. For weeks after the "official" end of the uprising, shots were still board in the ghetto.
