United States History Student Edition

Resistance during the Holocaust The most well-known act of resistance occurred as the Nazis sent Jews from the ghetto in Warsaw, Poland to the Treblinka death camp. When deportations began in January 1943, some Jews resisted and deportations were suspended until April 19, the first day of Passover. On that day, the Nazis stormed the ghetto to implement liquidation. Some Jews realized it was their last chance to act. Against overwhelming odds, a resistance group of mostly young people fought back with small guns and makeshift bombs. They held out until May 16, when the Nazis set fire to every block and destroyed what remained. The Nazi mass slaughter of European Jews is known as the Shoah —a Hebrew word meaning “total destruction.” Jews resisted the Nazis whenever and wherever they could. Friends and strangers hid some or smuggled them to safe areas. A few foreign diplomats helped Jews obtain documents allowing them to travel to safer countries. The nation of Denmark saved almost its entire Jewish population. However, these actions were the exception. Some people did not believe the accounts of death camps. Most often, people chose to ignore what was happening. Although the Allies were aware of the “Final Solution,” they made ending the war their priority. Not until after Germany’s surrender did the full extent of the horror and inhumanity of the Holocaust begin to be understood. 7 CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING Identifying Cause and Effect How did Hitler’s views on race influence the Holocaust? Contemporary Anti-Semitism GUIDING QUESTION How have Jews been discriminated against in recent history? Despite international condemnation of the Holocaust, the problem of anti-Semitism did not die with Hitler and the Nazi government. Survivors of Nazi concentration camps and death camps often returned to discrimination and persecution in their home countries, despite the sympathy of many for what they had endured. Many Jewish refugees refused to return to their home

countries, either to avoid anti-Semitic treatment or because their homes had been destroyed. The desire for safety and security was a major reason for the creation of the modern nation of Israel. Even before the Holocaust, the movement known as Zionism existed in Europe to promote the creation of a Jewish state. Israel became a nation when the colonial British government withdrew from the region of Palestine in 1948, as had the Arab nation of Jordan two years earlier. While many Jews celebrated the creation of Israel, many Arabs bitterly opposed it. Rivalries and hostilities developed between Israel and Palestine and surrounding Arab countries. Armed conflict began immediately after the British withdrawal, and has sporadically flared up ever since. Nonetheless, Israel has grown over the years. Israel is the world’s only majority-Jewish country, to which Jews have emigrated from communities in Europe, Asia, Africa, and around the world. Incidents of discrimination and violence against Jews around the world continue to the present day. Some of the symbols and imagery of anti-Semitism, including the swastika, are used today to attack Jewish people, including those in Israel. Criticism of Israel has often reached the point of anti-Semitism. Israel has been falsely accused of intentionally poisoning Palestinians, and Israeli leaders have been depicted in political cartoons with Nazi symbols. Zionism the movement to establish a Jewish homeland, and later to support Israel

Jewish civilians are marched out of the Warsaw Ghetto as it is destroyed in May, 1943 following months of Jewish resistance.

National Archives and Records Administration (NWDNS-238-NT-282)

Anti-Semitism and the Holocaust A13