5.1 Did the Jews fight back?
5.1 Did the Jews fight back? Against impossible odds, many Jews did fight back and resist the Nazis and their collaborators. Resistance occurred across Europe. It took place in ghettos, concentration camps and death camps in every German-occupied country.
Taking photographs Caring for Going to the elderly concerts Painting and drawing Talking with Teaching children friends Reading newspapers Saying prayers Getting married Studying Keeping diaries Sharing food Looking after Staging plays Listening to the sick Writing stories the radio Hiding from and poems the enemy Singing songs Going to ‘school’ Attending religious services
Acts of resistance in the ghettos Conditions in the ghettos were appalling (see pages 46-49). The Nazis did not treat Jews as human beings. They tried to stop them from leading normal lives. For example, anyone caught doing ordinary things like holding religious services, going to school or listening to the radio could be shot. For this reason, simple acts like those shown in the word cloud and photographs on this page were important acts of resistance by Jews in ghettos.
Figure 5.2 Celebrating the festival of Hanukkah in the Łód ź ghetto, 1943.
Figure 5.3 An SS man searching a Jewish child trying to smuggle food into the Warsaw ghetto, 1939. Smuggling food was a very important form of resistance as it helped people survive.
Figure 5.1 Children secretly studying in a school in the Kovno ghetto, 1941–42.
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9781510480377 KS3 Understanding the Holocaust.indb 67
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