The Warsaw Ghetto

World War Two will be remembered by most as the most deadly

war in history. Along with other victims, 6,000,000 Jewish people died.

People did not think for themselves until it was too late. Imagine being

trapped for so long that you forgot what the real life was like. For many

people who were imprisoned there that was what life was like surviving in

the Warsaw Ghetto.

The Warsaw Ghetto was put in the oldest, seediest area in

town. It was marked off with barbed wire fences, walls, and gates. These

encampments were guarded by security or S.S. officers so that Jewish

prisoners couldn't escape Hitler's terror.

The ghetto was overcrowded, sometimes with fourteen people in

rooms that were made for six. With so many people compacted into such a

small area the captives had to find ways to entertain themselves: the

children tried to continue as far as they could go with their school work;

the actors formed theater groups.

Auschwitz concentration camp, arrival of Hungarian...

Warsaw Jews being held at gunpoint by SS troops. W...

A child dying in the streets of the Warsaw Ghetto

These activities caused the time to

pass, and for an instant the people forgot how bad the life was in the

ghetto.

In the ghetto, to make ends meet, you had to do whatever you could.

People working in the outside world brought necessities inside. Most of

the people brought back food, because you never knew when the next

meal would be. Children were caught sneaking out through the cracks in

the walls to scrounge for items for their families.

Ghettos were not clean places. Floors were not washable because

they were never empty of people. At the same time, soap

was virtually non-existent . When an area is filthy, disease spreads rapidly.

The ghettos had many diseases, but the most feared disease was Typhus.

The symptoms were fever and chills, severe headache, weakness in

the arms and...