"I remember the fear, of never feeling safe. You had to hide constantly. And the hunger -- I would sit in our apartment and look out the window, and I would see the Polish children across the street bringing milk back home,It was like watching people in a storybook -- we had no food, no milk..." -Nelly Cesana: Survivor of the Holocaust/ Warsaw Ghetto
The Ghettos
The Ghettos were viewed as a method to isolate the Jews from the "pure" Germans, but it was actually an integral step in the annihiliation of the Jews. As the war against the Jews progressed the ghettos became transition areas for deportation.
Larger cities had closed ghettos, with brick or stone walls, wooden fences and barbed wire defining the boundaries. Guards were placed all along the walls. All ghettos had the most inhumane living conditions. The smallest ghettos housed about 3,000 people. Warsaw, the largest ghetto, held about 400,000 people.
1939-
Hitler incorporated western Poland into Germany. He intended for the Polish people to become the slaves of Germany and the two million Jews were sent to ghettos. Nazis officially told the story that Jews were natural carriers of all types of diseases and it was necessary to isolate them.
An ordinance was issued in November that all Jews living in Germany had to wear the Star of David on armbands or pinned to the chest or back.
1941-
In October 1941, many general deportations began from Germany to major ghettos in Poland and further east. Jews from Austria and the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia were sent to ghettos.
During the winter many people died in the ghettos and diseases spread faster, making life in the ghettos even worse.
The Nazis made the Theresienstadt ghetto in Czechoslovakia as a model Jewish settlement to counter rumors. Flower gardens, cafes, and schools were constructed to demonstrate.
1945-
By 1945 there were about 356 ghettos throughout Europe. More camps were being built as the Jews were sent to them.
Larger cities had closed ghettos, with brick or stone walls, wooden fences and barbed wire defining the boundaries. Guards were placed all along the walls. All ghettos had the most inhumane living conditions. The smallest ghettos housed about 3,000 people. Warsaw, the largest ghetto, held about 400,000 people.
1939-
Hitler incorporated western Poland into Germany. He intended for the Polish people to become the slaves of Germany and the two million Jews were sent to ghettos. Nazis officially told the story that Jews were natural carriers of all types of diseases and it was necessary to isolate them.
An ordinance was issued in November that all Jews living in Germany had to wear the Star of David on armbands or pinned to the chest or back.
1941-
In October 1941, many general deportations began from Germany to major ghettos in Poland and further east. Jews from Austria and the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia were sent to ghettos.
During the winter many people died in the ghettos and diseases spread faster, making life in the ghettos even worse.
The Nazis made the Theresienstadt ghetto in Czechoslovakia as a model Jewish settlement to counter rumors. Flower gardens, cafes, and schools were constructed to demonstrate.
1945-
By 1945 there were about 356 ghettos throughout Europe. More camps were being built as the Jews were sent to them.
Deportation-
Deportation from the ghettos to the camps started in 1941. The Nazis used rail transport as one method to forcibly send the people living in the ghettos to camps. German railroad officials used freight and passenger cars for the deportations. The deportees did not receive food or water forr the journey, which could last many days. Packed in sealed freight cars and suffering from overcrowding, they endured intense heat in the summer and freezing temperatures during the winter.
The stench of urine and possible sickness added to the humiliation of the deportees. Many of them died before reaching their destination. Armed police guards accompanied the transports on separate freight cars and were ordered to shoot anyone who tried to escape on short stop alongs the way.
If the distances were short they would be transported by trucks or on foot.
Deportation from the ghettos to the camps started in 1941. The Nazis used rail transport as one method to forcibly send the people living in the ghettos to camps. German railroad officials used freight and passenger cars for the deportations. The deportees did not receive food or water forr the journey, which could last many days. Packed in sealed freight cars and suffering from overcrowding, they endured intense heat in the summer and freezing temperatures during the winter.
The stench of urine and possible sickness added to the humiliation of the deportees. Many of them died before reaching their destination. Armed police guards accompanied the transports on separate freight cars and were ordered to shoot anyone who tried to escape on short stop alongs the way.
If the distances were short they would be transported by trucks or on foot.