(en) France, Alternative Libertaire AL #227 - In 1943, in the Warsaw Ghetto, "a fight for dignity, for our freedom and yours" (fr)

There are seventy years, April 19, 1943, the eve of Passover, the last four of activists 
Jews and Jewish-are locked in the Warsaw ghetto, triggered the uprising. Foul rumor 
considering that " the Jews left in the camps are like sheep to the slaughter , "is part 
of this obvious bad faith, released by the anti-Semitic propaganda. Jews and Jews remained 
in Europe have found es trapped on the whole European territory, which has exercised the 
Nazi yoke for five years. [ 1 ] ---- The chances of escape were slim. Those to hide and 
blend into the surrounding populations were not the greatest, especially since many 
governments were under the heel of the Nazis and that indigenous peoples were at best 
indifferent, even hostile vast majority fate of the local Jews.

As to resist, it was still necessary to obtain weapons. Yet! The number of Jews and 
Jewish-are engaged militarily in the 39-45 conflict is certainly one of the largest water 
under its own population. Known acts of resistance FTP Me Communist-led by France, the 
Russian partisans in the occupied territories or in Poland, but more limited, it is that 
hundreds of thousands of Jews and Jews have committed es in the U.S. allied regular armies 
they are Russian, English with a strong contingent came to Palestine or among the troops 
of Free France.

In the context of this huge battle fought around the world, the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising is 
undoubtedly the most heroic and the most popular because it is completely unlikely symbol. 
Indeed, a handful of resistant and resistant sub-armed-es, es locked in a district of 
central Warsaw, separately are the rest of the world by high walls, but as motivation, 
resentment, hatred, courage, stood up to the "big" army of the Reich for a month.

In his memoirs, Marek Edelman, who was one of the few fighters to escape, described the 
situation: " the defense of the ghetto was not unexpected. It was the logical result of 
four years of resistance of a population trapped in inhumane conditions, humiliated, 
despised, treated according to the ideology of the victors, as subhuman. Despite these 
dramatic conditions in the ghetto were, as far as possible, organized their lives 
according to the highest European values. While the criminal power of the occupant refused 
their right to education, culture, thought, life, or even a dignified death, they created 
clandestine universities, schools, associations and release. These actions that generated 
resistance against all that threatened the right to a dignified life, have led to the 
insurgency. This was the ultimate way of refusal of living conditions and inhumane death, 
the ultimate act of struggle against barbarism and to safeguard the dignity. "[ 2 ]

Situation in the ghetto

October 12, 1940, the Nazis decided to cram the Jews of Warsaw and its surroundings in the 
center of the city, and in the walled perimeter to prevent escape. Thus, 380,000 Jews 
(men, women and children) are living in inhuman conditions pending their departure for the 
concentration camps and extermination. Famine, epidemics, idleness is the life of a Jewish 
population humiliated by the Nazi occupiers lot. It outsources to a "Jewish Council" (the 
Judenrat) the organization of the ghetto and police. These "employees" will be forced to 
"provide" the Jews, from 22 July 1942 to the Treblinka extermination camp located a few 
hundred kilometers from Warsaw. The President of the Judenrat, Adam Czerniakow can not 
accept to deliver his people to death, committed suicide that day. Meanwhile, a social 
life is created: rescue of the helpless-es, building committees, child protection, 
underground schools, etc..

The outbreak of the uprising

A few days after the start deportations. In total more than 300,000 Jews and Jewish-es 
will be sent mainly to Treblinka where they were exterminated es. December 2, 1942, the 
progressive organizations, the Bund [ 3 ], the Zionist left of Hashomer Hatzair, the poale 
Tzion or He'haloutz and communists and unions decide to put aside their differences to 
create a unitary structure of combat: the Jewish Fighting Organization (ZOB). The Zionist 
right is an Associate insurrectionary process independently but not coordinated with the 
OJC. The number of ghetto fighters who participated in an estimated one thousand, at one 
time or another, the fight against the Nazis.

During the second wave of deportations began in January 1943, in charge of liquidating the 
ghetto, armed resistance was organized. A resistance group pushed the Nazi soldiers came 
to take their quota of remote-es. Surprised by the liveliness of the self, the Nazis will 
wait until April before returning to the load. Resistant and resistant are very young 
people aware that they or are against the wall, preferring as the old saying goes, " die 
standing than live on your knees . " Well established in the structures of solidarity, 
they managed to have the endorsement of a reduced to less than 50,000 souls in this 
struggle to the death population.

This resistance will build on these few months to strengthen the place. The combatants and 
combatants are many hideouts called bunkers, create paths in buildings by breaking down 
the walls, secure cellars. Their weaponry is sketchy and bought with gold, with an 
uncooperative Polish resistance. A little over a hundred guns, a dozen rifles, a few 
machine guns, 600 grenades and 15 pounds of plastic are thus collected and Molotov 
cocktails ones made themselves. So they have to rely on the element of surprise to take up 
arms to an enemy amentities.

We fight in all buildings

On 19 April 1943 the Wehrmacht, too sure of his own superiority, starts its offensive by 
entering through the main gate of the ghetto. The direction of the OJC, composed of five 
members [ 4 ] gives the signal for insurrection. The defeat of the Wehrmacht realized 
after three days. The Wehrmacht is then replaced by elite troops of the Waffen-SS: 2000 
men accompanied by Panzers . It takes several weeks to eliminate any resistance. The fight 
is hard, the SS wins, one by one, with flamethrowers and kick-tank shells, each pocket of 
resistance in buildings. Once taken, the buildings are destroyed immediately. Resistant 
and resistant to most commit suicide to avoid being taken prisoner or prisoners.

Fighters and survivors fighting workers' organizations still find a way to organize a 
celebration of May 1 of the International: " Around the world, at the same time are 
delivered the same powerful word. But never again, the International was sung in tragic 
conditions in a place where people died and never ceases to die. These words and the song 
which echo with smoky ruins, testify that the Socialist Youth fights in the ghetto and do 
not forget the face of death "[ 5 ].

May 16, 1943, destruction of the Great Synagogue of Tlomacki street sits the Nazi victory. 
However, these heroic fighters and fighting Jews and Jewish brand, forever, all minds. SS 
units performed 7000 inhabitants and inhabitants during the uprising. About 7000 died in 
the fire and destruction of buildings. The Nazis deported 30 to 50,000 Jews remaining in 
Treblinka and labor camps Polish Poniatowa, Trawniki and Majdanek. A handful of fighters 
and fighters escaped through the sewers. The commander Marek Edelman Bund making part 
shall record in his biographical writings all events during the uprising [ 6 ].

Recall also that in other ghettos of Eastern Europe, the uprising has hatched and 
sometimes burst. Less known than Warsaw, the radical elements of the Jewish proletariat 
fomented rebellion in Vilna, Mir, Lachva, Kremenets, Czestochowa, Nesvizh, Sosnowiec, 
Tarnow and Bialystok.

Anarchists in the ghetto

Little known fact, Jews and Jewish anarchists participated in the resistance in the Warsaw 
ghetto. A magazine, The Voice of Freedom , is published. Franka Zgodzinska Hoffman, who 
belonged to the Polish Anarchist Federation, participated in the editing of this paper. 
Some, and some managed to escape the ghetto before it was razed, so Pawel Lew Marek 
Bronislawa Rolosniec-Frydman and Pawel Rogalski. Halina Lew, who was active in the 1930s 
in a group of anarchists Varsovians Jewish activists, has not been so lucky, she died in 
the ghetto. Polish libertarian Bernard Konrad Swierczynski played the liaison between the 
inside and outside of the ghetto. It seeped in order to provide food, clothing and letters.

Against all forms of totalitarianism

As strong as was the symbolism of the Warsaw ghetto uprising, its institutionalization, or 
manipulation, media and history in many countries, we will never forget it was primarily 
popular. For Alternative libertarian, this glorious act will never be disconnected from 
the involvement of the Jewish proletariat in its struggle against all forms of 
totalitarianism in Russia against the tsarist autocracy in 1905 and 1917, Bulgaria from 
1920, in 1936, fighting with the Spanish people against Franco's armies against Nazism, 
but also for its most enlightened against the Bolshevik terror that led to the 
anti-Semitic elements Stalinist purges.

Jean-Marc Izrine (AL Toulouse)

Some benchmarks

October 12, 1940 (day of the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur), the creation of the Warsaw ghetto.

Between July and mid-September 1942, the Nazis deported to Treblinka 300,000 Jews from the 
ghetto

October 12, 1942: creation of the Jewish Fighting Organization (ZOB).

January 1943: the Nazis attempt to resume the deportations. A group of rebel-'re stopping 
them.

April 19, 1943: Beginning of the ghetto uprising, the eve of Passover, the Jewish Easter.

May 16, 1943: Nazi army arrives at the end of all resistance and destroyed the Great 
Synagogue of Tlomacki Street to mark his victory.

[ 1 ] See AL No. 90, October 2000

[ 2 ] Marek Edelman, memories of the Warsaw Ghetto , Liana Levi, Paris, 2002.

[ 3 ] The Bund is the most specifically Jewish labor organization founded in 1897 in 
Vilnius and grouping of workers from Poland, Lithuania and Russia.

[ 4 ] Mordechai Anielewicz Hashomer Hatzair is the commander of the Bund Marek Edelman, 
the second in command, are also part of the pioneer Icchak Cukiermann Hekhaloutz movement 
Hersz Berlinski of Poale Zion left and Michal Rojzenfeld the Communist Party.

[ 5 ] Mareck Edelman quote from the book Henri Minczeles, General History of the Bund , 
Southern editions, Paris, 1995.

[ 6 ] 6. Marek Edelman, op. cit.