c. The German Invasion of Poland

The arrival of the Nazis in September 1939 changed the situation completely. Jews throughout Poland were rounded up into Ghettos, the largest of which was in the capital, Warsaw. Jews began to be forced into the Warsaw Ghetto straight after the German invasion, but it took 14 months, until 16 November 1940, for the Ghetto to be sealed off.

The population of the Ghetto at its peak in March 1941 was 445,000, approximately. The geographical area was about 425 acres and the boundaries of the Ghetto were 18 kilometres, with 3 metre high fencing, topped by barbed wire.

Jews in the Ghetto, whatever their profession, were forced to engage in all sorts of menial tasks to support their families. Many worked for the Nazis, producing supplies needed either for the war front or for Germany. Many others worked as peddlers, selling whatever they could. It was an entirely miserable, hand-to-mouth existence.

Living conditions were terrible. Between 7 and 9 people lived in each room, so lack of privacy, bad sanitary conditions, disease and a high death toll all made life for the Jews simply appalling. Whereas the mortality rate amongst Jews in Warsaw before the war was about 350 a month, from June 1941, when supplies ran out, the rate reached between four to five thousand each month.

A major problem was food: Nazi regulations allowed Germans 2,613 calories a day; Poles 699 calories; Jews received 184 calories, <i.e. Jews were only allowed 15% of their daily requirement. Thus food smuggling became one of the most important elements of the daily struggle for survival. Food was smuggled in by houses that backed on to the Ghetto, through holes in the fence and along the sewers. Concealment and bribing Nazis were also common. The heroes of the smuggling were small children aged between 5 and 13 whose size and agility were suited to the task. We know now that the Germans tolerated some smuggling to ensure the whole Ghetto did not die quickly, as they needed the labour. Naturally, the smugglers themselves did not know this and many, including children, were killed. The child smugglers are amongst some of the true heroes of the Shoah.

The Nazis appointed a number of Jewish leaders to run the Ghetto on their behalf; they were known as the Judenrat. These people, many without leadership experience, faced supremely difficult demands. These included the financing and operation of schools, hospitals and clinics and, at times punishing Jewish criminals, often harshly. In many Ghettos, the Judenrat even had to choose the quotas of Jews to be handed over to the Nazis. While in some Ghettos the Jews greatly trusted the Judenrat, in Warsaw they viewed it as corrupt and incompetent. This is a very controversial subject, but suffice to say that the Zionist Youth Movements were amongst the Judenrat's greatest critics.