On 19th April 2023, political leaders from all over the world gathered in Warsaw to participate in the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. They joined with Holocaust survivors and their descendants, feeling poignantly that it is now the responsibility of younger generations to preserve the memory of the Holocaust. The commemoration recalls the hundreds of young Jews who fought back against the Nazi army’s overwhelming force in Warsaw in 1943.
After 265 000 Jews were collected up in the summer of 1942 and executed at the Treblinka concentration camp, the Jewish resistance organization in the Warsaw Ghetto flourished. Those who were left behind lost faith in German assurances that they would be transported to labor camps as news of the Nazi slaughter spread. A tiny band of rebels started issuing proclamations of resistance and carrying out sporadic acts of sabotage and violence. Jews started disobeying German demands to appear for deportation. The Ghetto heroes were supported by the Polish underground who were delivering weapons and saving lives.
On April 19, 1943, the eve of Passover, the Nazis entered the ghetto, sparking the rebellion. The Jewish warriors continued their fight for almost a month before they were mercilessly defeated by the Nazis. Three days later, the Nazis set the ghetto on fire, turning it into a blazing death trap. That was more time than some nations resisted.
After the war, Israel was established to provide Jews with a place to finally feel safe after centuries of persecution in Europe. Germany has admitted its crimes and expressed regret for the death and destruction it caused in the wide territories it controlled. Poland fulfils its obligation to preserve locations like the ghetto and the Auschwitz death camp while also paying tribute to the enormous losses inflicted on the entire country. Poland was invaded and subjected to widespread murder and damage while housing Europe’s largest pre-war Jewish population. Approximately 3 million Jews and the remaining 5 to 6 million Poles, most of whom were Christians, died during the conflict in Poland.