WARSAW - Ghetto

The Nozyk Synagogue is the only one in Warsaw that survived the war. There were many synagogues in the Warsaw ghetto, like this one – the Nozyk Synagogue; however, but the Nazis did not allow Jews to worship at synagogues.  As a way to dehumanize the Jews and their faith, the Nazis used the synagogue as a stable for horses and a storage for horse food. In the synagogue, we waited for a few minutes for the Chief Rabbi of Poland, Michael Schudrich (He was a New Yorker who became the nation's chief rabbi in 2004).  It was really an honor to have him speak to the participants of March of Remembrance and Hope 2006.  However, he told us that something happened to him on his way to the synagogue, he was attacked by a man with pepper spray! A man shouted, “Poland for the Poles!” and when the Chief Rabbi turned around to see who he was, the man sprayed the Rabbi with pepper spray. See news about the attack and the man's arrest.

“You can find others as good as the righteous gentiles, but you will never find anyone better than them. While the world was turned upside down and evil was all around, the righteous gentiles kept their moral beliefs and did what they felt was right, no matter the risks. The righteous gentiles say that they did nothing was uncommon, they just did what was right. Even today, some people are fearful of officially joining the Jewish community in Poland, because the Nazis found many Jews (during the Holocaust) by their membership records.”

A blend of new and old (but not forgotten) in Warsaw. The old buildings were part of the ghetto during the Holocaust.

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The ghetto wall was used to keep the Jews off the city and to confine them in a particular section or sections.  On where I stood, it was considered "inside the ghetto," and from the photos you will see the red bricks.  However, on the outside of the ghetto, the walls were painted white because they should not be an eyesore of the city.  The Nazis wanted to make sure the wall looked nice and they did not paint the wall on the inside because they did not care what it looked like for the Jews.  For many children growing up in the ghetto, the only sight of the Warsaw city they could see was limited. See map of the Warsaw ghetto.

WARSAW GHETTO FACTS: (courtesy of Anna Fields, another MRH participant from University of Kentucky):

a very large population was forced into a very small area (One third of Warsaw’s population was put into an area that made up 2.4% of the size of Warsaw)

at its highest peak: 445,000 people were put in the ghetto (therefore, some had to be rich Jews)

in the ghetto: 3 churches, 3 theaters, 117 published newspapers, a restaurant (as seen in The Pianist)

ghetto residents received 300 calories per day (but the food you were given depended on who you were)

Nazis used food to entice Jews to volunteer to be deported from ghetto to camps 

80-85% of the food in the ghetto was smuggled in

ghetto residents wrote journals, notes, etc. and put them in milk canisters that were buried and later dug up after the war – these serve as accurate documents about life in the ghetto

children were used to smuggle food into the ghetto (because they were small, fast, and not working like the adults were; the main reason children were used was because people on the outside would be more likely to feel sorry for a child and give him/her food)

a park existed right outside the ghetto wall – Jews wanted the park to be included in the ghetto, but the Nazis refused to let this happen. As another demoralizing tactic, the Nazis placed the wall right next to the park so that the Jews could hear people playing in it and enjoying themselves

Nazis decreased the size of the ghetto as more people were deported. The smallest part left of the ghetto was where the uprising eventually occurred

For more information about the Warsaw Ghetto:

 

More on Nozyk Synagogue

Jewish Virtual Library - The Warsaw Ghetto

Encyclopedia of the Holocaust - Warsaw Ghetto

Warsaw Ghetto Map