The Warsaw ghetto uprising

Between 22 July and 12 September 1942 the German authorities deported or killed about 300,000 Jews in the Warsaw ghetto. SS and police deported 265,000 Jews to the Treblinka killing center and 11,580 forced labor camps. The Germans and their subsidiary killed more than 10.000 Jews in the Warsaw ghetto during deportation operations. German authorities have granted only 35,000 Jews permission to remain in the ghetto, and more than 20.000 Jews remained in the ghetto underground. For at least 55,000-60,000 Jews remaining in the Warsaw Ghetto, deportation seemed inevitable.

In response to the deportation, 28 July 1942, several Jewish underground organizations have created an armed self-defense unit known as the Jewish Fighting Organization (Zydowska Organizacja Bojowa; ZOB). Rough estimates put the size of the ZOB its formation at about 200 members. Revisionist Party (known as right-wing Zionist Betar) formed the other resistance organizations, the Jewish Military Union (Zydowski Zwiazek Wojskowy; ZZW). Although initially it was tension between the ZOB and the ZZW, both groups decided to work together to resist the German attempt to destroy the ghetto. During the uprising, ZOB were about 500 fighters in its ranks and ZZW was about 250. While efforts to establish contacts with Polish military underground (Home Army, the Polish Home Army, or) failed during the summer of 1942, ZOB contact with the Polish Home Army in October, and received a small amount of weapons, mostly pistols and explosives from the home contacts Army.

In accordance with Reichsfuhrer SS (SS chief) October Heinrich Himmler in 1942 to eliminate the Warsaw ghetto and deport him employable residents forced labor camps in the Lublin District General, German SS and police tried to resume deportations of Jews from Warsaw, 18 January 1943. A group of Jewish fighters, armed with pistols, entered the column of Jews forced to Umschlagplatz (transfer point) and at the prearranged signal, sold and fought their German convoy. Most of these Jewish fighters were killed in battle, but rather misguided attack the Germans to the Jews arranged in columns on Umschlagplatz chance to disperse. After the capture of 5,000-6,500 inhabitants of the ghetto, to be deported, the Germans suspended deportations continued on January 21. Encouraged by the apparent success of the resistance, which in their opinion, may stop the deportation of members of the ghetto population began to build underground bunkers and shelters in preparation for an uprising should the Germans attempt a final ...