Examples Of Resistance In The Holocaust

1027 Words5 Pages
Resistance Throughout this semester evidence has been provided about just how terrible of an event the holocaust truly was. Through Bauer’s chapters as well as several other novels, it is evident how Jews were treated and how inhumane the actions that occurred truly were. Many wonder why the Jews were so passive and simply accepted what was taking place, without any form of resistance. The answer to this question depends on that individual’s definition to resistance. Resistance should be defined as any form of opposition to what was going on during the holocaust, both armed resistance and more subtle forms. During the Holocaust there was a great deal of resistance, which may be surprising to many. This resistance is not well known because…show more content…
In Bauer’s chapter on resistance, he provides detailed information about various kinds of resistance. He does state that “open resistance was extremely difficult” but regardless, resistance did occur. First, Bauer speaks about armed resistance. This form of resistance was very difficult also due to the fact that Jews were within the walls of Ghettos, and also because the Nazis were such a large group. Bauer provides passages from Jewish individuals stating that rebellion is the only way out. In one specific quote, Abba Kovner states, “Is there a way out? Yes, there is a way out: rebellion and armed resistance.” This goes to show that some Jews felt that the only way they had a chance of surviving was to rise up against the Nazi party. The main reason why Armed Resistance was an issue was due to the limited weapon supply. More specifically, Jews were not able to purchase guns, or individuals would not sell them to Jews. Yet another reason why this resistance was extremely difficult is because the Jews had no clue as to what the Nazis were going to do next, making it almost impossible to know when they should begin their attack. Despite these setbacks, armed resistance did in fact occur in more than one ghetto. Why? As mentioned before, because some Jews saw this as their only hope of…show more content…
A specific example of this was that Jews continued to practice their religion despite being imprisoned in the ghettos. Also, Jews refused to simply starve to death and used wanted to fight death as long as possible and not let the Nazis “win.” Outside the ghettos and within Europe, many Jews worked together to create an anti-Nazi underground movement. These were abundant in many different nations within Europe. Examples of this have been discussed both in class lectures and in the film about Chiam Rumkowski. In this film, resistance is demonstrated when the Jewish people create their own town within the ghetto. Specifically the organization of labor unions, a police force, continued fine arts, and meaningful postage stamps. Also, the Jews resisted by refusing to die. Specific accounts within the movie claimed that once a person died, the Jews would not tell the Nazis right away, but rather share the extra ration of bread. These were very simple forms but none the less, they were forms of resistance. Looking at specific examples of resistance, one of the most significant was the resistance at the Warsaw ghetto. Not to be overlooked although is that there was indeed resistance within all ghettos, and the forms varied, but were mainly what has been mentioned already. Another specific event that is significant when talking
Open Document