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Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

“1, 2, 3...”
Based on a Polish Scouting song found in the archives of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

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The NBC miniseries Uprising raises awareness of the Warsaw ghetto and its resistance movement. Based on historical events, the film presents a fictionalized version of these acts of defiance. Collected here are some of the resources available on the Museum’s Web site to explore the history that inspired this miniseries.

What do you think?

Most of us never experience extreme circumstances of danger and deprivation—we can’t know what we might do. Below are some questions for contemplation.

What did the Warsaw ghetto uprising accomplish?

The role of the Jewish council is controversial. Can you make an argument for its head, Adam Czerniakow, as a collaborator? As a resister?

The Nazis sometimes practiced a policy of collective punishment for actions committed in the ghetto. The movie depicts two Jews killing Nazi guards who have just shot an unarmed ghetto resident and are about to murder another. Were the actions of these Jews justified? If so, is your answer different when you consider the possibility of collective punishment?

Are the moral dilemmas of resistance different for parents? How much outside news reached the ghetto? How might knowledge of atrocities influence ghetto residents’ attitudes? Remember, no one could predict or imagine the Holocaust before the fact.


Abraham Lewent

Now
Abraham Lewent
Describes conditions in the Warsaw ghetto
[1989 interview]
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Then
Abraham Lewent
“During the ghetto uprising we could see the flames.”

 

Vladka (Fagele) Peltel Meed
Vladka (Fagele) Peltel Meed
describes her reaction to the burning of the Warsaw ghetto as she watched from a building outside the ghetto. [1991 interview]
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Warsaw environs, 1943
Warsaw environs, 1943
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Jews captured during the Warsaw ghetto uprising. Warsaw, Poland, April 19-May 16, 1943.
Jews captured during the Warsaw ghetto uprising. Warsaw, Poland, April 19–May 16, 1943.
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German soldiers burn residential buildings to the ground, one by one, during the Warsaw ghetto uprising. Poland, April 19-May 16, 1943.
German soldiers burn residential buildings to the ground, one by one, during the Warsaw ghetto uprising. Poland, April 19–May 16, 1943.
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