Shortly after receiving the order
to relocate into the ghettos, the Jews were forced to quickly pack
their entire lives into a number of suitcases
and to set off into the unknown. They had to leave behind
most of their property and could only take
a small number of objects with them. The forced transition to the ghetto
carried out swiftly and irrevocably is described in period diaries and testimonies
as a humiliating, traumatic experience. The Jews were mostly concentrated
in cities or towns where they were intentionally housed in the poorest
and most derelict neighborhoods. In some places
they were forced into a number of ghettos in the same city or town. The first ghetto was established
in Piotrkow Trybunalski as early as October 1939. About a month
after the occupation of Poland most of the ghettos were established
between 1940 and 1941. But the establishment of new ghettos
continued until the middle of 1944. Some, such as the ghettos and Lodge and Warsaw, were closed
ghettos surrounded by fences or a wall with gates guarded by the German police
or the local Polish police. The residents of these ghettos
were not allowed to leave the ghetto area unless they were authorized
to work outside under supervision Other ghettos were open ghettos from which
it was possible to leave for work in the morning by showing the necessary
permits and to return in the evening their relatively open nature
meant that in cities and towns with open ghettos,
there was a certain amount of contact between the Jews
and the surrounding populations. The ghettos were intended
to isolate the Jews hermetically, and the Germans furthered this goal
by spreading propaganda among the non-Jewish population
about the dangers of contact with Jews. The isolation was strictly enforced
by the Germans, who ensured that Jews were cut off
not only from their physical surroundings but also from sources of news
and information. The ghettos created subhuman
living conditions that eroded all aspects of life of the Jewish population
that was crowded into them. The ghetto was severely overpopulated. In most instances, the ghettos were
erected in a small portion of the town, not at all suited for
the numbers meant to live their For example, the Warsaw
Ghetto, one of the most densely populated ghettos, was established
on only 2.4% of the city's total area, while housing Jews comprising roughly one
third of the city's population. The Jews in the ghettos
were forced into small apartments. In some cases, several entire families
who didn't know each other were forced into single apartments. With six to eight people
living in a single room. Extreme overcrowding, together
with the poor sanitary conditions led in many places
to a massive death toll. The ghettos suffered from a severe lack of
water and from deficient sewage systems. Large piles of trash
filled the streets and diseases such as tuberculosis,
typhus and dysentery spread quickly. In addition,
there was a constant lack of medication. The cold weather
also influenced mortality, as the ghettos were barely provided
with any heating material so that many people died during the winter months
from the extreme cold within the houses. Summers brought no respite
and were also characterized by high mortality rates as the summer heat
helped spread infectious diseases. In some ghettos, the residents established improvised
health care systems that included hospitals, clinics, pharmacies
and disinfection devices. The lack of medical equipment and drugs forced the medical staff to be resourceful
in finding solutions for difficult dilemmas. Since in most of the ghettos,
the Jewish population was cut off from its surroundings
and from sources of income. Jews were almost totally dependent
on the daily food allotments provided by the German authorities. In each ghetto,
the amount of food provided was different and depended on the authorities in charge. The food was distributed in accordance
with racist Nazi policies, and as a result, one of the leading causes
of mortality was a lack of nutrition. The Germans provided the ghettos'
inhabitants with meager amounts of low quality food as part of a policy
of intentional starvation. The lack of food led to tensions
between the ghetto residents as theft of foodstuffs became widespread. At the same time,
in some ghettos, food was smuggled in from the Aryan side, whereby the ghettos
were able to continue existing. In Warsaw, for example, 80% of the ghettos daily food
supply was provided by smuggling. Smuggling was undertaken both by private
people, adults as well as children, and by criminal organizations
that were active in some of the ghettos Children played an important part
in smuggling activities as they were able
to fit through narrow passages. At times, the children were the only ones who could provide food
for their family members. In some of the ghettos, Jews
tried to sell the remainder of their property on the black market
in order to purchase food. But these possibilities dwindled quickly. In the open ghettos, the conditions were slightly better as the Jews in these ghettos
still had contacts outside the ghetto. Many of them also worked outside
the ghetto and were able to maintain relationships
with the local population and obtain food. In the Lodge ghetto, on the other hand, which was
completely cut off from its surroundings, starvation was widespread. The ghetto's residents subsisted on the
miniscule food rations they were allotted, and only the workers in the factories
were given occasional supplements. It is important to mention
that all the ways in which additional food could be obtained.
beyond what was allocated by the German authorities were illegal
and punishable by death. The nature of the work in the ghettos
differed from one ghetto to another, depending on the policies
of the local German occupying forces. In some ghettos, the Jewish leadership
did what it could to create workplaces that would provide a source of income
for the Jewish residents. Ghetto production was often undertaken
with the thought that if the Germans or certain German authorities
could turn a profit from the ghettos, they would come to be seen as necessary
and thereby the Jews living there would be saved. The thought that work could save
lives was expressed, for example, in the workshops
created in the Lodge ghetto, which supplied the military
with essential equipment. In the Warsaw Ghetto, workshops
that manufactured brushes and suitcases, and in the Vilna ghetto, which under the leadership of the local
union route became a production center. Most of whose residents worked
in workshops either within the ghetto or outside its confines. We can see that the lives
of the ghettoized Jews were influenced by diverse factors and were bound up
with a continual struggle for survival. That was part of a cruel reality. The subhuman conditions
created by the Germans and the ghettos were severely traumatizing
for individuals and eroded the family and community structure. And yet, we can find many indications
that the Jews in the ghettos sought to provide for more than just
their basic physical existence. Caring for intellectual, spiritual
and cultural needs, and trying to maintain a semblance
of normal life through education, mutual assistance, underground newspapers,
youth movements and more.
