Poland: A Summary
Poland is a large country between Germany and Russia.
Jews have lived in Poland for over a thousand years.
In1264 they were given legal protection, the first time in Europe.
Pre World War 2 had 3 million Jews. It was the largest Jewish population in the world. It was 10% of the Polish population.
Most Jews lived in separate towns or parts of towns called shtels
They were either peasant farmers or tradesmen. A few were factory owners.
Some Jews went to the cities and became better educated.
In 1918 became an independent republic. The country was poor compared to western Europe. There a rise in nationalism and antisemitism.
The Nazis invaded Poland in 1939 and Jews were immediately subjected to their race laws.
In the cities Jews were enclosed in walled off ghettos.
Jews were isolated and subjected to slow starvation. Then survivors were sent to extermination camps.
Some Jews joined the resistance or went into hiding helped by Polish friends, like Jan Żabiński of the Warsaw Zoo.
In 1943 there was the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising when remaining Jews fought to the death, the Nazis.
Poland
Poland is a large country that is sandwiched between Germany and Russia.
Pre War Poland had the largest Jewish population in the world: around three million people. With over 1000 years of continued presence they had a rich religious, cultural and social life. In 1264 a law gave them legal protections for the first time in Europe.
Most Jews lived in small towns called shtetls. They were primarily engaged in trade, craftsmanship and small scale industries. A minority were rich merchants and eventually factory owners. But the majority were poor.
Generally Jews were much less integrated into mainstream Polish society. This was opposite to the lives of Jews in Western Europe including France, Holland and Germany. However, despite this integration they still murdered.
Some Jews did manage to go to cities like Warsaw and become better educated. In 1918 Poland became an independent republic. The Jewish population was then around 10% of the total. During that time there was a lot of poverty and a rise in nationalism and anti-Semitism.
With the sudden Nazi invasion of Poland in 1939, Jews were immediately subjected to harsh measures that gradually led to them being enclosed in walled off ghettos such as in Warsaw and Lodz. Jews were left isolated and subjected to gradual starvation and many survivors were sent to extermination centres. Except that there was resistance.
Some Poles did smuggle in food to the ghettos and some like Jan Żabiński of the Warsaw Zoo, hid Jews.
In 1942 after the deportation of a quarter of million Jews for extermination, the remaining Jews began to build bunkers and Polish resistance fighters began to smuggle in weapons. Their assistance help Jews mount the first major resistance to Nazi occupation. The Warsaw ~Ghetto Uprising which began in April 1943 and lasted nearly a month. The Jews could not win but were determined to fight until death.