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WHAT WAS A GHETTO?
The definition of a ghetto is: usually a very poor section of a city. The ghetto was lived in mostly by people of the same race religion, and social background, often because of discrimination. The Germans made a wall around about a quarter of a European city to which the Jews were restricted, even before WWII was started. Not all Jews lived in the ghetto though.
Life in ghetto boundaries was barbed wire fences and no freedom at all. The police would beat you for no reason, and they also would shoot people. The Jews made home–made bombs trying to blow down the walls to escape.
Transportation was only used by the Germans when they transported the Jews to camps, either work or to be put to death.
LIFE IN A GHETTO
The Jews had many hardships and restrictions while living in the ghettos. Disease was a terrible thing lived with daily. Living conditions were horrible all the time. There was no medicine or doctors to take care of them. So many Jews, especially the very young and elderly died. everyone was starving, because there was not enough food to feed them. they received only .4 of a pound of bread, .5 pound of sugar 2.2 pound of jam, and 2.2 pounds of honey. This had to feed a whole family for a day, no matter how large the family was. many people died from starvation.
EXAMPLES OF WWII GHETTOS
Warsaw ghetto had 50,000 civilians that were executed during the first war. Lodz was where the red army was located also a third of the population was wiped out during the holocaust.
It took ten years to build the ghetto of Theresienstadt. Emperor Joseph the second told them to build this ghetto. There was 80,000 Czech/Jews that were killed in this ghettos.
Another example of WWII ghettos was Kovno. it was located in Lithuania. there were 1800 kids killed behind the synagogue. A memorial is built here in memory of the children. this ghetto had food and wood.
SURVIVORS
Some of the survivors are still alive, and they can tell about the Holocaust and some of the terrible things they lived thru. One of the survivors is Ludwik Herzfeld who was a microbiologist. He and his family were forced to go to the ghetto in Warsaw. Another survivor is mark Edelman. He was a cardiologist, and he came from polish Jewish family. He was involved in the Warsaw uprising, and a member of the polish parliament. he received the highest honor in Poland, called "the order of the white eagle". Icchak Cukierman was also a leader in the Warsaw ghetto uprising he used false names, and was continually on the move to being safe and to avoid being caught. One of the women survivors was Zivia Lubetkin she was a female Resistance leaders that was also involved with the Warsaw uprising. A Talented piano player was Wladsyslaw Szpilman. He was a laborer in the ghettos and also helped smuggle weapons into the ghetto for the uprising. none of his family survived the death camp but he was able to avoid being captured