Fight for survival – interview with dr Maria Ferenc on the 81st anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
In October 1940, more than a year after the start of World War II and the occupation of Warsaw, the Warsaw Ghetto was established. During the initial year, Jewish rights were getting progressively limited. A few months after the war began, Jews were required to wear armbands bearing the Star of David, which made them easily spotted in the city, leaving them open to violence. Various rights, such as the right to keep savings in the bank or to receive a pension, were taken away from them. At a certain point, even though the ghetto was yet to be officially created, Jews were prohibited from settling outside of the settlement area, a place specified as being at risk of an epidemic outbreak. Later, due to high population density and poor sanitation, an epidemic broke out in the ghetto.
Today, April 19, 2024, on the 81st anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, we are talking to dr Maria Ferenc, a researcher who specializes in the history of Jews during the Holocaust. Last year, she received a grant in the SONATINA 7 competition for a research project titled “Mordechai Anielewicz – biography and Memory”.
Maria Kozan: Let’s start from the beginning. What did the process of creating the Warsaw Ghetto look like?
Maria Ferenc: In October of 1940, it became apparent that a ghetto would be created, and Jews living outside its designed borders had to move. Poles who lived in the Jewish district had to leave it. The ghetto was overpopulated from the very beginning, as more people were moving in than out. The situation was progressively getting worse as the Germans were constantly relocating Jews from other cities and towns throughout the ghetto’s existence. There were thousands of people, and multiple waves of forced relocations occurred. At its peak, over 450,000 people were living in the ghetto. Before the war in Warsaw, there were around 370,000 people.
What did Jews take with them on this unknown journey? How did being in the ghetto affect them?
Those refugees were in the worst situation possible from the start, as they had no resources in Warsaw. They were allowed to travel with very limited luggage. They sold whatever they owned just to survive. Many had nothing that could be sold.
The ghetto disrupted the daily routine, for example, in terms of where one worked. Schools were closed and only reopened to a limited extent at the beginning of 1942. Many people lost the possibility to manage their businesses. They needed an Aryan intermediary to manage the company. Consequently, they were exposed to economic violence. It was hard for Jews to continue their everyday life. Not to mention that the Germans were deliberately providing them with limited rations of food as a part of their policy towards the ghetto. People had to focus mainly on surviving and avoiding death from hunger and disease.
How did they try to survive?
Some individuals tried to save themselves by smuggling goods through the ghetto walls and purchasing food from the outside. Some of them were forced to buy those smuggled products on the black market for enormous amounts of money, so many sold whatever they had, e.g., furniture and valuables.
How did the family life look like in the ghetto?
Family life structures were utterly destroyed within a few months of the ghetto’s existence. Men were subjected to forced labor. Many people were immediately sent to forced labor camps or taken away during street roundups. Undoubtedly, the role of women within the family had increased as they needed to involve themselves in more household maintenance responsibilities. Children from families of lower economic status often had to work or seek out food. It is estimated that over 100,000 of the ghetto residents died of hunger and diseases.
When attempts were made to liquidate the ghetto? How many residents did the ghetto have at that time?
In the summer of 1942, the first liquidation of the Warsaw Ghetto took place. Around 300,000 people were relocated to the extermination camp in Treblinka.
In the so-called residual ghetto, only a few tens of thousands of people remained. We can distinguish two groups here. One group (around 30,000) was employed within the ghetto’s factories, referred to as “shop”, manufacturing various items for the German army. The other group was Jews, who were illegally hiding in the ghetto, had no work certificate, and were dependent on help from their relatives, who could legally function in the ghetto. Some people fled to the other side of the wall. This was a very costly and risky solution, involving long-term stress and repeated changes of hideouts. On the so-called Aryan side, Jews faced the constant threat of denunciation or discovery of their hideout, with the possibility that the person accommodating them would face consequences beyond their means.
How did the final months of the Warsaw Ghetto look? Did Jews sense the approaching end?
People were convinced that another liquidation action would come sooner or later. They also heard rumors that other smaller ghettos were being completely liquidated. They believed that a similar fate awaited them.
In January 1943, the second liquidation action began, which did not yet intend to deport all residents of the ghetto. Then, the first act of armed resistance against the Germans took place. The ghetto conspiration, which was preparing for armed resistance, had almost no weapons. This first armed resistance contributed to an increase in the underground’s popularity. No one hoped for military success; the act of resistance itself mattered. The liquidation action was completed after a few days. Germans at that time deported another few thousand Jews to Treblinka.
The last three months were a period of total disruption to daily life. There were very few families in the ghetto. In the summer of 1942, many lost their loved ones and found themselves alone. Primarily, young men were chosen to work in “shops”. Children were relocated, and only a handful managed to survive in hiding. There were almost no older people; family structures had collapsed completely.
Let’s return to the early years of the Warsaw Ghetto’s existence. Was there a need to educate children and youth in the ghetto?
There were plenty of educational and supportive initiatives for children in the ghetto. As the Germans closed schools at the beginning of the war, secret schooling was the primary form of education. Parents who could afford it would hire a tutor for their children. Children living in the orphanages could attend classes organized for them. Many fantastic teachers, committed to their work and eager to educate and support children, ended up in the ghetto. Youth movements, resembling scouting organizations, arranged seminars and classes for the youth. There also existed a semblance of public education, primarily through vocational courses. Germans permitted Jews to pursue vocational education, often at an advanced level, such as medical studies. There was a school for nurses, and drafting courses were available.
The real issue was the lack of sufficient support available to children from poor families who suffered from hunger and were unable to attend any of the classes. The assistance that could be provided was minimal. Another obstacle preventing children from participating in educational activities was that some of them had to work so their families could survive. Children were sent onto the street to beg; that way, they were helping their families. So, on the one hand, we have suffering, hunger, and death. Alongside that, we have evidence of educational activity and the work of committed individuals, among whom it’s worth mentioning Rose Simchowicz, an incredible and very dedicated teacher. Throughout the year of the ghetto’s existence, she continued to work with her students with outstanding commitment. She died of typhus, which she caught from one of her students. Many individuals tirelessly worked and assisted in every way possible to restore a sense of normalcy for children and youth.
Was there an artistic life in the Warsaw Ghetto?
Among the vast multitude of people who found themselves in the ghetto, there were artists who, just like everyone else, tried to survive. In the ghetto, there were cafes that hosted concerts, theatrical performances, and poetry readings. There were also a few theaters that presented a relatively lighter repertoire. Tickets had to be really cheap; otherwise, no one would be able to afford them. There even existed a Jewish symphony orchestra that was also giving concerts in the ghetto.
There were also many artists with backgrounds in graphic design. As representatives of the intelligentsia, some of them assumed roles of officials in the Jewish Council, a local government highly dependent on the occupier. It was passing on the German regulations for the ghetto but had little autonomy in managing the ghetto.
Artists tried to capture what had happened in the ghetto through their art. Several drawings and sketches portraying scenes from the ghetto life have survived. It was an art created as a testimony, capturing what had transpired, a still frame from terrifying everyday life.
Within the ghetto population, there was a profound longing for literature. Books were one of the most frequently traded items in the ghetto. People wanted to read, and they did it. They sought solace in literature and wanted something that would resonate with their own experiences. Because of that, books with historical elements were quite popular.
You are currently working on the biography of Mordechaj Anielewicz. Could you tell us more about him? What is the “Anielewicz myth”?
Mordechaj Anielewicz was a typical figure among various influential underworld personalities in the Warsaw Ghetto. He was one of the many leaders of Zionist youth movements that aimed to travel to Israel in the future. He spoke in Hebrew and firmly believed in the ideology of his organization, Hashomer Hatzair. Youth organizations were the vanguard of thinking about armed resistance. Representatives of political parties were more careful and put more emphasis on taking responsibility for the residents of the ghetto. They feared that the Germans might hold them collectively accountable in the event of resistance, which led to a generational conflict. Anielewicz stood out as one of the more militantly inclined and radical figures among the young. I believe this, and his charisma made him an influential activist.
His symbolic significance rose because he played an essential role during the first resistance in January 1943. He fought against the Germans and was one of the few survivors. This significantly contributed to the evolution of his personal myth during his lifetime. Jewish Combat Organization (Żydowska Organizacja Bojowa; ŻOB), of which he became the commander, had a relatively simple structure. At first, Anieleiwcz was a member of multi-person management; later on, he was appointed the commander. Throughout the uprising, he oversaw the battles and collected intelligence from various parts of the ghetto where the fights took place. Of course, those fights occurred on a small scale, given that Jews had limited access to weapons.
On May 8th, at 18 Miła Street, the bunker where Anielewicz and numerous other members of ŻOB were hiding was discovered by the Germans. Civilians were dragged out, and the ŻOB members committed suicide. Only a handful of ŻOB members managed to escape. This event holds significant importance in Anielewicz’s founding myth as he embodies the characteristics of an ideal hero: young, devoted, dying in battle, and sacrificing his life for the cause he is associated with.
Are there any diaries or witness testimonies that described Anielewicza?
The first commemorations and mentions of Anielewicz emerged during the war. People who had known him tried to record him in the diaries they wrote in secret. This is quite intriguing because people who had known him and survived the war played an essential role in shaping his memory.
Regarding historical politics, he was an incredibly versatile hero who could be put into different narratives. His surname became a symbol in Zionist youth movements that continued their activities in Poland after the war. Later on, Anielewicz’s myth traveled to Israel. He was their hero, and they thought of him that way, emphasizing his Zionism and commitment to the idea of creating a country for Jews in Mandatory Palestine. Due to him being a member of Hashomer Hatzair, a socialist movement that admired communism, he was a convenient hero for communists as well. By taking quotes from underground press articles written by Anielewicz, one could portray him as almost a communist. The post-war press described him as a 24-year-old worker, although he was a youth educator. Thus, we have a versatile hero who embodies universal heroic traits and may be associated with various themes.
Is there anyone you would like to focus on in the future? Is there any figure or group of people you would like to research?
I am deeply intrigued by the history of a particular organization that operated after the liquidation of the Warsaw ghetto. This organization mainly consisted of people who left the ghetto, and their primary mission was to assist other Jews in hiding on the so-called Aryan side of Warsaw. They helped them obtain funds, organized aid for them, and continued documentation work. They collected reports and diaries as well as encouraged hiding Jews to write down their memories. This organization is the Central Committee of Polish Jews. The archive of this organization is located in Israel, but most of it is Polish-language materials. It is a fascinating story that I think is worth exploring.
Translated by Wiktoria Kujawska (student of English Studies at the University of Wrocław) as part of the translation practice.
