Tuesday, November 27, 2012

PERIOD 7 - UPRISING!

Between July 22nd and September 12th of 1942, the German authorities deported more than 400,000 Jews who were living in the Warsaw ghetto. The Germans then began the second phase of their operation to remove the remaining Jews from the Warsaw ghetto on April 19, 1943, the eve of Passover. The renewal of deportations was the signal for an armed uprising within the ghetto. The German command originally estimated that it would only take them a few days to put down the resistance. Standing against tanks and seasoned combat troops, the Uprising lasted for more than a month. In your post cite what you learned that you did not know before watching the film.


39 comments:

Molly Burke said...

Before watching this film I did not even know that an uprising in Warsaw was staged, especially to the extent that it was. I always thought that once placed in the ghetto, that was where the Jewish people had to remain and never knew that some of them got away with living on the outside in hiding, constantly in danger. Not only did I not know there was an uprising but I never knew how involved it was, from sneaking in weapons to having full out plans of attack. I priorly through the Jewish people went passively to their deaths and from this film, I have learned a lot more about their fight to survive.

Sarah Masters said...

From the film, I learned that there were Jews who were willing to take action against the Nazis and fight despite being put in the ghettos. I always thought that once the Jews were caught, the Nazis kept such a close eye on them that they would not be able to sneak in weapons or make plans. The film made it clear that the Jews were able to do all of this and become a threat, at least to some extent, to the Nazis by staging their rebellion.

Sarah Masters said...

My response was similar to Molly’s, which I think emphasizes the importance of watching the film. It made it clear that rebellion was possible (and did occur) in the ghettos and showed to all of us that the Jews did take action against the Nazis.

Olivia Montgomery said...

I only got to see the ending of this film so i did not see much. From what i saw i learned about the Jewish people and how hard they fought to stay alive through these attacks. I thought it was interesting how some ended up escaping from the sewers and how they were able to do this.

Olivia Montgomery said...

I agree with Molly and Sarah that i did not know that the uprising was as involved as it was.Also that they were able to sneak weapons and fight!

Amy Lightbody said...

Prior to seeing this film, I did not understand the courage the Jewish people, both men and woman, had while the Germans deported and massacred their people. I also didn't know that the Germans were so particular with the propaganda and video being published to the world. For instance, they wouldn't film the Star of David flag even to show what the German soldiers had to overcome in order to achieve victory. I thought this was because the generals wanted the impression that the Jews were submissive and the Germans had total control. In the film, the generals said "repeat it over and over until its understood" in regards to showing simple propaganda.

Amy Lightbody said...

I agree with what everyone else has said also. I didn't realize how much resistance and sneaking around the Jewish people tried to do to protect themselves. It was very benefitical for them to obtain weapons because it often helped them get away with escaping by means of threat towards officers.

Jamie Cerny said...

I think that the Holocaust is generally portrayed as something that happened to helpless people who couldn't do anything about it, but this movie showed that the Jews were not passive in letting this happen. Even when they realized they didn't have a chance, at the very end of the fighting in the ghetto, they fought to die on their owns terms by shooting at the Nazis even though they knew it wouldn't really do any good.
I agree with Sarah, that the Jews were clearly a threat even though they usually are not portrayed in that way.

Tony Cibelli said...

What I learned from this film that I didn’t know before watching it was that the commonly asked question of “Why didn’t they fight back or do something about what happened?” is now completely irrelevant. After watching this I now know that they did not go willingly or without a fight. This video also taught me that will power is greater than numbers because when the people of the ghetto were fighting, they were fighting for a reason nor just because someone told them to, they were fighting for their lives.

Mia Natale said...

Before this film I didn't know that Jewish triedntonresist the Nazis at all. It makes me a little bit more content knowing that not all Jewish accepted their fate, but challenged it and retaliated against the Nazis. I agree with Jamie that the Jewish were not portrayed as passive at all but tried to fight for what they believed in even they knew it was futile.

Tony Cibelli said...

Also with what Molly said I thought it was also interesting of how planned their actions were. Obviously they are going to have some plan of what’s going to happen, but this looked like more than just a plan thrown together and drawn up in the dirt they day before.

Jake Sanders said...

Before I watched Uprising! I didn't have a complete understanding of how the Jews fought back to the Nazis in the ghetto. I was fascinated at how the Jews were so relentless and strong-willed no matter what they were faced with. The courage and bravery they had during that time was astounding. I learned that they were not passive about living in the ghetto and fought back with great force.

Kurtis Sciba said...

one thing i learned from watching this film is that the Jews actually fought back. i thought at first that the Nazi's just came in and killed them all with no hesitations. i now know that the Jews actually fought back a lot with not just guns but all fire bombs and other tactics. this didn't just stay in the ghettos where the Nazis could kill them they hid underground and also in sewers.

Kurtis Sciba said...

i agree with molly that i had no idea that the uprising in warsaw was staged. and it was interesting to see to what extent it was

Karli Gavin said...

After watching Uprising, I learned about the Jews fight back against the Nazi’s actions to remove them from the ghettos. I always thought that once the Jews were placed into Warsaw ghetto they were on constant portal from the Nazis so I was surprised and learned that the Jews were able to smuggle in weapons and explosives into the ghetto through tunnels. This movie really showed me the amount of pride that the Jews had in themselves and each other.

I agree with Sarah about how the movie makes it clear that the Jews were a treat to the Nazis with their elaborate plans and weapons.

McKayla Palladino said...

During this film I learned how resilient the jews were during the Holocaust. they really did everything that they could to stay alive and it was very admirable. They even gave the Nazi's a run for their money at some points during the film. I agree with Molly. I did not know there was such an uprising of the jewish people. I thought that the jews thought that they had no chance against Hitler and the Nazi's, so they went willingly. This film proved otherwise.

Nancy Morales Gomez said...

I was absent for this assignment.

Molly Burke said...

I agree with Amy that I also did not realize the courage the Jewish people had during this time. One thing in the movie that they said was the one thing in their control was how they die and therefore, they want to go out with a fight. The Jewish people were fearless and kept their strength in numbers, which can be difficult to keep calm in a large group in this situation. They looked out for each other instead of simply fending for themselves and in doing so were able to create a relatively successful resistance.

Jason Silva said...

Before watching the film I did not realize that the resistance in Warsaw was so large. I though it was on a much smaller scale. I didn’t realize that the German troops had such a tough time with crushing the uprising. The Germans had to bomb out the whole city trying to end it. Even with all the firepower the Germans had, they still could not end it very easily.

Jason Silva said...

I agree with Kurtis because I also did not know that the Germans entered the ghetto and just began killing everyone within the walls. They did not care if the people were women or children. They just killed everyone they saw without even thinking about it.

Doug Casey said...

What I mainly did not know before watching "Uprising" was how extensive the Jews' way to fight off the Nazis was. The systematic distribution of weapons among the ghettos was more advanced than I initially imagined. Overall, it gave me the side of the Holocaust which isn't shown as much: how Jews fought against their oppresses, the Nazis, rather than being led to their deaths in gas chambers and all.

I also agree with Olivia in terms of what she said, about how the Jews escaped through the sewers. It was definitely suspenseful to see who survived, whether they would get caught by the SS, etc.

John Stanton said...

What I learned from the video is that even when the Jews thought they were on the right track to stopping the Nazi's, the Nazi's would send in more soldiers to end whatever the Jews had going. But the film did a great job showing how the jews never gave up. They were able to make strategic plans to try and stop the Nazi's. Another thing that I liked in the film that Mr. Gallagher had mentioned in class is how the film presented women. The women in this movie were presented as strong emotionally and physically.

I agree with Tony with the fact that it took pure will power to fight the Nazi's and the Jews weren't fighting for anything else but their lives.

Michelle Sa said...

Before watching this film there was a lot that I did not know. I was not aware that there was even a ghetto in Warsaw to begin with. And I definetly did not know that there were Jewish men and women laying their lives down to fight. I also did not know that the Uprising lasted for so long. I thought it was really interesting and informative.

Michelle Sa said...

In response to Molly Burke..

I also did not know about what extent the Jewish people went to in order to fight. They had clever ways of working around the Germans and planning their attacks strategically. I also learned more about their fight to survive.

Unknown said...

Like most of the class, I did not know about the uprising in Warsaw. Up until this point, I was under the impression that the Jewish people did not truly retaliate, they were angry to say the least about everything that was happening to them up but I was unaware that they fought back. This film truly showed me that they not only fought back but they fought back with a plan to free themselves in the end. As Mr. Gallagher had mentioned in class, I also liked the portrayal of women in this film, as strong and independent characters who were not afraid to fight.
I agree with Molly and Tony, the intricacy of their plans to fight back and then escape were very well thought out. The Jews were not only going to fight against the Natzi’s but they also wanted to free themselves and escape. I thought it was great at the end of the film we were able to find out what happened to the individual characters that the movie was based on. I was surprised to see that many of them went on to do great things with the rest of their lives despite what they had already been though.

Sean Vaccaro said...

In watching Uprising, I learned to what extent some of the Jewish people fought back against the Nazi's. I also was amazed by the amount of obstacles the rebels endured in trying to escape the clutches of the Nazis and death, from flooding to poisonous gasses, to full on warfare, the Jewish people had to move mountains just to get across the street.

Olyvia Kane said...

Before watching "Uprising", I had no idea that such an uprising had even occurred within the ghetto in Warsaw. I learned that the renewal of deportations was the signal for an armed uprising within the ghetto. I was shocked, yet impressed, to learn that the Jews were willing to take such action against the Nazis despite their disposition in the ghetto. The Jews in the Warsaw ghetto went to great lengths to protect their people, regardless of the dangers they had to face. In learning about this uprising, I was impressed that the Jews created underground organizations and that these self-defense units were crafty with their weapons and strategies. I thought it was very smart of the Jews in the Warsaw ghetto to flee to hiding places or bunkers on the day the German forces intended to begin the liquidation of the Warsaw ghetto. From this film, I also learned that the German command originally estimated that it would take only a few days to put down the resistance; however, this stand lasted over a month. It is both impressive and inspiring that that the Jews in the Warsaw ghetto had such willpower and determination to make a stand.

Olyvia Kane said...

Like Molly, I had always thought that once placed in the ghetto there was no possible way out for the Jews. I had no idea that some lived in hiding outside the ghetto, after living within. I learned from this film that the Jews did in fact fight for their survival and that they did not passively accept their fate declared by the Nazis. I think that this film was important in order to understand all aspects of the Holocaust. I had no idea that there was such an uprising in the ghetto which made me rethink my understanding of the Holocaust.

David Morin said...

When we watched the first movie on the ghetto I was wondering why the Jews didn’t fight back. After seeing this movie my thought came true. It seemed like the thought of getting everybody to cooperate as well as getting all of the weapons inside would be nearly impossible. The biggest thing that stuck out to me is how courageous the get who stood up the police was. He put his life on the line to save over 20 people. At first he wanted to leave but after a while he made up his mind that he was going to get everyone out and save their lives.

David Morn said...

I agree with sarah I didnt know that this could even be possible. After seeing the first movie it seemed like any uprising would be stopped by the Jewish or german police. The weapons would be even harder to get in and would be even more challanging then getting everyone to work together

Andrew Pickering said...

Before watching the film "Uprising!", i did not know that the jewish people actually faught back against the Nazi's like how they did in the film. I was very impressed with the plans they made to fight back at the Nazi's and how to attack them. They also stayed together as a big team and faught through it all together.
I also agree with what Amy said in regards to the Jews having such courage to fight back and also how the Germans were not able to film the Star of David because it was such against their beliefes.

Natalie Bely said...

I was absent for this assignment.

Ben Fowle said...

It would only seem that with the limited resources that the Warsaw Jews had that the rebellion against the Nazis would only last for a few days. Despite being out numbers and out gunned the Warsaw Jew were able to hold back the Nazis for considerably longer, a little longer than a month, by rigid organization, great planning, and cunning strategy. What I thought was a nice stray from the norm in this movie was that it was actually showing that the Jews in the ghetto did in fact fight back rather than what most movies depict as people just willingly walk to their death.

Sarah Fontaine said...

I like the different perspective we get in this movie. In the "Pianist" it made the Jewish people look weak and passive during this whole situation in Poland. It was nice to see the Jewish people fight back and be resistant, much like what sarah said, and actually fight back well. I really did not think that that actually happened. One thing that surprised me was how easily that the gaurds of the ghetto could be bribed.

Ben Fowle said...

In response to Molly's post...
Yes, it was interesting how the Jews in the ghetto assigned the more Aryan looking Jews to live in hiding outside that ghetto in order to pass information and weapons to the rebellion as well as sabotage the Nazis.

Saurabh Verma said...

Prior to watching this film, I did not know that there was an uprising staged by the Jews. After watching this film, I learned that Jews staged an uprising, and to some extent, were pretty successful. It was good to see that not all Jews felt helpless and surrendered. This film also proved that if the Jews wanted, they could become an actual threat to the Nazis.

Saurabh Verma said...

I agree with Sarah that the film made it clear that Jews could have staged a successful rebellion, as depicted in the film. As a result, they would have significantly decreased the damages caused by the Nazis.

James Harrold P.7 said...

This film in itself is powerful, I have had the oppourtunity to see the entire thing. It is powerful, it shows the pride, the strength, the resilliance of the Polish people, to fight back against oppression, and unfair treatment. Against all odds they staged a rebellion, with few weapons, almost no ammunition, and mostly hommade explosives (molotove cocktails). Each man and woman in Poland suffered, and in many cases, their suffereing went ingnored. We all hear about the Heroic invasion and Liberation of France, the Defense of England from the Luftwaffe. The Liberation of Holland, but Poland had no such great liberation, it seemed to be forgotten by the allies. These people had no support, and they staged a coup so grand that it has gone down into the history books. These people suffered and died fighting to keep themselves and their families alive, I hope that the dead Poles will never be forgotten, for they are true heros.

James Harrold P.7 said...

I agree with Sarah Masters, it seems amazing that the resistance was able to sneak in any weapons at all. It did seem as though the Nazi occupation force held such control over the citizens, that smuggling anything (especially weapons) would be inpossible.