Monday, December 2, 2013

PERIOD 4: 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 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising lasted for more than a month. In your post cite what you learned that you did not know before watching the film.

28 comments:

Claire Gitkind said...

Before watching this film, I did not know anything about the Jewish Police force that aided the Nazis in return for some measure of temporary "saftey." These Jews made the decision to help the Nazis because they believed that it would ensure protection for their family. However, in the end, they were killed as well. There seemed to be an extreme amount of remorse and guilt from the Jewish policeman in "Uprising." He ended up joining the Jewish fighters and died for the cause.

Heather Clemons said...

Before watching this film, I didn't even know there was an uprising at all in the Warsaw ghetto. I thought that the Jews just went along with what was happening and never fought back. I also didn't know that they lasted for so long against seasoned german soldiers. The film showed how clever and strong they were in the ghetto, using anything they had to fight back. I also didn't realize how easily they moved in and out of the ghetto. I knew it was possible to leave and go to the other side but many of them brought weapons and food back over; some of them even sold other items on the aryan side. I figured it would have been much harder and a much higher risk to leave the ghetto.

Jon Syed said...

Before I saw or herd about this film I didn't know anything about the Warsaw ghetto exept what we learned in class. I didn't know about the jewish police or how they revolted against the Nazis. The jews really did revolt and fight back against the Nazis and tried the best the could. They weren't like sheep and just went along. The movie really showed what happend and how they escaped.

Matt Keogh said...

Before I watched this film, I was pretty ignorant of how things worked in Poland during the Holocaust. I assumed that the Polish people were united against the Nazis, and all the different resistance groups worked together. Also, I thought that the Polish weren't Anti-Semitic. I now know that for a while, the Polish resistance left the Jews to fight their own war, and did nothing to help them. Also, many Polish people hated the Jews, and thought that they deserved what they got.Also, I didn't know that the head of the Warsa Ghetto had committed suicide. I thought that he had helped the Uprising, and had been a part of it. Now I know differently.

Lauren Lightbody said...

Prior to watching this film, I knew very little about what happened in the Warsaw Ghetto. I had no idea that there was an uprising and that the Jews fought back. I also had no idea that the head of the Jewish council took his own life. I learned how Jews secretly crossed over to the Aryan side to sell a variety of products in an effort to get money, and I also learned that some Jewish police aided the Nazis. This film gave me a better idea of what it was like within the ghetto as well as the hardships that the Jews faced while living there.

Frank Chang said...

I learned that there were many Jews who did not simply accept their situation. They would fight back with force and used the smart strategy of taking the weapons of the Nazi soldiers they killed to replenish their ammo and gun supplies. I also learned that some people like the Jewish police officer were genuinely affected by seeing the Jewish kids taken away and changed sides to help the Jewish resistance. I realized that people would smuggle in food and other things like bombs, and that being caught meant certain death. The death of the Jewish leader showed that some Jews could no longer bear their situation and felt hopeless and decided to kill themselves. The Jewish resistance members had to go underground into the sewers and find ways to escape the ghetto. I learned that the Nazis would flood and gas the sewers to try and kill the Jews. I learned that it was hard for a moral man to live in an immoral world.

Isabelle Cunningham said...

This film taught me a lot about what really happened in the Warsaw ghetto. I was not aware of the extent that the Jews trapped in the ghetto's fought back. I had no idea that there were entire organizations constructed dedicated to resisting the Nazi's. Along those same lines, I did not know that people were actually able to smuggle weapons into the ghetto to use against the Germans. I thought that this film was very informative, as a learned a lot about how the Jewish people rebelled against the Nazi rule.

Rebecca Sullivan said...

Before this film, I had not heard of any uprising against the German Nazis. I thought most of the Jews and other targeted people were compliant. During the film, I also learned about the role of Jewish police and how some of them regretted joining the force because they betrayed other Jews. I learned what life was like in the ghetto and the lengths people had to go to in order to survive. I still can't imagine living during that time or enduring the cruel treatment of the Germans.

Dana Hession said...

I was absent from class today

Joe Areano said...

From watching the "Uprising" I learned that the Jewish people were actually able to put up a great fight and forced the Nazis to use more weapons and ammunition then they expected. I did not know the Jewish people were able to organize a group of fighters from getting weapons outside the Ghetto. I can't believe that the small group of Jewish people were able to hold the Nazis off for a month and some were able to escape. I realized now that Jews knew what were going to happen to them if they didn't fight back and many of them were brave enough to put their lives on the line to save others.

Sen Cai said...

To be honest, I did not know that Jews actually united to resist the German Nazis and battled for freedom. From watching the “Uprising”, I learned that no matter how powerful the Nazis were, the Jews could fight back in such harsh condition as long as they have confidence and eagerness to survive. I was so surprised the ghetto uprising lasted for more than a month and some of the Jewish people escaped at the end. Through dangerous smuggling operations and other clandestine strategies, the Jewish people built up their weapons and took the fight to their German captors. I will forever remember the determination, perseverance and faith of these Jewish people and their morality and resistance will remind me the right things to do whenever I lost myself.

Abhi Bushan said...

I honestly learnt alot from watching this film. First of all, I never knew that there was a Jewish resistance of this scale at any given time during the war. I was shocked that this rag tag army of civilians were able to hold off the Germans longer than the polish army was. I found it surprising with how often jews were sneaking in and out of the ghetto to buy food, i had thought that the ghettos were more closed off. Another thing that i was surprised by was the fact that the Jewish resistance was able to sneak arms into the ghetto and were able to wrest it from German control. Lastly i was surprised that the Nazis refused to enter the ghetto at night because of "Jewish Ghosts".

Nick Goetz said...

Before watching the film I didn't know about the Warsaw ghetto uprising. I didnt know that such a small group of people put up such a large fight for so long against such a large millitary force. I also didn't know that they were able to get help and become such an effective fighting force.

Jacqueline Avola said...

The main thing I learned after watching this film was the fact that Jews did retaliate against the Nazis. Not only did they retaliate, but the retaliation was organized, involved many secret operations, and lasted for about a month. Many Jews put their lives on the line for the good of the majority, whether it was sneaking out to get food or sneaking across the border to transfer weapons. Jews took guns and ammunition from the bodies of the Nazi soldiers that they killed. I learned that the Jews hid in the sewers of the ghetto and were aided by Polish sewer workers who were familiar with the layout. I also learned that Nazis flooded and gassed the sewers in an effort to kill the remaining Jews. This film provided me with a new perspective on the willingness of Jews to fight back and showed that not all of them acted like sheep by obeying the demands of the Nazis.

Rachel Sudol said...

Before watching the film, no one had ever told me that some of the people in the ghetto fought back. It was amazing how long and how determined these people were. What surprised me most was the dangers people were willing to take such as crossing to the aryan side in order to get food. I was surprised though that people on the aryan side could recognize them sometimes as being Jewish or maybe it was a lucky guess. I also couldn't believe that some of the people int the ghetto made it out and were able to leave the country. It was so inspiring.

gavin wilsker said...

Uprising, in my mind was probobly the most impactful movie that we have watched so far during this course. I felt myself during feeling some emotions that i had never felt before while watching a movie before. I had a lot of prior knowledge before watching this film regarding the warsaw uprising. One thing that caught my attention, was the fact that the,"uprising" took place inside the ghetto and beyond its walls. I also did not know that the actual fighting lasted for many days and not everyone in the ghetto was killed or deported as result of the resistance.

Unknown said...

I did not know that Jewish resistance was able to put up that strong of a fight. In "The Pianist" we saw a little bit of the resistance when Szpilman was living down the street. This film gave a totally different perspective and showed me that there were groups of Jews who were able to collect weapons and put everything on the line in order to live honorably and fight for their freedom.

Danielle Mcweeney said...

Before the film I never really thought there was such thing as a resistance in the ghetto. like we saw in the "pianist", no one seemed to rebel. I also learned that some of the Jewish people would sneak over on the Arian side to sell goods. Back in the ghetto while the Jews were conspiring towards the Nazis, they were being sent weapons from the Arian side from pols. I did not know before that the non Jewish pols helped the Jews anyway they could. I thought that before the pols just went about their own business, but they didn't, they rebelled along with the Jews. I thought the film really helped me better understand what happened "behind the scenes" and the how the Jewish people were not just sheep following the Nazis, they knew what was happening and acted on it.

Riley Taylor said...

Before watching "Uprising," I had only a general idea of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. I was aware that there was an uprising and I was under the impression that it was largely unsuccessful and more of a "too little, too late" situation. But, the film changed my views. Instead of the small, unorganized revolt I was expecting, I learned that the Jews were actually highly organized in their uprising. I was surprised to see them defeat the first couple Nazi attacks against them. Additionally, I learned from the film that the Jews had a lot of contact outside the Ghetto. I didn't know that they reached out to the British, and I was surprised to learn that the British chose not to help them in the Ghetto.

Gena Ryder said...

I learned that people actually did fight back as much as they could and would try to escape and formed groups such as this one to stop the unfair treatment against Jews. I also learned that the uprising lasted for a long time and was affective In saving Jews which is amazing considering the size of the Gestapo and hit let's followers.

Kayla Murphy said...

Absent in class today.

Zach Bloch said...

I learned that there was an organized resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto. I understood that there were fighters, but nothing this complex. I thought their strategies for importing weapons was interesting as well. I was surprised at how powerful so few men and women could be when going up against such a strong army.

Nick Wright said...

When I first heard what the movie was about I was surprised because I didn't know to much about the ghettos, but I didn't think that some Jews would actually go against the Germans. I figured because the Germans were so powerful and the Jews were pretty much defenseless they wouldn't be able to stand up against them. Seeing them stand up for themselves just goes to show that no matter how bad life might get standing up for yourself is what truly matters at the end.

Jess Nario said...

I did not know that the Jews fought back as much as they did. I assumed there would be a level of resistance, but I never thought it to be a intense this one and last as long as the Warsaw Ghetto did. I also did not know that Jews took off their armbands in order to portray themselves as Aryans in order to get food and supplies for their family. There were even people on the other side who knew these people were changing and threatened to exploit the truth. This film also showcased how strong the Jewish community was to devise plans to attack and take out German soldiers in order to fight back and actually put them off for a month. With careful planning and eventually underground resistance help, some of the ghetto members were able to escape the ghetto at the end and go on to lead successful lives either in Poland or Israel. I did not know that some of these families were successful and went on to continue great things, such as the man who helped out in the Solidarity Movement a few decades later.

Kathleen Scannell said...

I missed several days of this film. What I learned from this movie though is that some Jews fought back. I had never known that there was any resistance, especially as large a resistance as there was in the movie. The movie also showed how strong and brave the Jews in the Ghettos were.

Tristan Guerin said...

this movie reminded me of saveing private ryan. this movie really gave me a first person view of what the jews had to do once they were confined in the getto. the role the Jewish police had was disterbing. they regretted joining the force because they betrayed other Jews. I learned what life was like in the ghetto and the lengths people had to go to in order to survive.

Toby Moesta said...

From the movie I learned that Jews did not go quietly and they did fight back. They would sneak in and out of the ghettos. They made explosives and smuggled TNT. They also snuck rifles and machine guns in to help with the fighting.

Anonymous said...

I did not konw that much about the jewish police before watching the movie uprising. I was surprised that given the tough financial conditions in the ghetto, and the tough living conditions, the jews were able to get their hands on such weapons. thats what made me happy about this movie: thatdespite such terrible conditions,they were still able to fight. I was also surprised that the jewsih police would side witht he nazis.