Jeremiah Cully Mr.

Neuburger Eng 101 15 April 2012 Resistance of the Jews One of the easiest things to do in life is resist for survival. When the Jews were quarantined by the masses there was little hope for survival. The bond between the Jews in the camps was far beyond blood and sweat. The importance of brotherhood was seen in the eyes of every person gazing through the barbed fence just outside the concentration camps. One might ask their self if resistance is so easy to achieve. What if survival meant the loss of your brothers? The following will illustrate a deep synopsis of the Jewish resistance to the Nazi regime, and one will understand it was more than just words. Concentration camps were meant to kill off the Jews in an easy and effective way, but it had more affect on them than just death. Their mindsets were destroyed and their faith was breaking. The most terrible thing to do to somebody was to take away all that they believe in and replace it with lies. Thats how a lot of the Jews felt; they thought God had betrayed them. But, there were few that still believe God was on their side and there was still light amongst the darkness that surrounded them. Even according to a survivor. Hope was surely instrumental in survival. (1) Many people that still had faith or some kind religion, often had tried their best to resist the Nazis any way they could. While people who had given up died because they had lost all hope. Other types of http://bit.ly/cccHdg (1)

resistance that could be argued was suicide, the Jewish people believed that not dying by the Nazis hand was in fact resistance. Furthermore, thousands of young Jews tried to escape the Ghettos by using the forest as a cover. The most common form of resistance for the Jews was physically fighting back, many had gathered up and tried to fight back, not many had succeeded and a lot had fallen. Furthermore, thousands of young Jews tried to escape the Ghettos by using the forest as a cover. Some had even tried to kill some of the Nazis Guards in the Ghetto. Though they thrived to kill them, and they had gotten to kill some, the Nazis pushed back more and punished them. That right there is what the Jewish people were frightened of. They were afraid of death, and who doesnt blame them, nobody wants to die. Even if they didnt care, they still did not want to see their love ones be slaughtered right in front their eyes. Knowing that, the people had a mindset that they would die no matter what and that they might as well go down fighting. Some people had even helped the Jews in their revolt, including the Polish. They provided food and shelter for the people who had escaped and had even gone far enough to set up plans to help prisoners escape. A group called egota, who were all rescuers on their own, founded the group. Some founders were also Polish undergrounds. It was meant to aid the Jews, but they realized how tough it would be. egota was organized by people who were already helping Jews separately and who knew the great complications with which rescuers had to handle with. A survivor testimony shows how she resisted. My mother would have none of it. She decided to escape to Warsaw. On the train to Warsaw, the German Railway Police arrested her. (2) Hannah was twenty-four years old and was a teacher. A survivor of a holocaust retains knowledge about the human kind http://bit.ly/IsCmSI (2)

that the rest of us are rarely aware of, for they have seen people break under the circumstances and have seen what they are capable of. Hannah knew that she had to leave, and her first thought was to jump from the train. The Germans were saying that they were taking us to a camp, but the train engineers were saying 'It's a lie; they are transporting you to a gas chamber. Jump, we will be going slowly. (3) There were other types of resistance that people thought was enough to keep them alive. Many ran away, some ran during the time in the Ghettos, they thought it was better than waiting for their death, though they did not know it at the time. Thats resistance in some of their eyes; resistance basically is not going with somebodys plan. Thats what it is in a nut shell. Whether its running away, or fighting back. According to this, Hannah had chosen not to fight. I jumped. And-- like-this --my heart was thumping. The train

Hannah and her Daughter after she escaped .

rolled along. They saw me and shot. They were all shooting. None of the bullets hit me. I was the first one [to jump]; maybe others jumped too, but later. (4) She soon escaped and managed to move to a different country and raise her own family. One example of Jewish people uprising against the Nazis in the concentration camp is Sobibor. Many attacks came from individuals, but it lacked the power. A lot of people wonder. Why didnt they just pick up guns and shoot? Why didnt they do anything and just let they family starve? People have to understand that if one Jew killed a Nazis, then they would just shoot that person, but they also randomly select 20-30 Jewish people and kill them. Sometime between the summer and fall of 1943, rumors were going around the camp that people were gathering to fight back against http://bit.ly/IsCmSI (3) http://bit.ly/IsCmSI (4)

then Nazis and break lose. The big plan was to help six hundred people escape from the camp. That was easier said than done. Though it sounded great, they needed somebody that had military experience. According to this: On September 23, 1943, a transport from Minsk rolled into Sobibor. Unlike most incoming transports, 80 men were selected for work. The SS were planning on building storage facilities in the now empty Lager IV, thus chose strong men from the transport rather than skilled workers. Among those chosen on that day was First Lieutenant Alexander "Sasha" Pechersky as well as a few of his men. (5) He was a soviet and a General. That was

just what they needed. The following days, they tried to get Sasha
Alexander "Sasha" Pechersky

on the boat with them. They had some problems getting to go along, but soon he joined them. He made plans to break out on October 17. His plan consisted of killing all the Germans in the workshops and taking their guns. Then making small knives for all the prisoners. A Ukrainian guardhad found the body of Scharfhrer Beckman behind his desk and ran outside where SS men hear him yell, "A German is dead!" This alerted the rest of the camp to the revolt. The prisoners at the roll call square yell, "Hurrah!" (6) Then it was every man and woman for themselves. It was noted that around 300 people had made it out. Throughout their escape, only 50-70 people have survived all of this. Nobody know what they are truly like until they forced to do something or they die. http://bit.ly/K8iSow (5) http://bit.ly/K8iSow (6)

Rosenberg, Jennifer. "The Sobibor Revolt." Web log post. About.com. Web. Smajzne, Stanislaw. "Extracts from the Tragedy of a Jewish Teenager." SJ H.E.A.R.T, 2007. Web. 19 Apr. 2012 Holocaust Timeline Resisrance." (2005): 1. A Teachers Guide to the Holocaust. Florida Center for Instructional Technology,. Web. 19 Apr. 2012 "The International Institute for Holocaust Research Yad Vashem Publications." The International Institute for Holocaust Research. Yad Vashem. Web. 19 Apr. 2012.

Jewish Resistance." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, D.C. Web. 19 Apr. 2012