At noon, sirens rang out in Warsaw on the 81st anniversary of the outbreak of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. At the same time, official celebrations began in front of the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes, where wreaths were laid and the heroes of the uprising were commemorated.
At. At 12, the celebration of the 81st anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, organized by the Social and Cultural Society of Jews in Poland, began at the Monument to the Heroes of the Warsaw Ghetto. Participants of the March of Remembrance will lay flowers at subsequent memorial sites related to the Warsaw Ghetto – the Żegota Monument, the Szmul Zygielbojm Plaque, and the Anielewicz Bunker. The celebrations will end at the monument on Umschlagplatz.
The ceremony is attended by representatives of Jewish organizations, veterans, Righteous Among the Nations, representatives of state and local authorities, diplomats, representatives of Polish cultural institutions, as well as residents of the capital.
They were not going to surrender despite the enemy's extreme superiority
Today we know how cruel the reality was for people locked behind the ghetto wall. In a place where they were condemned to total destruction, there was no intention of passively waiting for the end.
– On the night of April 18-19, 1943, during the eve of Passover, the ghetto was surrounded by German troops. At dawn, Nazi troops entered the deserted Jewish district with the intention of final liquidation. Despite the extreme advantage of the enemy, the inhabitants of the ghetto did not intend to surrender. The narrow streets of the pre-war Northern District became a place of struggle for human dignity. The heroic uprising of several hundred members of the Jewish Combat Organization and the Jewish Military Union was an expression of opposition to the contempt for human life – those gathered in front of the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes heard on Friday.
April 9, 1943 2 thousand Germans entered the ghetto to finally liquidate it. They were opposed by several hundred young people from the conspiratorial Jewish Combat Organization (ŻOB) and the Jewish Military Union (ŻZW). The insurgents under the command of Mordechaj Anielewicz were exhausted and poorly armed. Many knew they had no chance, but they preferred to die in battle to save their dignity. The remaining inhabitants of the ghetto, approximately 50,000 civilians, hid in hideouts and bunkers for many weeks. Their resistance was as important as that with weapons in hand. They remained elusive for many days – they went underground and did not obey the Germans' orders. For four weeks, the Germans razed the ghetto to the ground, burning house after house. Those captured were killed or transported to camps.
Main photo source: TVN24