I.  The invasions of Poland and Russia

       A.   2 million Jews in Poland (invaded Sept 1, 1939)
                1.  Over 400 ghettos established (1940-1944) to deal with the "Jewish question"
                2.  350,000 in Warsaw (largest ghetto)
                3.  200,000 in Lodz

       B.   3 million Jews in Soviet Union (invaded in June, 1941)
                1.  mobile killing squads (Einsatzgruppen) (more info)
                          a.  4 units, 500-900 men each
                          b.  separate from regular invading army (Wehrmacht)
                          c   activity cloacked in euphemisms: "special treatment of the Bolshevik menace"
                          d   composed of middle-class, professional men
                          e.  shot between 1.5 and 2 million Jews (including children) and many non-Jews in less than 2 years
                2.  gas vans
                3.  ghettoes
 
 
 

II.  The ghettoes

 
        B.  The Warsaw ghetto (map)

                1.  Creation of the ghetto  (descriptions by survivors )
                        a.  Established Oct. 12, 1940 on Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement
                        b.  113,000 Christian Poles and 138,000 Jews relocated in two weeks
                        c.  Occupied 2.4% of the city's land but held 30% of the population (375,000)
                        d.  Enclosed by an 11-mile-long, 10-feet-high brick wall
                        e.  Completely sealed November 16, 1940
 

                2.  Life in the ghetto

                        a.  The Judenrat (Jewish Council)
                                1.  24-member committee headed by Adam Czerniakow
                                2.  multi-layered municipality with multiple departments, including Jewish police
                                3.  struggled to meet the mandates of the Nazis and the needs of the Jews
                                4.  Cooperate or fight?

                        b.  Living conditions ( descriptions by survivors )
                                1. Nazis practiced clean violence -- death by starvation (43,000 died in 1941)
                                            a.  ZSS (Jewish Communal Self-Help)
                                            b.  smuggling "Eat and drink, for tomorrow we die"
                                2.  Forced labor under sadistic supervisors
                                3.  Overcrowding (10-15 people in space previously occupied by four)

                        c.  Massacres (descriptions by survivors )

                        d.  Religious life
                                1.  kashrut (pikuakh nefesh)
                                2.  Sabbath
                                3.  prayer
                                4.  weddings

                        e.  Cultural life

                        f.  Children
                                1.  education
                                2.  orphanages (Janusz Korczak , the Polish "Mr. Rogers")
                                3.  Halina's diary

                        g.  The undeground movement

                3.  Deportation ( descriptions by survivors )

                4.  The uprising

                5. Conclusion
                        a.  Animated summary
                        b.  Warsaw ghetto memorials