Resistance During The Holocaust

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During the Holocaust there were many different forms of resistance undertaken by Jewish people. These can be categorised into two main forms, armed resistance and passive resistance. Armed resistance was resistance by Jews and civilians who actively fought back, sometimes they managed to scavenge weapons and use them in attacks on Germans and the different enforcement groups such as the SS. Armed resistance took place mainly in ghettos and concentration camps however, also occurred on the streets of Nazi occupied Europe. Passive resistance was less aggressive and usually meant that Jewish people refused to deny their faith and still practiced their religion in some form. Illegal organisations, Jewish militias and underground political groups also formed, planning and executing attacks and resisting the Nazi rule in occupied Europe. The biggest, most coordinated act of armed resistance took place in the Warsaw Ghetto in Poland in 1943 . Planned by a group called the Zydowska Organizacja Bojowa (Z.O.B), which was polish for Jewish fighting organisation, the ZOB refused to board railroad cars which they knew would take them to However Jews prayed and held ceremonies in secret, hiding in cellars, attics, and basements, as others watched to make sure no Germans saw. In Warsaw alone, in 1940, 600 Jewish prayer groups existed. During times of such despair for Jewish people prayer gave them an opportunity to unite and gain an identity in a world that is constantly trying to dehumanize Jews as a race and as people. During the Holocaust there were many varying forms of resistance these include refusal to follow German orders, the formation of the ZOB, continuing Jewish culture, education, religious practices, and keeping archives of historical events. These acts of Jewish resistance all required great courage and bravery as severe consequences were in place for those who did not follow German

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