Who+led+the+resistance?



When the war first started, Mordecai Anielewicz and a few of his friends from his youth movement left Warsaw and went to eastern Poland, assuming that Poland would prevent the Germans from advancing. On September 17, Germany occupied the eastern region of Poland and Anielewicz tried to cross the border to Romania but was arrested and put into a Soviet jail. Once he was released he returned to Warsaw, stayed for a while before leaving for Vilna with his girlfriend. While there, he met up with many refugees, youth movement members, and political groups to make a plan to go to some of the occupied territories in Poland to continue educational and political activities underground. "He and his girlfriend, Mira Fukrer, were among the first volunteers that went back to Warsaw (Jewish Virtual Library)". Soon after, Anielewicz became a professional underground activist. He organized cells and youngster groups, instructed and participated in underground publications, organized meetings and seminars and visited other groups in different cities. As the leader of his youth movement, this came fairly simple for him.

At first, he spent time helping people learn Hebrew, reading and studying history, sociology and economics. But once the news about the mass killings of Jews was known by the public, he immediately started organizing self-defense groups inside of the Warsaw Ghetto. He tried to connect with Polish forces outside of the ghetto, but failed in the process.

When the mass deportation to the extermination camps, in 1942, started in the ghetto, Anielewicz was away in an annexed part of Poland trying to organize armed defense. When he returned, he only found 60,000 out of 350,000 Jews, and a small "Jews Fighter Organization" without weapons and with a lot of difficulties. He started reorganize the group and found great success in it. He then had to organize a public committee and a coordination committee. Later that year, he was elected chief commander. In January of the next year, a connection was made with the Polish army in London and weapons were supplied to the ghetto. From then on, more battles were fought until the Warsaw Ghetto was completely liquidated.

Written by Brae Fletcher To learn about further battles between the German soldiers and the Jew in the ghetto, click here. To learn more about Mordecai Anielewicz, click [|here].

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