In Defiance
Standing up to the Nazis was difficult and dangerous for the Jews. The Nazis were disciplined and heavily armed. Jews had little strength, few resources and hardly any opportunities to fight back. As well, Jews were harshly punished for defying Nazi orders. The Nazis killed not only the Jews who resisted but also their families and communities. Still, thousands of Jews took part in resistance activities across Europe.
In every country occupied by the Nazis, there were uprisings by Jews in ghettos and camps. This included the ghettos of Warsaw and Bialystok and the death camps of Treblinka, Sobibor and Auschwitz-Birkenau. In these uprisings, Jewish fighters seized or smuggled weapons. They killed guards, destroyed buildings, started fires and even blew up a crematorium. Some Jews escaped during these revolts. However, most were later caught and killed.
Outside the camps, Jewish partisan groups sabotaged Nazi operations. From bases in the forests, they blew up train tracks, roads and bridges. These actions aimed to slow the progress of the Nazis and their allies.
Jews also resisted Nazi oppression through non-violent acts and symbolic gestures. The Jews were not treated like humans. So, any small effort to keep their dignity and humanity was a form of spiritual resistance. Jews created art and music, wrote poems and diaries, said prayers and tried to carry on normal life while imprisoned in ghettos. They recorded history in hidden archives and took photos of Nazi crimes. Even attempts to stay healthy and appear strong in the unspeakable conditions of the camps were a powerful form of defiance.
