71st anniversary of Warsaw Ghetto uprising commemorated
Crowds in Polish capital mark beginning of Jewish resistance against Nazis during World War II.
By JPOST.COM STAFF, JTACeremony commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, April 19, 2013. (photo credit: REUTERS)
Members of the Jewish community and residents of Warsaw on Saturday marked the 71st anniversary of the start of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising during World War II.Masses commemorated the Jewish revolt against final Nazi efforts in 1943 to deport the remaining ghetto population to death camps.A commemorative ceremony took place at the Monument to the Ghetto Heros in the Polish capital.The crowds then marched to the Umschlagplatz square where Jews had been rounded up by German troops for deportation to the Treblinka death camp.In 1940, the Nazis crammed around 400,000 Jews into the ghetto.After mass deportations to the Treblinka death camp in 1942, some 700 fighters launched an uprising against thousands of German soldiers. The uprising was crushed after nearly a month, and about 7,000 Jews were shot.The remaining Jews were sent to concentration camps.
