The Chief Rabbi of Poland Michael Joseph Schudrich said that the truth about the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising had to be told. “This is our moral obligation. Its heroes have shown that there are values in life for which you have to fight to the end,” he said. The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising began on April 19, 1943. It was the first urban uprising in occupied Europe.
“Despite the passage of years and changes in civilization, we must not forget what happened then, the people who died, who were murdered. The testimony of their lives teaches us that there are values in life, such as freedom or human dignity, for which one must fight to the end, to the last breath”
– Rabbi Schudrich said.
“A friend of mine asked Marek Edelman, the last commander of the ghetto uprising whether he took up the fight because he wanted to choose the form of his death. He confessed at the time that it was not about choosing a form of death, but about choosing how he would live until he died,” said Michael Schudrich.
To commemorate the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, on Monday, April 19th, at noon, sirens sounded in the capital city. The signal lasted one minute.
The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising began on April 19, 1943. It was the first urban uprising against the Germans in occupied Europe, a symbolic act considering the small chance of success. In an uneven battle, which lasted almost a month, the poorly armed fighters of the Jewish Combat Organization and the Jewish Military Union resisted the SS, Wehrmacht, Security Police and auxiliary formations.
At that time, the Germans razed the ghetto to the ground, methodically burning each house. On 8 May 1943, in a shelter at 18 Miła Street, the leader of the uprising, Mordechaj Anielewicz, together with a group of several dozen fighters committed suicide. A few insurgents managed to get out of the burning ghetto through the sewers.