http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FraPAIvIOT0

Members of the Polish Resistance discuss their memories of the Warsaw Uprising on August 2, 1944, during World War II when Polish citizens took up arms in order to liberate Warsaw from the Nazis. The resistance expected the Soviet Union’s Red Army to intervene and aid in the fight but the Soviets did not approach the city. With little outside support, the Polish Resistance surrendered on October 2, 1944–with approximately 16,000 of its members dead. During the uprising, about 150,000 to 200,000 Polish civilians died mainly via mass executions by German troops. The Germans lost around 8,000 soldiers. One Polish Resistance member, Christine Jaroszewicz, who was an underground courier during the rebellion, describes the zealous attitudes of those in the resistance after years of being oppressed under Nazi rule: “The passion with which we participated…probably  difficult to understand to people who never lost freedom. And we had this terrific faith that we were going to be free.” The second part of this documentary can be found here.

The post Warsaw Ghetto
Polish Underground Fighters on Rising Up Against the Nazis appeared first on Witnify.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJ0Vo0XMMzQ

Members of the Polish Resistance discuss their memories of the Warsaw Uprising on August 2, 1944, during World War II when Polish citizens took up arms in order to liberate Warsaw from the Nazis. One underground fighter, Waclaw Micuta, who lead the liberation of the concentration camp in the Warsaw Jewish ghetto, recalls the liberation: “My God, it was very emotional…there was an old Jew who …put on his knees and cried and he thanked us.” The Polish Resistance expected the Soviet Union’s Red Army and the Allies to intervene and aid in the fight–this help did not come. Christine Jaroszewicz, who was an underground courier during the rebellion and resistance member says, “And we believed so much in the West…” With little outside support, the Polish Resistance surrendered on October 2, 1944–with approximately 16,000 of its members dead. During the uprising, about 150,000 to 200,000 Polish civilians died mainly via mass executions by German troops. The Germans lost around 8,000 soldiers.

The post Warsaw Ghetto
Polish Underground Fighters & the Jewish Unit of the Uprising appeared first on Witnify.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaNlJgzRYn0

Holocaust survivors that were present during the mass deportation of the Warsaw Ghetto give their accounts of what it was like as Nazi police officers took Jews away from their families to bring them to Umschlagplatz, a new transfer station. One survivor recalls thinking it would be better to commit suicide than to be taken to a separate location where it was rumored that all transfers would be exterminated.

The post The Holocaust
Holocaust Stories of Mass Deportation in Warsaw Ghetto appeared first on Witnify.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pin_H8rcfPQ

Holocaust survivors, who also were part of the group that fought the Germans during the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, explain their stories. During the uprising, they were able to kill some of the German soldiers and it helped to keep their spirits high. They describe the call to arms that every Jew in Warsaw felt as they made it their duty to “not go without resistance.”

The post The Holocaust
Resistance at the Warsaw Ghetto appeared first on Witnify.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TC2wsXvDzCA

Survivors of the Holocaust and the Warsaw Ghetto uprising explain what it was like to be in the bunkers during the uprising. They share stories about the food and water conditions, hearing the Nazis taunt them on radios, and the horrible life-changing decisions they had to make in order to survive.

The post The Holocaust
The Bunkers During the Uprising appeared first on Witnify.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgyKx37D2j4

Two survivors of the Holocaust that also lived in the Warsaw Ghetto describe the horrible conditions in the area. They explain the massive amounts of starvation as their fathers and siblings, swollen with hunger, were helpless and willing to eat molded bread.

The post The Holocaust
Starvation in the Warsaw Ghetto appeared first on Witnify.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85OIE0EVvFg

Holocaust survivors, who were also present during the deportation of Jews form the Warsaw Ghetto, recall what the ghetto was like before and after the mass deportation in 1942. They describe signs that displayed a new “settlement” that they would be moving the Jews to–falsely describing the new place as a far better place to inhabit than the ghetto. Nonetheless, survivors share their powerful stories on knowing that death was certain if they went with the Germans to Treblinka.

The post The Holocaust
Aftermath of the Warsaw Ghetto Deportations to Treblinka appeared first on Witnify.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUjxbHyNmzM

Holocaust survivor Israel Gutman gives his firsthand account of what life was like in the Warsaw Ghetto. Gutman explains that, as bad as things were, they always seemed to just get worse.

The post The Holocaust
Holocaust Survivor: ‘Every Stage Was More Difficult’ appeared first on Witnify.