Hitler’s and Himmler’s first checkpoint was to separate all Jews and minorities from the “master race” Aryan people (Allen 37). The Nazis held the Jews in ghettos until they could figure out what to do with them early in the war. Later after the “Final Solution” was approved, they were primarily held in ghettos until they could be shipped to camps to die (Allen 37). Many ghettos were made in major German and Polish cities. The biggest ghetto to be built during the war was the Warsaw Ghetto in Poland. Warsaw was taken on September 29, 1939, and quickly a few months later on October 12, 1940, the Warsaw Ghetto was officially opened to house Jews and minorities (Warsaw).
Many Jews were moved to the ghettos in late 1939 and all throughout 1940 (Allen 37). Many were forced into the ghettos by force by S.S. soldiers. Many were kicked out of their houses and were not permitted to take any of their belongings. Many families had to enter the ghettos with nothing of theirs (Allen 36).
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Many people were sick and underfed (Warsaw). Illness was also a constant looming threat because partly of the food, and that the ghettos were always damp and wet (Allen 38). Many Jewish organizations around the world tried to help ghettos in Germany and Poland, but the help wasn’t enough (Warsaw). Arguably the worst and definitely the biggest ghetto during the war was Warsaw Ghetto. An estimated 83,000 Jews and minorities died in the ghetto, mainly due to sickness and starvation. In January 1943, after a few years into the ghetto’s existence, many Jewish men decided to fight back against the S.S. so they wouldn't be deported to Treblinka killing center. They were able to drive the S.S. out of the ghetto and take control for a few weeks until an entire S.S. army came to crush them once and for all