Why Did Oneg Shabbat Preserve Their Side Of History

Oneg Shabbat - Preserving Their Side of History

During the Holocaust, there was much injustice. Eventually, there were many people and groups that decided it was time to resist. Some of these groups decided to use armed force. Others, like Oneg Shabbat, had different goals. They decided to not use armed force. What they did instead was that they worked in the shadows, either smuggling things in and out of the ghettos or documenting the Jewish side of history. Specifically, Oneg Shabbat was an unarmed social resistance group whose goal was to preserve their side of history in the face of many obstacles.

The underground archives were run by a group called Oneg Shabbat, “which included several people from various social backgrounds took the challenge

The founder of the Archive was Emanuel Ringelblum. He made sure that he knew everything that was happening everywhere in the ghetto. “I had daily personal contact with the life around me. Information reached me on everything that happened to Jews in Warsaw or the suburbs.” (“Oneg Shabbat Documents”). He used this information to know if the Germans were coming or if they were learning about the Archive. Everything that Oneg Shabbat collected was to help preserve their culture and record the Jewish experience during that time and place.”Ringelblum and the Oneg Shabbat gathered more than just diaries, there are also studies, research, and reports; essays, poems, and folklore. They also collect newspapers, maps, candy wrappers, and photos; pieces of their reality” (“What the Secret”). However, Oneg Shabbat had some obstacles that were specific to their goal. “In May 1940, I decided that it would be proper to find a wider support for this important work.” (“Oneg Shabbat Documents”). Ringelblum decided that it was time for more people to come in and help. However, it was difficult

Oneg Shabbat specifically used “the refugee points, soup kitchens house committees, and underground schools to provide the information, documents, and testimonies for the archive.” (“The Archive''). Another example of unarmed resistance is the Girl Couriers. “travel to Vilna, Bialystok, Lvov, Kowel, Lublin, Częstochowa, or Radom to smuggle in such forbidden things as illegal publications, goods, money,” (Girl Couriers [Page #1]). They would smuggle items in and out of the ghettos. They were also the ones who smuggled in gun parts, one at a time. The smuggling that they did was dangerous because if they got caught, they could be sentenced to death camps or labor camps. Oneg Shabbat used unarmed social resistance to collect information and documents of people's history, but there were many others who also used unarmed resistance to help people inside the