Marek Edelman

‘We knew we couldn’t win. We fought so we could die with dignity.’ Harrowing words of Warsaw Ghetto Uprising survivor a powerful reminder of heroism in adversity on 76th anniversary of doomed resistance

One of the most iconic photos of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising shows a terrified young boy with his hands raised in surrender as women and children pulled from a bunker are surrounded by German troops. Public domain

The awareness that the Germans were striving for the total extermination of Jews changed the character of Jewish resistance. Under no illusions about what the Germans were planning to do to them, ghetto residents began to build tunnels, bunkers and shelters. In total, about a thousand poorly armed insurgents took part in the fighting. Set against them were more than two thousand Wehrmacht, SS and Ukrainian, Lithuanian and Latvian auxiliary units with armoured vehicles and artillery.

Łódź rings in “year of Marek Edelman” as city remembers one of its most famous sons

Born on January 1, 1918 Edelman fought in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, the Warsaw Uprising and went on to be a prominent anti-racism campaigner.

Beaten, starved and tortured: The horrifying story of Hitler’s concentration camp for children

TFN’s Stuart Dowell travelled to the city of Łódź where, 76 years ago this month, Hitler’s monstrous SS set up a ‘concentration’ camp exclusively for children aged between 2 and 16.

This site uses "cookies". By staying on it, you agree to the use of cookies.

Accept
Learn more