Author: Josh Timko
Interviewer: Jordan Downing
Upon German expansion at the beginning of World War II, Jews living in Eastern Europe faced horrific genocide efforts from the Nazi party and various collaborators among local ethnic groups. Whereas many Jews were immediately executed or forcibly placed in crowded, disease-ridden concentration/labor camps or ghettos, those who were able to escape into the area’s dense forestry formed partisan military groups to actively fight Nazi authorities. There are some examples of armed revolts in camps and ghettos, the most famous being the Warsaw Uprising; however, violent uprisings led to the harsher enforcement of anti-Semitic policies which furthered Nazi extermination efforts. Despite facing ethnic subjection and constant oppression, Jews maintained their faith in God and continued to practice traditional Jewish customs. In order to most effectively resist anti-Semitic Nazi policies, Eastern European Jews combined various nonviolent resistance methods to survive genocide efforts and retain Jewish culture.