The Warsaw Ghetto was established by the German occupying forces in November 1940. Jews were required to live there, separated from the rest of the population and desperate for food. At its height, as many as 460,000 Jews lived in this cramped area. Then the Germans told them to go to a train station to be re-settled. In reality, they were being sent to concentration and death camps. The largest number, 254,000 were sent to Treblinka to be killed.
There was an uprising by the Jews in 1943 but it was put down by the German army which had far superior forces.
Today in Warsaw, the outline of the ghetto wall is shown on the ground but there is no museum about it.
The film, The Pianist, is about the ghetto and one of the minority of people who survived. Watch the trailer for the film here.
This is one of a number of artefacts we have acquired. We hope to exhibit them in due course.
More artefacts
