Excerpt from Deportations of Slaves to Work and Work Conditions
Excerpt from Deportations of slaves to work and work conditions
Milch made particular reference to foreign workers by stating: "It is therefore not possible to exploit fully all the foreigners unless we compel them by piece-work or we have the possibility of taking measures against foreigners who are not doing their bit." (R-124) The policy as actually executed was even more Draconian than the policy as planned by the conspirators. Impressed workers were underfed and overworked. They were forced to live in grossly overcrowded camps where they were held as virtual prisoners and were otherwise denied adequate shelter. They were denied adequate clothing, adequate medical care and treatment and, as a result, suffered from many diseases and ailments. They were generally forced to work long hours up to and beyond the point of exhaustion. They were beaten and subjected to inhuman indignities. An example of this mistreatment is found in the conditions which prevailed in the Krupp factories. Foreign laborers at the Krupp Works were given insufficient food to enable them to perform the work required of them.
A memorandum upon Krupp stationery to Mr. Hupe, director of the Krupp Locomotive Factory in Essen, dated 14 March 1942, states: "During the last few days we established that the food for the Russians employed here is so miserable, that the people are getting weaker from day to day. "Investigations showed that single Russians are not able to place a piece of metal for turning into position for instance, because of lack of physical strength. The same conditions exist at all places of work where Russians are employed." (D-316) The condition of foreign workers in Krupp workers camps is described in detail in an affidavit executed in Essen, Germany, on 15 October 1945 by Dr. Wilhelm Jager, who was the senior camp doctor. Dr. Jager makes the following statement: "*** Conditions in all these camps were extremely [Page 900] bad. The camps were greatly overcrowded. In some camps there were twice as many people in a barrack as health conditions permitted. At Kramerplatz, the inhabitants slept in treble-tiered bunks, and in the other camps they slept in double-tiered bunks. The health authorities prescribed a minimum space between beds of 50 cm, but the bunks in these camps were separated by a maximum of 20-30 cm.
"The diet prescribed for the eastern workers was altogether insufficient. They were given 1,000 calories a day less than the minimum prescribed for any German. Moreover, while German workers engaged in the heaviest work received 5,000 calories a day, the eastern workers in comparable jobs received only 2,000 calories. The eastern workers were given only 2 meals a day and their bread ration. One of these two meals consisted of a thin, watery soup. I had no assurance that the eastern workers, in fact, received the minimum which was prescribed. Subsequently, in 1943, when I undertook to inspect the food prepared by the cooks, I discovered a number of instances in which food was withheld from the workers. "The plan for food distribution called for a small quantity of meat per week. Only inferior meats, rejected by the veterinary such as horse meat or tuberculin infested was permitted for this purpose. This meat was usually cooked into a soup. "The clothing of the eastern workers was likewise completely inadequate. They worked and slept in the same clothing in which they had arrived from the east. Virtually all of them had no overcoats and were compelled, therefore, to use their blankets as coats in cold and rainy weather. In view of the shortage of shoes many workers were forced to go to work in their bare feet, even in the winter. Wooden shoes were given to some of the workers, but their quality was such as to give the workers sore feet. Many workers preferred to go to work in their bare feet rather than endure the suffering caused by the wooden shoes. Apart from the wooden shoes, no clothing of any kind was issued to the workers until the latter part of 1943, when a single blue suit was issued to some of them. To my knowledge, this represented the sole issue of clothing to the workers from the time of their arrival until the American forces entered Essen. "Sanitary conditions were exceedingly bad.
At Kramerplatz, where approximately 1,200 eastern workers were crowded into the rooms of an old school, the sanitary conditions were [Page 901] atrocious in the extreme. Only 10 childrens' toilets were available for the 1,200 inhabitants. At Dechenschule, 15 childrens' toilets were available for the 400-500 eastern workers. Excretion contaminated the entire floors of these lavatories. There-were also few facilities for washing. The supply of bandages, medicine, surgical instruments, and other medical supplies at these camps was likewise altogether insufficient. As a consequence, only the very worst cases were treated. "The percentage of eastern workers who were ill was twice as great as among the Germans. Tuberculosis was particularly widespread among the eastern workers. The T. B. rate among them was 4 times the normal rate of (2 percent eastern workers, German .5 percent). At Dechenschule approximately 2 1/2 percent of the workers suffered from open T. B. These were all active T. B. cases. The Tartars and Kirghis suffered most; as soon as they were overcome by this disease they collapsed like flies. The cause was bad housing, the poor quality and insufficient quantity of food, overwork, and insufficient rest.
The Stono Rebellion
South Carolina, September 9, 1739: A band of slaves march down the road, carrying banners that proclaim "Liberty!". They shout out the same word. Led by an Angolan named Jemmy, the men and women continue to walk south, recruiting more slaves along the way. By the time they stop to rest for the night, their numbers will have approached one hundred.
What exactly triggered the Stono Rebellion is not clear. Many slaves knew that small groups of runaways had made their way from South Carolina to Florida, where they had been given freedom and land. Looking to cause unrest within the English colonies, the Spanish had issued a proclamation stating that any slave who deserted to St Augustine would be given the same treatment. Certainly this influenced the potential rebels and made them willing to accept their situation. A fall epidemic had disrupted the colonial government in nearby Charlestown (Charleston), and word had just arrived that England and Spain were at war, raising hopes that the Spanish in St. Augustine would give a positive reception to slaves escaping from Carolina plantations. But what may have actually triggered the rebellion on September 9th was the soon-to-be-enacted Security Act.
In mid-August, a Charlestown newspaper announced the Security Act. A response to the white's fears of insurrection, the act required that all white men carry firearms to church on Sundays, a time when whites usually didn't carry weapons and slaves were allowed to work for themselves. Anyone who didn't comply with the new law by September 29 would be subjected to a fine.
Whatever triggered the Rebellion, early on the morning of the 9th, a Sunday, about twenty slaves gathered near the Stono River in St. Paul's Parish, less than twenty miles from Charlestown. The slaves went to a shop that sold firearms and ammunition, armed themselves, then killed the two shopkeepers who were manning the shop. From there the band walked to the house of a Mr. Godfrey, where they burned the house and killed Godfrey and his son and daughter. They headed south. It was not yet dawn when they reached Wallace's Tavern. Because the innkeeper at the tavern was kind to his slaves, his life was spared. The white inhabitants of the next six or so houses they reach were not so lucky -- all were killed. The slaves belonging to Thomas Rose successfully hid their master, but they were forced to join the rebellion. (They would later be rewarded. See Report re. Stono Rebellion Slave-Catchers.) Other slaves willingly joined the rebellion. By eleven in the morning, the group was about 50 strong. The few whites whom they now encountered were chased and killed, though one individual, Lieutenant Governor Bull, eluded the rebels and rode to spread the alarm.
The slaves stopped in a large field late that afternoon, just before reaching the EdistoRiver. They had marched over ten miles and killed between twenty and twenty-five whites.
Around four in the afternoon, somewhere between twenty and 100 whites had set out in armed pursuit. When they approached the rebels, the slaves fired two shots. The whites returned fire, bringing down fourteen of the slaves. By dusk, about thirty slaves were dead and at least thirty had escaped. Most were captured over the next month, then executed; the rest were captured over the following six months -- all except one who remained a fugitive for three years.
Uncomfortable with the increasing numbers of blacks for some time, the white colonists had been working on a Negro Act that would limit the privileges of slaves. This act was quickly finalized and approved after the Stono Rebellion. No longer would slaves be allowed to grow their own food, assemble in groups, earn their own money, or learn to read. Some of these restrictions had been in effect before the Negro Act, but had not been strictly enforced.
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
The first civilian, urban uprising in German-occupied Europe, the heroic revolt begun by the Jewish Fighting Organization was joined by the remaining ghetto population. It was the longest lasting Jewish uprising lasting from April 19 through May 16, 1943. Of negligible military value, the revolt became a symbol of the indomitableness of the human spirit.
In response to the July 1942 deportations from the Warsaw ghetto and to reports of mass murder in Lithuania the Zydowska Organizacja Bojowa (Jewish Fighting Organization, henceforth ZOB) was founded. When the first wave of deportations ended in September 300,000 Jews had been removed leaving a ghetto population of around 60,000, most of them young people. The survivors blamed themselves for not having offered armed resistance.
The leader of the ZOB was Modecai Anielewicz. Historian of the Warsaw ghetto Emmanuel Ringelblum wrote that Anielewicz was driven by the need to make the Germans pay dearly for Jewish blood. It was not a question of saving Jewish lives; this was hopeless. It was a question of what kind of death the Polish Jews would select for themselves.
When the deportations resumed in January 1943 Modecai Anielewicz led an attack on a group of Jews who were being marched to the Umschlagplatz. This was the first attack on Germans in the ghetto and when the deportations ceased 4 days later it was attributed to Jewish resistance. This led to a decisive change in the attitude of ghetto population: from submission and compliance to resistance--both passive (noncompliance) and active (fighting).
The German security forces knew that they faced an active Jewish underground. Himmler therefore decided to liquidate the ghetto as soon as possible. April 19, 1943 was chosen; the plan was to liquidate the ghetto in 3 days and give Hitler a birthday present (his birthday was April 20).
The Germans assembled a force of 2,842 men to enter the ghetto and brought 7,000 security forces into Warsaw. Their greatest fear was that the rebellion would spread to the Polish side of the city.
At the outbreak the ZOB consisted of about 600 members. However, thousands of Jews spontaneously joined the uprising once it had started. The Germans had the most modern military weapons, including tanks. The ghetto fighters had a few guns, mainly pistols which turned out to be useless, some hand grenades and most effectively Molotov cocktails (glass bottles filed with gasoline).The fighters had been severely hampered by lack of arms. They had tried with very limited success to obtain weapons from the Polish underground, the Armia Krajowa (AK, Home Army).
The leadership of the uprising realized that to attack the Germans directly would be suicide; therefore it was decided to attack at the crossings of ghetto streets from the rooftops and attics of surrounding houses. Underground bunkers were prepared and stocked with provisions.
The ghetto was surrounded with a guard armed with a machine gun placed every 25 feet. The main German forces entered the ghetto. At two places they were attacked by the Jewish fighters and retreated. Tanks were brought in but these were hit with Molotov cocktails and set on fire. The fact that the enemy retreated at the first encounter evoked jubilation among the Jews.
With this ignominious defeat the head of the operation was replaced by General Jurgen Stroop, who was experience in partisan warfare. General Stroop restored order in the ranks. He changed the tactics from an outright assault on the ghetto to concentrated attacks on one point at a time in order to drive the Jews into a narrow area. He used artillery fire as he would on a regular battlefield and had his men move under cover like snipers.
The minimal weapons of the Jews were no match for artillery and their supply of ammunition was giving out. The fighting advanced house by house, street by street. The Jews started burning the warehouses of the ghetto factories that held German valuables. The Germans entered the ghetto hospital and slaughtered those they found there.
The second day of uprising, April 20, was like the first-heavy German attacks and stubborn Jewish resistance. A mine had been set in the area of the brush factory at the gate of Wolowa Street Number 6. When the SS reached the gate it was detonated; the ZOB reported that 22 Germans were killed.
On the third day of the uprising Stroop decided to avoid direct contact with the Jewish fighters as much as possible; he decided to set the ghetto on fire. Thousands were burned alive or suffocated in the underground bunkers. People leapt from burning buildings.
The bunker war-the burning of the bunkers was the German's most difficult task. The leaders of the ZOB were hidden in a bunker at Mila Street Number 18. It is not known how the Germans discovered its location. There were 5 exits; the Germans blew up all five and sent gas into the bunker. The fighters who were still alive decided to commit suicide, including Mordecai Anielewicz. A group of fighters escaped from the ghetto through the sewers and reached the Lomianki forest.
Mordecai Anielewicz had written to his comrade Yitzhak Zuckerman who was hiding outside the ghetto: I feel that great things are happening, that what we have undertaken is of tremendous significance...Peace be with you, my dear friend. Perhaps we will see each other again. The main thing is that my life's dream has been realized. The Jewish self defense in the Warsaw ghetto has become a reality. The armed Jewish struggle and the revenge became a reality. I am a witness to this grand, heroic battle of the Jewish fighters.
The battle raged for 27 days. When it was over General Stroop claimed to have destroyed 6,065 Jews. As a "celebration" Himmler ordered the Great Synagogue on Tlomacka Street (which was outside the ghetto) blown up as a symbol of the fact that "the Jewish quarter of Warsaw no longer exists."
After May 16 there were still hundreds of Jews living in the ruins of the ghetto. Many succeeded in making contact with Poles in other parts of the city. As late as the second Warsaw uprising, when the Poles rose up against the Germans in anticipation of the entry of the Soviet Army, there were still a few Jews eking out an existence in the ruins of the former ghetto.
General Stroop compiled an illustrated report (The Stroop Report) which described the uprising and the efforts to suppress it. He was tried and executed in Warsaw in 1951.
The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising became one of the most celebrated events of the Holocaust. It gave encouragement to Jews elsewhere as news of the brave stand taken by the Warsaw fighters spread. In Vilna Hirsh Glick wrote the song, Zog nit keyn mol, which became the partisan fighters anthem. The worldwide day of remembrance of the Holocaust, Yom Hashoah, was chosen to be as close as religious custom allowed to actual date of the beginning of the uprising. The uprising took place on April 19, 1943 which corresponds to the 15 th day of the month Nissan in the Hebrew calendar, which is the first day of Passover; Yom Hashoah occurs every year on the 27 th day of Nissan.
Sources: Encyclopedia of the Holocaust; Young, The Texture of Memory; Suhl, They Fought Back pgs. 85-127 (a memoir by Emmanuel Ringelblum on Mordecai Anielewicz and an article by historian Ber Mark on the Warsaw Uprising).