U.S. MARINE CORPS FORCES PACIFIC, CAMP H.M. SMITH, Hawaii -- The holocaust is the single greatest atrocity in the short and unpredictable history of the human race.
The Jewish people's tales of concentration camps are usually the foremost topic on Holocaust Remembrance Day in the month of April, but we rarely look at the spiritual and physical struggle Jewish people endured in the ghettos.
In these ghettos, described by the Jewish historian Emanuel Ringelblum as "...the middle ages..." Jews were crammed into small decaying towns, where disease and death spread throughout the starving communities and buried Jews by the thousands.
The resistance of the Jewish people is far less known than their suffering, and despite the unthinkable living conditions, Jews fought harder and against greater odds than any great American military tale told.
Nazis controlled everything that went in and out of the ghettos; a disease infested prison, where the thought of resistance was suppressed daily by Nazi threats. If one Jew resisted, many would pay, usually by death. While the threats seemed effective, they didn't stop some groups from rising up and fighting for their freedom, much like we do today.
On September 3, 1942, nearly 700 Jewish families escaped the guarded walls of the Tuchin ghetto. Their goal was to escape and reach the Ukraine border. They were hunted down like convicts and slaughtered one family member at a time, only 15 families survived, according to www.iaff.ttu.edu.
In the Warsaw ghetto, which at its peak had 500,000 residents, dwindled rapidly down to just 50,000 before they realized they had to fight back, said Dr. William Samelson, professor emeritus, author and holocaust survivor.
By 1943, younger Jews raised an army of 1,000 mostly-unarmed fighters. Soon others joined. Armed with Molotov cocktails, bottles filled with a flammable liquid and corked with a soaked rag, small bombs and stray ammunition for outdated guns, they prepared for war.
"It was extraordinary. The Nazi's had to bring two armed SS, Schutzstaffeln or protection squadron, tank divisions from Stalingrad in order to combat that uprising. These were just kids from 12 to 18-years-old. Their leader, Anielevicz, was just 21-years-old," Samelson said.
Ultimately, the uprising was squashed and about 90 percent of the resistance killed.
"They brought flamethrowers and tank artillery. They blew up everything. People were jumping from windows because everything
was on fire. It was like a shooting gallery. The Nazi's were shooting them as they tried to save themselves by jumping out of the burning buildings," Samelson said.
The few weapons and numbers they had were no match yet they still smuggled in what they could and fought to the death.
"It was 1942 and our weapons were not modern in any way. Some of them were from World War I. We dug tunnels and smuggled in weapons, food, and all the aid we could get. We would smuggle them in at night. It took a great deal of effort," Samelson said.
Beyond the gruesome physical struggle they endured, there was a struggle more poisonous to the enemy...the religious resistance.
With Nazi's banning congregation, even the sight of two or three Jews speaking could mean danger of a conspiracy. The major problem was not being able to pray at all.
"The Jewish people have what is called a 'minyan', which consists of ten men who must all be present to pray," Samelson continued. "For instance, in a concentration camp, we could not get together at all, so we could not pray in a group. What we decided was, as long as we have faith we would designate an hour three times a day. You see, our prayers are comprised of three major prayers a day. One in the morning, noon and evening," he said.
So they prayed at sunrise separately. They all knew the prayers by heart and only had to move their lips.
"This way we had thousands praying at one time. This was far more than a minyan. It was a big form of resistance," Samelson said proudly.
Even those who walked to their death and were herded into the gas chambers walked and prayed.
"That really defeated the enemy. The only thing they cannot rob you of is your faith," said Samelson. "When you have your faith and show it in spite of their force, in spite of their cruelty, in spite of the persecution; it is a great thing and it kept me alive."
Those who have fallen
Shall never be forgotten.
Despite their tear-filled eyes,
They still prayed toward the skies.
While hatred bared down like a dark, cold sun,
They still held hands and marched toward God
One by one.