Jewish Ghettos |
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Origin of the Term “Ghetto”The origins of the term "ghetto" comes from the name of the Italian Jewish quarter in Venice. Venetian authorities compelled the Jews of the city to live in this area, which was established in 1516. Officials ranging from local authorities to the Emperor of Austria ordered the creation of ghettos for Jews in Frankfurt, Prague, Rome, and other cities in the 16th and 17th centuries.
World War II Holocaust Ghetto'sThe creation of ghettos during the Holocaust, was a key step in the Nazi process of separation ,persecution, , and ultimately destroying the Jews of Europe. The ghettos were set up to segregate Jews from the rest of the population and were only to be a temporary measure. The more well-known ghetto's lasted for several years but there were a number that were in place for just a few weeks. Many ghetto inhabitants died from starvation or disease, those that did not were shot were deported to killing centers at concentration camps.
The Germans concentrated urban and sometimes regional Jewish populations in ghettos during World War II. Living conditions were simply terrible. Most ghettos were enclosed districts with the sole purpose of isolating the Jews by separating them from the non-Jewish population and from other Jewish communities. At least 1,000 ghettos established in Poland and the Soviet Union alone and these ghetto's fell in to one of three categories
Jews in the ghettos to wear identifying badges or armbands by the Germans and many Jews to carry were also required for forced labor for the German Reich. The Judenraete (Jewish councils) were created by the Nazi's to administer daily life in the ghettos. There was a ghetto police force enforcing the ordinances of the Jewish councils and the orders of the German authorities. This included drawing up deportation lists for killing centers. The Jewish police officials and Jewish council members served at the whim of the German authorities who did not hesitate to kill any Jewish policemen who was perceived to have failed to carry out orders. With the implementation of the "Final Solution" beginning in late 1941, ghetto's were systematically evacuated and destroyed. The Germans and their auxiliaries either shot Ghetto residents were either shot in nearby mass graves or deported to concentration camps for extermination at a leter date. A small minority of Jews were deported from ghettos to forced-labor camps. |