Figure 1.--Jewish children and the elderly were the most endangered part of the population. This was especially true for the children seoarated from their parents. Here we see a Jewish boy in the Łódź Ghetto, probably in 1941. The Germans cut food deliveries to the ghetto and they were especially interested in eliminting what they referred to as 'non-producers'. Eventually the Łódź children had to be given up to the NAZIs who immediately murdered them.

Conditions for Jews in the ghettos were appalling. Ghetoization enabled the NAZIs to totally control Jewish life. At the time the ghetoes were established, the Germans had not yet decided what to do with the Jews, but concentrting them made whatever they decided easier to accomplish. It also enabled them to enabled them to restrict consumption. Thepurpose of this is not entirely clear. This meant consumption of food, clothing, fuel and other consumer goods. It also meant that by crowding them into a small area, usually in run down areas, that they occupied fewer homes and apartments. Food would prove the most vital matter for survival. Once the ghetto was closed, the SS controlled the food supply except for small anounts the captive Jews could smuggle into the ghettoes. Rations for Poles in the ourside poulatuion were set at low levels. The rations in the ghetto wre set at starvation level. Ration levels changed over time, but at a when Germans were receiving rations calculated at 2,310 calories and the Poles in the GeneraL Government 634 calories, Jews in the Warsaw ghetto were authorized only 300 calories and they did notalways get the full anount. SS authorities profited in various ways. The low rations forced Jews with assetts to buy food on the black market, controlled informally by the SS guards. And other SS authorities profited by diverting some of the inadequste rations set. Low rations were in part a simple desire to punish Jews, but it also had various pratical advantages. It helped avoid war time shortages in Germany. Restricting food and clothing were not the only aspects of the Ghetto that affected health. The Germans also restricted the water supply as well as cramed large numbers of people into small areas commonly with inadequate sanitational facilities. Few apartments in the Warsaw Ghetto were heated. During the winter the ghetto Jews had to huddle together with little or no fuel to heat their living quarters. The result was plummeting health and virtually no medical services. All of this increased 'nantural' mortalities. This was, however, taking time. After nearly 2 years of ghetoization, mortalities began to significantly increase. Even so, ultimately the process was too slow for Hitler and other leading NAZIs. Hitler became impatient leading to Aktion Reinhard.

Conditions

Conditions for Jews in the ghettos were appalling. Ghetoization enabled the NAZIs to totally control Jewish life. At the time the ghetoes were established, the Germans had not yet decided what to do with the Jews, but concentrting them made whatever they decided easier to accomplish.

Purpose

It also enabled them to enabled them to restrict consumption. The purpose of this is not entirely clear,at least initially. The principal purpose of the ghettoes was to separate Jews from the general population. This was a process that took several years in the Reich and never fully ccomplished. Heydrich and the SS saw the opportunity to very quickly accomplish this in Poland, although even there it took longer to accomplish than intitially thought. We do not know if this was part of the planning, but it soon became apparent to Heydrich and Himmler that one usolated in getties that consumption could be resticted to far lower levels than if the Jews wre allowed to live in the general population. Closed off by walls, barbed-wire fences, gates, and armed gurds, the Germns itally controlled what when inti=o thevghettoew. This meant consumption of food, clothing, fuel and other consumer goods was entirely in German hands. It also meant that by crowding them into a small area, usually in run down areas, that they occupied fewer homes and apartments.

Food

Food would prove the most vital matter for survival. Once the ghetto was closed, the SS controlled the food supply except for small anounts the captive Jews could smuggle into the ghettoes. Rations for Poles in the ourside poulatuion were set at low levels. The rations in the ghetto wre set at starvation level--far below the ber level for survivl. Ration levels changed over time, but at a when Germans were receiving rations calculated at 2,310 calories and the Poles in the GeneraL Government 634 calories, Jews in the Warsaw ghetto were authorized only 300 calories and they did notalways get the full anount. People were constantly hungary. The Germans soon hit on the idea of starbing the Jews. This was all part of the NAZI Hunger Plan. SS authorities profited in various ways. The low rations forced Jews with assetts to buy food on the black market, controlled informally by the SS guards. And other SS authorities profited by diverting some of the inadequste rations set. Low rations were in part a simple desire to punish Jews, but it also had various pratical advantages. It helped avoid war time shortages in Germany. Some in theghetties had money or othr valuables they could trade for th small quanity of food smuggled into the ghetto. Greaduaklybthe money ran out and the Germans made smugglking moreand more dificult. Many had to beg, especially the unccompnied and orphned chikdren. Others turned to stealing.

Water and Sanitation

The Germans also also restricted the water supply in many ghettoes. This was primarrily a problem in the temprary ghettoes that wereestablished while the killing operations were in full swing. Many ghettoe had inadequate sanitational facilities. Commonly the poorest most run-down ares of a city were chosen for the hghettoes. Some of the areas chosen had poor sanitation infrastructure which was in part why they were selected. Plumbing even if it existed commonly broke down. Often human waste were thrown in the streets along with the garbage.

Clothing

Many ghetoized Jews lacked adequate clothing. Often they were forced into the ghetto with just the clothes on their backs. The best off were the Jews already living in the areas turned unto the gehttoes. Those traveling short distances managed to bring some clothes into the ghettoes. But they were limited to what they could carry. Before the ghettoes were closed, Jews were able to trade with the people outside the ghettoes. The most desperately needed item was food. So there was actully a flow of clothing from the ghettoes, at least in 1940. [Anonymous, p. 173.] Th more established gettos sent clothing and food to community mmbers trasported to German work camps. Here they werevbeing worked to death with little food and inadequate clothing. In the first year of the gheto before the situation in the ghettoe became desperate there weecefforts to send food and clothing to these camps. [Trunk, pp. 105-06.] This all varied from ghetto to ghetto. Even bfore the ghettoes were closes, the Germans began restricting what could be bought into the ghettoe. And this meant clothing, textiles, an espcially leather. This the ghetto Jews had to make do with what they had brought with them when they were forced into the ghttoes. Many wre forcd to sell warm clothing for food within the ghetto. After the first year these unfortunate people began to look increasingly shabby. People of course o not die from looking shabby. They do die from the cold and the lack of warm clothing duting the winter. Footwear was a special problem and as time progressed we begin to see barefoot children even during the winter (figure 1). But the real oroblem ws the winter. Cold weather was a killer for a people without adequate clothing. This was a special problem for the children who wwre outgrowing their clothing and most likely to wear out their clothing. And as for food, the orphaned children were thevmost endangered here.

Fuel

Few apartments in the Warsaw Ghetto were heated. During the winter the ghetto Jews had to huddle together with little or no fuel to heat their living quarters. During the long northern European winters, heating fuel was scarce or more often not availble at all. People weakened by hunger and exposure to the cold made them vulnerable to disease. Here the most vulnerable were the children, esoecially porohbed chidren. Parents protected their children as best thy could. But if parents died, there was little hope for the orphned children. Every day more and more children became orphans. Many children had to take care of their younger siblings as best they could. Orphaned children often had to live on the streets. They pitifully begged for morcels of bread from others who themselves had littke ir nothing to share. Winter was ailling seon for these tragic children. Many of these orphas froze to death in the cold.

Living Areas

Restricting food and clothing were not the only aspects of the Ghetto that affected health The Germans cramed large numbers of people into small areas. A single small might have several families living in it. This with the other conditions such as inadequate nutrition, poorsanitation, and the lack of heating during the winter turned the ghettoes into breeding grounds for disease.

Medical Services

The result of restructing consumption was plummeting health and virtually no medical services. There wee doctors and nurses availabke in the ghettoes, especially the more established one. The Germans, however, did not permit medicines and medical supplies into the ghettoes. There thus was little that could be done for the sick.

Mortalities

All of this increased 'nantural' mortalities. Starvation, poor nutrution, unavilavility of fuel, all led to high mortalities. This was espeially the case durung severe winter weather. The children and the elderly were the most vulnerable. Contagious diseases spread in the cramped, unsanitary vonditions. There were repeated outbreaks of epidemics. Tens of thousands Jews died in the Polish ghettos from illness, starvation, or cold evn before the death ccampsere opened. Some killed themselves to escape the hopeless lives tht the Germans had enginered fir them. All of this, however, was taking time. After nearly 2 years of ghetoization, mortalities began to significantly increase. Even so, ultimately the process was too slow for Hitler and other leading NAZIs. Hitler became impatient. Thus with the invasion of the Soviet Union, the Einsatzgruppen began killing Jews when abd where they found them (June 1941). There was commonly no intervening ghetto phaze or ghettoes that were obly established for very berief periods. Hitler'd imptiance eventully led to Aktion Reinhard once the death camps were brought on line (mid-1942).

Sources

Anonymous members of the Kovno Jewish Ghetto Police. The Clandestine History of the Kovno Jewish Ghetto Police (Indiana University Press: 2014), 416p.

Trunk, Isaiah. Judenrat: The Jewish Councils in Eastern Europe Under Nazi Occupation (University of Nebraska Press: 1972), 663p.

Created: 1:58 AM 3/11/2013
Last updated: 3:27 AM 11/18/2015