OPINION: The fight against oppression continues, 80 years after the Warsaw uprising
The 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising is a fitting opportunity to humanise Nazi victims and resistance fighters, writes Rachel Century of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust
This week marks 80 years since one of the most well-known acts of Jewish resistance during the Holocaust – the Warsaw Ghetto uprising.
Political and civic leaders from around the world including the presidents of Italy, Germany and Israel, and Poland, are gathering in Poland to pay homage to the memory of the brave men and women who stood up to Nazi German tyranny.
I’m here in Poland with people from around the world for the International March of the Living – a commemorative walk from Auschwitz to Birkenau, remembering all those who were murdered by the Nazis, six million Jews, hundreds of thousands of Roma and Sinti, and those who were persecuted by the Nazis because of who they were.
March of the Living represents the very antithesis of the death marches so many were forced on by the Nazis as they evacuated concentration camps as the Allied troops approach. This year’s March of the Living UK delegation is approximately 300 people, joining thousands from all around the world, who have come to learn more about the Holocaust.
This is not my first time to visit Poland; I first came here as a sixth-former and have been back many times since, as an educator with March of the Living UK.
Each visit has been a powerful and emotional experience that left a lasting impression on me; site-specific education has a profound impact. Just yesterday I stood at the memorial site at Zbylitowska Gora, where approximately 10,000 Jews, including 800 orphans and 2,000 Christian Poles were all murdered, shot into pits.
We don’t know all their names, and they don’t have individual burials. They were dehumanised in life and in death, and being able to stand at the mass grave and light a candle in their memory was very moving.
I’m here in Poland with people from around the world for the International March of the Living – a commemorative walk from Auschwitz to Birkenau, remembering all those who were murdered by the Nazis
The Warsaw ghetto, like so many Nazi ghettos, was a symbol of cruelty and oppression, a cramped and unsanitary prison where Jews were forced to live in absolute squalor. So, it feels particularly special to be in Poland 80 years on from a pivotal moment in the fight against Nazi oppression and a testament to the resilience and indomitable spirit of the Jewish people. Even in the face of unspeakable degradation, the Jewish people found strength in their faith, their culture, and their community to turn the Warsaw ghetto into a hub of resistance.
As Poland marks this important anniversary, there is deep admiration for the bravery of those who took part in the uprising and a renewed commitment to fighting against all forms of oppression and discrimination.
As the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust’s director of public engagement and deputy chief executive, I have experienced the many ways that people teach and commemorate the Holocaust. At the core of Holocaust education is a need to ensure that the victims of Nazi genocide are seen as people; Jewish men, women, and children who had their own personalities and characters, their own stories and family histories of the past, and their own hopes and dreams for the future.
Men and women who must have felt such fear when they decided to stand up to the Nazis’ killing machine, but men and women who also must have had such hope as they fought for their freedom.
Men like Mordecai Anielewicz, who at the young age of just 24 led the uprising, and women like Małka Zdrojewicz who hid in the sewers of Warsaw, concealing weapons in her boots. These were real people with their own personalities and life stories. Their bravery is admired by the many educators who are gathered in Poland this week and this anniversary is a fitting opportunity to humanise them and other Warsaw resistance fighters.
As we remember the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, we must also remember that the fight against oppression and injustice is far from over.
We must continue to stand up for what is right, to speak out against hatred and prejudice, and to fight for a world where every person is treated with dignity and respect.
Let us honour the memory of those who fought and died in the Warsaw Ghetto uprising and let us pledge to carry on their legacy by working towards a brighter, more just future for all.
- Rachel Century is the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust’s director of public engagement and deputy chief executive
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