What+if+any+revolts+or+rebellions+occured+in+the+work+camps?+Escapes?

You may think that revolts and rebellions would be common among the oppressed people, so that they might try to rise up above the Germans and end their suffering. But this was in fact not the case. The reasons for this were because the Germans were incredibly terrifying people, the Jewish were starving and weak, and also the shear fact of a rebellion was hard to pull together, especially at that time. however there is one example of an escape attempt that was made by 650 Jewish boys at Auschwitz-Birkenau, which failed when they were captured by german guards and were then proceedingly beaten, choked, and most of them killed. Now while you may think this escape attempt may have inspired others it is in fact the opposite, because the true ruthlessness of the torture and punishment that was put upon them inspired even greater fear of the Nazis. The first point of this is how greatly terrified the prisoners were of the Germans, (For a good cause) and how even though they wanted to rebel and be free, they were too fearful of the punishment and death they would endure upon failure. The second fact as to why few revolts took place is because the Jewish people themselves were being starved, and overworked, which led to an inability to take on any physical activity, such as a revolt, which they did not already forcibly endure every day. One final factor as to why rebellions in the camps, while few, never worked is because the actual idea of a rebellion is not only daunting, but also hard to pull off. This is because powerful leadership was needed, and hope and faith had to be present in the group to be successful, neither of which were common among any of the prisoners. ("Rice Jr., Earle")

Some examples of resistance of which you may have never thought about before, are those of just surviving, stealing food, and the theft of medicine and other supplies. The reason why the theft of supplies and food was considered as a rebellion is because of the obvious defiance that theft of any kind shows to the owner. The other reason why stealing food also was a rebellion was because it furthered their ability to survive, which in itself was a sort of uprising because it went against the entire purpose of these camps. The three main types of rebellions in fact did not occur in the camps, but instead in the Ghetto. These types were of armed mobs of resistance, smuggling of Jews out of Ghettos, and also the various hiding spots that many people were hidden throughout the war. Overall though the main rebellion the Jews fought was that of "survival".("Individual Resistance")

By Justin Safarik

For more Information about revolts by individuals, and the fight to stay alive, visit this link:

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Here is an example of some of the afore mentioned Ghetto uprisings:



//Australian Memories of the Holocaust//