On September 1, 1939, Germany invades Poland, after which a regulation was promulgated that all Polish Jews should move to the new Warsaw Ghetto. As in all the ghettos, a Judenrat was appointed and was responsible for the administration of the ghetto. The film tells the moral dilemmas faced by Adam Czerniaków, head of the Judenrat in the Warsaw Ghetto, who had to carry out orders of the German authorities, including sending Jews to the Treblinka extermination camp.

A group of Polish Jews decide to rebel against the Germans and not to lend a hand to the murder of their brethren. They begin to organize their people to protect the honor of the Jewish people. Czerniaków, as the leader of the Judenrat, objects to this activity, fearing German reprisals against the Jews in the ghetto. By the close of 1942, people living in the ghetto realize they are doomed as deportations to Treblinka began. The rudiments of resistance are planned by Mordechai Anielewicz together with Yitzhak Zuckerman who laid the foundation for the Jewish Combat Organization, Zydowska Organizacja Bojowa (ZOB).

The film illustrates the moral dilemmas of members of the Jewish Combat Organization during the preparations for the revolt: "How to remain moral, in an immoral society?" On January 18, 1943, Nazis raid the ghetto again but this time the Jews resist. The Jewish Combat Organization stops the Nazi raids into the ghetto. Germans return on April 18, 1943, and the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising begins. In the intervening time, many of the ghetto residents construct hidden shelters or bunkers in the basements and cellars of the buildings, often with tunnels leading to other buildings. The handful of fighters who have weapons take to these shelters, giving the uprising the advantage of defensive positions.

Tuesday, November 8, 10 am in the Adult Lounge
Sponsored by the Education Department
Please join us to view the film, followed by a discussion with Susan Werk and lunch.

Please include the first and last names of all attendees in the "Notes" section below.