How did the Jews resist the Nazis’ murderous assault?How did the Jews resist the Nazis’ murderous assault?
In the context of the Nazi policy of the systematic mass murder of all Jews under their control, Jewish resistance to their assault took many forms. The very acts of trying to stay alive and to maintain at least a remnant of human dignity constituted resistance to the Nazi effort to dehumanize and ultimately annihilate the Jews. Jews, on the personal, familial, and community levels, strove to sustain themselves both physically and emotionally in the face of the Nazi machinery of murder. In many ghettos the Jewish councils (Judenraete) and various underground communal organizations did their utmost to distribute food and medicines, and to supply other essential needs to the suffering masses. In many places they organized cultural, educational, and religious activities, which were expressions of the still-vital human spirit of the ghetto inhabitants. The act of providing work took on great importance in many places, both for its practical day-to-day aspects and because in several ghettos
