This week marks the 74th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, a Jewish revolt against the Nazis that began on April 19, 1943 and lasted until May 16, 1943. Although thousands of Jews were killed, and thousands more deported, the uprising remains a potent symbol of strength in the face of adversity. On Wednesday, Poland’s prime minister, and members of the Jewish community, commemorated the day—some even buried fragments of scrolls dating to before World War II. (Here are some images of the official remembrance from the POLIN museum.)
To reflect on this significant date in Jewish history, take a moment to read some of Tablet’s coverage of the event. Start with“Tablet in Warsaw,” a series of dispatches from Poland written during the 70th anniversary of the resistance—from Stephanie Butnick’s account of the reburial of a Jewish woman who died in 1943 while in hiding as a Catholic and Liel Liebovitz’s article on the Museum Techniki, where the legacy of Jewish mathematicians and Polish resistance fighters is on display, to Sarah Wildman’s examination of the 800-page diary written by her grandfather’s cousin, a document that offers insight into life during the Shoah.
And there’s Charlotte Bonelli’s report on the story behind NBC’s historic Yom Kippur broadcast, and the “marketing geniuses” behind the first mainstream dramatic representation of the uprising.
For an idea of what the uprising was like for those who led it, you can read about Boruch Spiegel, who, until his death in 2013, was one of the last remaining fighters.