Jewish Resistance and the Holocaust
From armed confrontation to religious defiance, Jews fought back against the perpetrators of the Holocaust.
Curated by Deborah Dash Moore and Noam Pianko
Weapons, Written Words, and Religious Defiance
During the Holocaust, Jews resisted with weapons, paper, pen, archives, schools, smuggling, and a variety of other brave efforts to demonstrate human dignity in the face of annihilation. These sources highlight several forms of resistance, from Abba Kovner’s call to armed confrontation, to written documentation from the prison cell diary of Gusta Dawidsohn-Draenger, to the defiant Warsaw ghetto sermons of Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira.
Women’s Auxiliary Air Force Recruitment Poster
This surprising 1942 Hebrew-language poster from Palestine calls for women to serve in an all-female unit within Britain’s Royal Air Force. This recruitment office was not open on Saturdays!
The Holy Fire
The Holy Fire, one of the greatest examples of religious resistance in the Warsaw ghetto, explores a theological explanation for Jewish suffering during the Holocaust.
Justyna’s Diary
While imprisoned by the Nazis and awaiting her death, Gusta Dawidsohn-Draenger recalls her last supper with other resistance leaders in the Vilna ghetto.
Never Say
Inspired by the Warsaw ghetto uprising, this hymn became the anthem of the Vilna partisan fighters and many other Jewish efforts to resist the Nazis.
Call to Arms
Vilna ghetto partisan leader Abba Kovner publicly predicted the Final Solution weeks before the Wannsee conference finalized the Nazis’ plans to systematically murder millions of Jews.
Yizkor, 1943
An elegy to the Jews deported from the Warsaw ghetto from a Jew hiding on the “Aryan” side of the city.
Non omnis moriar
“Even if you kill us, we will leave traces,” insists the poet. Poems such as this one affirm the power of humanity even in the midst of atrocities committed by neighbors.
Post-Holocaust Resistance
Resistance against Nazi efforts to exterminate millions of Jews did not end with the defeat of Germany at the end of World War II. Survivors and postwar Jewish leaders concerned about the endurance of antisemitism and the changing historical narrative of the Holocaust continued to grapple with the internal and collective reverberations of genocide. The legacy of resistance surfaces in debates about whether to bring children into the world, how to respond to Holocaust denial, and efforts to expand Holocaust narratives to underscore the particular plight of women.
Kaddish for a Child Not Born
A Holocaust survivor grapples with the question: should one bring children into the world after experiencing the horrors of the death camps?
History on Trial: My Day in Court with David Irving
A British Holocaust denier accused Professor Deborah Lipstadt of libel under British law. Many were surprised that Lipstadt decided to go to court. Lipstadt explains what was at stake in her decision.
The Unethical and the Unspeakable: Women and the Holocaust
What can we do to ensure that Holocaust memory not only views male suffering but also recognizes women’s special and separate agony?
Other Curated Collections
Gender Roles
Engage with the gendered dimensions of Jewish life and discover lost voices of Jewish women.
Passover across Jewish Time and Space
Passover is the most celebrated holiday for American Jews. Yet, few appreciate the historical evolution and diversity of its key themes and messages.
Jewish Perspectives on Reproductive Rights
Since Roe v. Wade was overturned in June of 2022, abortion’s political, religious, and social impact has been at the forefront of political debate in the United States.