Warsaw Diary of Chaim Kaplan

Warsaw Diary of Chaim Kaplan

Chaim Kaplan, a Jew in World War II-era Poland, discusses the escalating restrictions on the freedom of the Jews in the ghetto in Warsaw, Poland after Nazi occupation.

The Nazis increased trolley fairs for Jews, requiring them to obtain a special permit to ride the trolleys.

The Nazis openly discussed the desire to eradicate the Jews.

The Nazis close the parks to Jewish children.

The Nazis slowly built up the walls around the Ghetto, turning it into a prison.

The Nazis stop allowing the Jews to leave the Warsaw Ghetto.

F. The Nazis begin restricting access to food; Kaplan suggests this will lead to 90% starvation.

G. German soldiers come to the Ghettos to engage in "sport" crimes like robbery, assault, and murder.

H. Jews were denied access to social service institutions, like hospitals and schools.

The separation from the outside world escalates in stages, from initial restrictions in travel to eventual total separation.

J. The Nazis crowd the overcrowded Ghetto by filling it with Jews that they ship in from other areas.

1. There is no space for these new arrivals.

2. The arrivals are stripped of all belongings with any value before being sent to the Ghetto, so that they are forced to beg or steal in order to survive.

II. Kaplan discusses the Jewish response to these increasing restrictions

A. No one repairs the destruction in the Warsaw, including people in the Ghetto, so that the face of the city changes.

B. There was an increase in begging by Jews in the Ghetto.

1. Initially this increase in begging was attributed to an increase in new residents.

2. Eventually, because of widespread starvation, a large percentage of Ghetto residents are reduced to begging.

C. Jewish leadership in the Ghetto resists the changes, but is arrested or otherwise targeted because of their resistance.

1. The Nazis kill the established Jewish leader in the Ghetto.

2. This creates a void that the Nazis can exploit when looking for self-policing Jews.

D.A number of Jews apply for police positions within the Ghetto, even though applying takes money, because there is supposed to be a salary for the position.

E. In the face of restrictions, a number of people begin trading in the black market, so that the poor are disproportionately impacted.

1. Jews in the Ghetto are part of the black market.

2. Young Jewish boys, under the age of 10, are able to slip out into Aryan areas and get supplies to trade in the black market.

3. The surrounding Aryan communities participate in the black market.

F. One the Ghetto is removed from the rest of society, it is controlled by Jews and Kaplan observes mistreatment, from financial wrongdoing to worse, of some Jews by those Jews in positions of power in the government.