Thread by @UCL_Holocaust

OTD in 1942 life for the inhabitants of the Warsaw ghetto took a perilous turn. At 10am Herman Höfle, a leading Nazi in occupied Poland, met with the Jewish Council. They were instructed to issue a decree, which Höfle dictated. The decree was to announce a new initiative. 1/15 RT

According to the opening words of the decree 'all Jewish persons living in Warsaw, regardless of age & sex, will be resettled in the East'. Deportees were allowed to take 15kg of property & food for 3 days. The process was to begin just an hour later, at 11am. 2/15

The decree indicated that some people were to be exempted from deportation, including among others those used for labour by a German company, working for the Jewish Council or Police, & hospital staff. For everyone else, the intention was 'resettlement'. 3/15

The rate of deportation was to be relentless. The Jewish Council were told they would have to ensure 6,000 people were ready for deportation. If they did not fulfil this quota, a group of hostages would be shot. 4/15

The Head of the Jewish Council, Adam Czerniaków spent much of the day desperately trying to get more exemptions for more people. He had some success. But after not being able to have children in orphanages exempted the futility of the situation overwhelmed him. 5/15

The next day, Czerniaków would take his own life. But it did not stop the deportation of 22 July or the ones after. Some of those to be deported reported to a square inside the ghetto as requested. Those who did not were seized from their homes or of the street. 6/15 RT

Once at the square they would wait before being loaded onto goods wagons. Even then, the trains could stay stationary for hours. Conditions inside were atrocious. There was severe overcrowding, a lack of food, no water or sanitation. 7/15

On 22 July - and for many days and weeks afterwards - no-one knew where the deportees had been resettled. The instruction to bring food had no doubt reassured many that nothing sinister was taking place. But the truth was darker than any could imagine. 8/15

For the 6,000 or so people deported on the 22 July were not being moved to live somewhere else. Instead, they were being taken to a purpose built death camp, called #Treblinka. And deportations to that place continued throughout the summer. 9/15

On 28 August deportations were temporarily halted. The reason wasn't a change of heart. Rather #Treblinka had fallen into a state of collapse. In 26 days 310,000+ people had been sent there. Many did not survive the journey. Those who did were killed within hrs of arrival. 10/15

4 days later, deportations resumed. In late September deportations from Warsaw stopped. The ghetto had been decimated. Those who remained, resolved to prepare themselves for what might come next. Their story would become the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in April 1943. 11/15

You can help your students learn about the fate of the Jews of Warsaw through our online resources for students: holocausteducation.org.uk/teacher-resour… If you would like to learn more about Treblinka be sure to attend our Twilight 'A Space Called Treblinka' holocausteducation.org.uk/lessons/additi… RT 12/15

Josef Klotz was a Polish footballer of Jewish descent. In 1922 he scored Poland’s first ever international goal. In 1941 he died in the Warsaw ghetto. Help YP explore what was lost in our self-directed study materials... holocausteducation.org.uk/jewish-life-wa… RT @hmccord78 13/15

Teaching about ghettos during the Holocaust? Your students can explore the themes of resilience & survival in this self-directed lesson on the Warsaw Ghetto, using primary material. Learn more here: holocausteducation.org.uk/the-struggle-t… RT @soper_mr 14/15

Teaching about ghettos, camps & other spaces of killing? Read the fourth of our #researchbriefings: holocausteducation.org.uk/wp-content/upl… or explore @wienerlibrary's theholocaustexplained.org/the-camps/the-… RT 15/15