- Founded
- 28 July 1942
- Place
- Warsaw Ghetto
- Commander
- Mordechai Anielewicz
- Role
- Underground resistance
Formation during catastrophe
Zionist youth movements created ŻOB while the Great Deportation to Treblinka was underway. It later broadened to include additional Zionist parties, Bundists and Communist activists.
Underground activity
ŻOB warned against deportation, targeted informers, acquired weapons, manufactured explosives and built contacts with the Polish underground.
January 1943
Fighters resisted a renewed deportation while many residents hid rather than assemble, disrupting German plans.
April 1943 uprising
ŻOB units fought from several sectors beginning April 19 under Anielewicz and other commanders and couriers.
Civilian resistance
Tens of thousands of civilians used bunkers and refused assembly. Armed and civilian resistance should be understood together.
After the ghetto
Some survivors escaped through sewers, joined partisan or Polish underground activity and later testified after the war.
Sources
This page draws on the institutional sources listed below.