On 16 November 1940 the Nazis sealed the 307‑hectare Warsaw ghetto, imprisoning roughly 400,000 Jews, a tragedy that would claim about 400,000 lives.
Date and Scope of the Ghetto
On 16 November 1940 German forces shut the ghetto’s perimeter, restricting passage and sentencing anyone who crossed to death. The enclosed area was 307 hectares, holding between 400,000 and 450,000 Jews by mid‑1941.
Decisions and Construction
Governor Ludwig Fischer ordered the creation of the “Jewish quarter” on 2 October 1940, designating the boundary and demanding the relocation of Jews into it. Construction of a three‑metre wall topped with barbed wire followed in the next weeks.
Population Statistics
Before the war Warsaw had about 370,000 Jews—30 % of its residents. Eighty to ninety‑two thousand died by starvation, disease and exhaustion inside the walls from 1940 to 1942; the remaining 300,000 were murdered in Treblinka and during deportations.
Living Conditions
In 1941 food rations amounted to only about 180 calories per person, far below the allotments for Polish and German civilians. Children became central to the underground food trade as shortages, heat, and illness claimed many lives.
Deportations and the Great Action
Between 22 July and 21 September 1942 the “Great Deportation” sent 30 thousand Jews daily from the Umschlagplatz to Treblinka. After the action, about 35,000 “legal” residents remained employed by German firms, and 25,000 were in hiding.
The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
January 1943 brought another deportation attempt, met with armed resistance. The uprising broke out on 19 April; after a month of fighting it was crushed on 16 May, and the ghetto was systematically bombed and burned.
Aftermath and Victims
Post‑revolt, roughly 42,000 Jews were sent to Majdanek, Trawniki, and Poniatowa; the vast majority were murdered during the November 1943 “Harvest Festival” operation.
Legacy and Commemoration
Memorial institutions mark the 85th anniversary of the wall’s closure, presenting the figures as context for personal survivor stories that illustrate the scale and nature of Nazi policy toward Jews in occupied Warsaw.
