Confined to the Ghetto 1940-1942

I was there.

Janina lived in the Warsaw ghetto, where she moved from one place to another many times escaping German round-ups.

Janina Bauman (1926-2009), Poland

Janina Bauman (1926-2009), Poland

Consider here the time Janina and her family spent in the ghetto

Misery of the Warsaw Ghetto

Janina observes the life in the Warsaw Ghetto.

1) Listen to the description of the Warsaw ghetto street, as Janina remembered it. Answer the questions.

  • 1a. What sounds disturbed Janina when she was studying?

  • 1b. What meant "I do not want to give away my bones"?

Trying to Help

Jania and  her friends want to help the poorest inhabitants of the ghetto.

2) Listen to Janina, as she describes the youth in the ghetto helping the poorest. Answer the questions.

  • 2a. How do you understand the meaning of "unhealthy stabilization" – term used by Janina when she described her life in the ghetto?

  • 2b. Why did German authorities forbid the ghetto philharmonic orchestra to play?

  • 2c. Compare the climate of this and the previous testimony: how Janina describes herself and her feelings in the first one and her mood in the second one. Justify, using the explanation given by Janina.

  • 2d. With time, the perception of the ghetto tragedy has changed for Janina. What word would you use to describe this process? Give examples of the same mechanism in today’s world.

Sad Love

Janina starts dating a boy who also lives in the ghetto.

3) Listen to Janina as she describes her first fascination. Answer the questions.

  • 3a. What was the most striking element of Janina’s description of her dates?

  • 3b. One of the exterminatory principles towards Jews was Nazi conviction that the Jews were not human beings in the full meaning of the term. Many survivors say that the toughest fight during the Holocaust was the one to preserve their humanity. How Janina fought to preserve her humanity? Write down your answer (one paragraph).

Ghetto Escapes

On July 22, 1942 the deportations from Warsaw Ghetto begin.

4) Listen to Janina as she describes what dangers threatened her family during the liquidation of the Warsaw Ghetto. Answer the questions.

  • 4a. What does it mean, that in the ghetto "it got really scary"?

  • 4b. How people were expelled from their homes?

  • 4c. How could one avoid the deportations?

4d. Describe Janina’s uncle (Leon Płockier) attitude during the Great Aktion.

Choose adjectives and write it down on a big sheet of paper; depending on the intensity of the chosen traits use smaller or bigger letters (the adjectives that you consider more important should be bigger); you may also use different colors to reflect emotions related to the traits. That is how you will create a word cloud.

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Life Changes 1939-1940
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In Hiding 1942-1945