Bialystok Jewish community

... The documents of the Bialystok ghetto offer us a glimpse into the nightmare the Jews of Bialystok expe- rienced. We become more aware of the murders, rob- beries, harsh rules, the inhumanity visited on a helpless population by the unquenchable thirst for domination of what was supposedly a civilized nation. Only when all hope was lost did our brothers and sisters in Bialy- stok emulate the example of the Warsaw ghetto, which posed armed resistance against the Nazis. The Bialystok uprising lasted on month until the ghetto was razed. ...

... Most of the Jewish citizenry in Bialystok, particu- larly the economically deprived classes and those who had lost their possessions through arson and robbery of the Nazis, began to feel the hunger and poverty. It was an ordeal to get through each day. Some 2,000 men and women voluntarily sought work from the Nazis in order to receive some food in return for their services. Many found themselves foregoing one day’s food in order to sustain young children who were literally starving. This self-sacrifice, in addition to the slave labor the Nazis im- posed on many of these Jews, meant they were virtually giving up their lives. ...