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Media Essay

Warsaw - Photograph

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Warsaw ghettos children

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Commercial area on Nalewki Street in Warsaw's Jewish quarter. [LCID: 05543] — Commercial area on Nalewki Street in Warsaw's Jewish quarter. Warsaw, Poland, 1938.
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Jewish police at a barricaded entrance to the Warsaw ghetto. [LCID: 5313] — Jewish police at a barricaded entrance to the Warsaw ghetto. Poland, February 1941.
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Polish civilians walk by a section of the wall that separated the Warsaw ghetto from the rest of the city. [LCID: 78390] — Polish civilians walk by a section of the wall that separated the Warsaw ghetto from the rest of the city. Warsaw, Poland, 1940–41.
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Street vendor sells old Hebrew books. Warsaw ghetto, Poland, February 1941. [LCID: 5324] — Stall of a street vendor selling old Hebrew books. Warsaw ghetto, Poland, February 1941.
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A Polish policeman searches the bag of a Jewish resident of the ghetto. [LCID: 5433] — A Polish policeman searches the bag of a Jewish woman who was forced to live in the Warsaw ghetto. Warsaw, Poland, February 1941.
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A Polish policeman checks the papers of a Jewish resident of the Warsaw ghetto. [LCID: 5435] — A Polish policeman checks the papers of a Jewish resident of the Warsaw ghetto. Warsaw, Poland, February 1941.
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A Jewish man attempts to make a living by playing music on a gramophone, which he wheels around in an old baby carriage. [LCID: 66813] — A Jewish man attempts to make a living by playing music on a gramophone, which he wheels around in an old baby carriage. Warsaw ghetto, Poland, wartime.
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A German policeman interrogates a Jewish man accused of trying to smuggle a loaf of bread into the Warsaw ghetto. [LCID: 63323] — A German policeman interrogates a Jewish man accused of trying to smuggle a loaf of bread into the Warsaw ghetto. Warsaw, Poland, 1942-1943.
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False identification card used by Vladka Meed [LCID: 02325] — False identification card which Vladka Meed had used from 1940–42 on the Aryan side of Warsaw, smuggling arms to Jewish fighters and helping Jews escape from the ghetto.
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Entrance to the Warsaw ghetto. The sign states: "Epidemic Quarantine Area: Only Through Traffic is Permitted." [LCID: 5292] — Entrance to the Warsaw ghetto. The sign states: "Epidemic Quarantine Area: Only Through Traffic is Permitted." Warsaw, Poland, February 1941.
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An emaciated woman sells the compulsory Star of David armbands for Jews. [LCID: 32298] — An emaciated woman sells the compulsory Star of David armbands for Jews. In the background are concert posters; almost all are destroyed. Warsaw ghetto, Poland, September 19, 1941.

This photograph was taken by Heinrich Joest, a German army sergeant during World War II. On September 19, 1941, he took 140 images of every aspect of life and death in the Warsaw ghetto.
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Children eating in the ghetto streets. Warsaw, Poland, between 1940 and 1943. [LCID: 89473] — Children eating in a Warsaw ghetto street. Warsaw, Poland, between 1940 and 1943.
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Men, women, and children dig defense ditches during the German siege of Warsaw. [LCID: 25048] — Men, women, and children dig defense ditches during the German siege of Warsaw. Poland, September 1939.
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German forces in the outskirts of Warsaw. In the background of the photograph, the city burns as a result of the German military ... [LCID: 20361] — German forces and Polish civilians on the outskirts of Warsaw. In the background of the photograph, the city burns as a result of the German military assault. Warsaw, Poland, September 1939.
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The Sigismund Monument stands amid rubble in the Polish capital after Germany's Blitzkrieg assault. [LCID: 20358] — The Sigismund Monument stands amid rubble in the Polish capital after Germany's Blitzkrieg assault. Warsaw, Poland, 1939.
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SS men search Jews for weapons. Warsaw, Poland, October or November 1939. [LCID: 46185a] — German personnel on Grzybowska Street arrest and search Jewish men who supposedly hid weapons prior to the German occupation of Warsaw. Warsaw, Poland, October-December 1939.

This is one of a series of photos taken by Arthur Grimm, an SS propaganda company photographer, documenting the investigative work of the Sicherheitsdienst (SD) in occupied Warsaw for the Berliner Illustrierte Zeitung. Although only some of the photos were published, it is likely that the incidents depicted in the BIZ were staged for propaganda purposes, even despite the fact that the SD did indeed conduct searches for weapons in Polish cities during the first months of the German occupation. According to Grimm's report, a Polish man informed the SD that Jews had hidden weapons. Several (4 to 6) men were then arrested and supposedly confessed to burying weapons in the grave of a Polish soldier. Four Jews were subsequently brought to the site of the grave and forced to dig up the weapons. Afterwards, their beards were publicly shorn and the "suspects" were made to stand trial before a German judge.
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In the Warsaw ghetto, Jewish children with bowls of soup. [LCID: 51733] — In the Warsaw ghetto, Jewish children with bowls of soup. Warsaw, Poland, ca. 1940.

During the Holocaust, the creation of ghettos was a key step in the Nazi process of brutally separating, persecuting, and ultimately destroying Europe's Jews. Ghettos were often enclosed districts that isolated Jews from the non-Jewish population and from other Jewish communities.
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Street scene in the Warsaw ghetto. The sign at left announces: "Soup in the courtyard, first floor, apt. [LCID: 08292] — Street scene in the Warsaw ghetto. The sign at left announces: "Soup in the courtyard, first floor, apt. 47." Warsaw, Poland, 1940-1941.
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A Warsaw ghetto resident gives money to two children on a Warsaw ghetto street. [LCID: 89467] — A Warsaw ghetto resident gives money to two children on a Warsaw ghetto street. Warsaw, Poland, between October 1940 and April 1943.
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A severely emaciated child with medium-light skin tone sitting on a street eating while people walk around them. The child is wearing a heavy jacket and worn slippers with bare legs. — An emaciated child eats in the streets of the Warsaw ghetto. Warsaw, Poland, between 1940 and 1943.
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Jews rounded up during the Warsaw ghetto uprising are forced to march to the assembly point for deportation. [LCID: 34082] — Jews rounded up during the Warsaw ghetto uprising are forced to march to the assembly point for deportation. Warsaw, Poland, April or May 1943.
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