Final answer:
During the Holocaust, ghettos were established to confine the Jewish population in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, leading to widespread disease and starvation. The largest ghettos, like Warsaw, faced extreme food shortages, contributing to the deaths of hundreds of thousands even before deportations to concentration camps began. The ghettos are remembered as stark symbols of the brutality and systematic genocide of the Holocaust.
Step-by-step explanation:
The ghettos were a horrific reality for Jews during the Holocaust. Overcrowded and enclosed spaces, ghettos like the one in Warsaw were meant to confine and dehumanize the Jewish population. Initially designed to segregate Jews from the rest of society, the ghettos quickly became areas where basic human necessities were scarce. The Nazis supplied very little food, leading to rampant starvation; disease spread easily due to the unsanitary conditions. Residents lived with the constant terror of deportation to concentration camps or being shot by the SS. The Warsaw Ghetto, for example, held over 400,000 Jews, and the daily ration of food was critically insufficient, amounting to a mere 600 - 800 calories on average. As a result, approximately 500,000 deaths occurred in ghettos due to starvation and disease alone, before the mass deportations to killing centers began.ConclusionThe ghettos during the Holocaust symbolize the extreme brutality and dehumanization faced by Jews under Nazi control. Starvation and disease were rampant, and the ghettos played a significant role in the systematic murder of millions.