Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and Fighting ‘Hopeless’ Battles

On April 19, 1943, the Jews imprisoned by Nazis in the Warsaw Ghetto marked the eve of Passover by armed resistance against the Nazis. While the uprising was ultimately unsuccessful, it can teach us still today valuable lessons about the importance of fighting “hopeless” battles, and why it is better to die free than live enslaved.

The Warsaw Ghetto uprising, the largest uprising by Jews during WWII, failed in one sense, but not in another. The Jews there were being deported from the appallingly inhumane ghetto to the death camps. They had the choice of a courageous death, fighting the Nazis, or a death after quietly climbing into the deportation vehicles. No brave death is ever wasted, no act of heroism ever in vain. One thing is certain: he who doesn’t fight may fail or die, but he certainly won’t win. He who fights may fail or die, but he can also win.