The ghetto is what and why?

The ghetto is what? In our time of mass migrations and multicultural states, we very often come across this notion. However, many people, intuitively understanding the close connection of this term with national separations, do not always clearly understand the practical significance and principles of the functioning of such systems. Historical digression

Historically, the ghetto is a compact settlement of representatives of one culture (religious, race, nationality) in another, more global environment. The phenomenon was born in medieval Europe, when separate Jewish quarters began to emerge. Actually, globalization in the medieval world was less influential, and interpenetration of cultures was not so active. However, the proportion of the Jewish population has always been present in European states. Moreover, their non-Christian beliefs, as well as the closeness of the nation within themselves and the lack of receptivity to assimilation processes, turned Jews into outcasts. For example, they were forbidden from engaging in church farming (the most profitable business at that time) and a number of professions. Many rulers ordered them to settle in separate blocks. Thus, in the historical plan, the ghetto is specifically a Jewish compact settlement. By the way, the term itself arose in Italy, where the so-called Venice region on the island of Cannaregio, where the Jews were evicted in the beginning of the XVI century.

Through the prism of the twentieth century

With the development of transport links, mutual integration (political, cultural and economic) of the whole world, the concept of mass migration of the population arose . The concept of the ghetto was again popular in the United States at the beginning of the twentieth century. For the US, ghettos are neighborhoods of black residents, descendants of the considerable number of slaves brought to the colonial era. With the further globalization and growth of the standard of living of different regions of the planet (when some countries developed more and rich, while others remained raw materials appendages with a low level of elite and a large number of social problems), migration processes also increased. Now the ghetto is not only Jewish settlements or "black" neighborhoods. This means any urban areas where ethnic minorities forcibly or voluntarily live. In essence, modern ghettos are evidence of a lack of state policies conducive to socialization and assimilation.

The NSDAP and the policy of occupation during the Second World War

However, the most horrific shade of the term acquired in the middle of the XX century and was associated with the activities of the Nazi leadership in the occupied territories. For Nazis, such forced settlements have become a convenient tool for optimizing the distribution of the population to more and less full. The Warsaw ghetto is, perhaps, the most famous example. After the fall of Poland, all Jews of the capital were ordered to move to a certain district of the city. Later, Jews from all over the country were brought here. The boundaries of the ghetto were strengthened by a wall, barbed wire and soldiers' protection, which effectively turned the area into a detention zone. The population of the area was used for heavy physical work and was in substantially worse conditions than even the other Warsawers in the occupied city. Prisoners of the ghetto were the first candidates for sending to concentration camps (closely located Auschwitz, first of all). Actually, this was happening during the entire presence of the Nazis.

The ghetto residents were taken to an unknown destination, promising them the best labor conditions in the new place. However, no one ever returned, and the nightmarish rumors about their further fate seeped into the ghetto. Under these conditions, the best choice for people who were destined to die in the gas chamber was to declare war on the regime. Although the chances of exhausted and almost unarmed residents against well-equipped SS units were not, the uprising occurred in mid-April 1944. As a result, the ghetto prisoners resisted for almost a month, but were destroyed, taking their last fight with dignity.