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History & Government
"The Pianist" Film Facts
By Sarah Lane
Aug 25, 2006, 08:35 PST

- World War II began on September 1, 1939. Warsaw, the capitol of Poland, was one of the first targets of the German Luftwaffe.

- There were 3.5 million Jews living in Poland. A third of the total Jewish population (360,000) lived in Warsaw.

- By December 1, 1939, all Jews were ordered to wear the Star of David armband.

- The Jewish District in Warsaw was sealed off on November 15, 1940, with a half million people inside. 100,000 of them died shortly thereafter.

- By 1942, of those remaining, 300,000 were deported to Treblinka extermination camp.

- By this time, there were 40,000 Jews left in the district. 200 of them armed themselves and an insurrection led by Mordechai Anielewicz occured on April 19, 1943.

- A month long battle ensued. The Germans suffered severe casualties until troops under the command of Gruppenfuehrer Jurgen Stroop used tanks and artillery to put down the revolt.

- Most of Anielewicz’s group committed suicide. A few escaped. All others were executed immediately or sent to gas chambers.

- The Warsaw Ghetto was leveled when the Germans retreated in January of 1945.

- Total annihilation or “The Final Solution” was their fate at the hands of the Nazis.

- There were only 20 Jews left alive in the city.

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