The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising — 28 Days Against the Wehrmacht

The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising lasted 28 days — April 19 to May 16, 1943 — making it the largest single act of Jewish resistance during the Holocaust. A force of approximately 750 poorly armed Jewish fighters (with handguns, homemade grenades, and Molotov cocktails) held off 2,000 Waffen-SS soldiers with tanks, artillery, and flamethrowers. Commander Mordechai Anielewicz and his fighters literally built fighting positions and bunkers throughout the ruins. The Germans reported they had to use flamethrowers to clear entire building complexes room by room. The uprising's impact inspired rebellions in Treblinka, Sobibor, and Auschwitz.