Warsaw became the capital of Poland in 1596, the city flanks both sides of the Vistula River, two thirds of the cities area lying on the west bank and one third on the east bank. Jewish people lived in Warsaw from the 15th century, and during the 19th century the Jewish population of Warsaw grew rapidly, becoming the largest Jewish community in Europe, and by the 20th century the world’s second largest behind New York.

Jews were to be found in every part of the city, but predominantly in the Northern part, with many apartment houses and certain streets inhabited exclusively by Jews. In 1935 the city limits covered an area of 54 square miles with a population of 1.3 million people.

On the eve of World War Two the Jewish population in Warsaw numbered 337,000 about 29% of the total population of the city, this figure rose to 445,000 by March 1941.

Read  more about the Warsaw Ghetto  HERE 


The Holocaust Education & Archive Research Team


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