Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
Created by Ian A., Ryker K., Wilder W. & Robert C.
A courageous act of resistance when Jewish people in the Warsaw Ghetto fought back against the Nazis in 1943
The Symbol of the Fist
Artist Statement
Our artifact is named Compressed. It is a representation of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising that happened during 1943. During this time, the Nazis crowded over 450,000 Jews into an area of only one square mile!. Our core message is that the Jews could not be compressed and forced into the ghetto, and so they rose up and tried to resist. The Jews stuck inside needed to make an effort to oppose the Nazis, or else all they stood for would be in vain. In the end, they simply could not let their lives be worth nothing to the Nazi war machine.
The fist is designed to represent the acts of armed resistance, and even simply the color white represents the stark contrast between Nazi dehumanization and Jewish culture that managed to exist in a time of such horror. The white, clean fist represents how the Nazis could not change the Jews, even when they were being oppressed heavily. It contrasts the Nazis by staying clean and rising up. We also added a Star of David hanging over the fist that says “The People of Israel Live” in Hebrew, which is an example of how the Jewish people were still resisting the Nazis in their culture even after they were gone.
The quote we integrated is a quote from the ŻOB (Żydowska Organizacja Bojowa) resistance group before they were all murdered in the uprising. The name of the organization literally means ‘Jewish Combat Organization’ in polish; a testament to their violent way of fighting after peace efforts failed. The quote also expresses how despite the fact that the group knew they were going to be killed, they knew they would not go down without a fight. We want the viewer of our artifact to feel a feeling of resistance and contrast, as the fist looks out of place, while viewing our artifact. We want the viewer to be able to sense the palpable difference between the drab ghetto and the resistance.
We used the symbol of the fist to represent how the Jewish people resisted the Nazis at any cost, even though it was virtually impossible to win. The chains symbolize the Jewish people’s resistance efforts being pulled down and destroyed. Despite their best efforts, the Nazis kept pulling them down. The chains symbolize how their efforts would never be enough. In the end, the entire ghetto was liquidated and everyone inside was sent to Treblinka, a nearby death camp, where over 900,000 Jews were killed. During the construction process of the artifact, we used wood to create the base of the display, and a ton of paint to make everything a dark gray background color. We wanted the ghetto to look dark and despaired to contrast the fist.
During the design process, we had to think about how everything would coincide with the theme, while also retaining the concepts from the research we did. We wanted to incorporate a symbol of resistance while also keeping the background feeling of darkness. In order to do this, we need to cooperate to have both of our designs represented in the final display. Our Artifact uses 3 dimensional form in the form of a large white fist. It stands out, as it is a more complex shape than the boring square of the rest of the display.
The value of the fist is the main attraction, and it uses the limited spotlight to further expose how it is the focal point of the artifact. It is a clean white to begin with, which contrasts the dark setup of the display. The contrast is very important, as the fist is the symbol of resistance. The very idea of the white fist is designed to contrast the Nazis. Our artifact matters because we need to remember what happened during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and how these brave people gave their lives to fight back against the Nazis. We need to remember that they died for freedom for generations to come and that they knew they would die, yet still fought. One of the main things we want the viewer to take away from our artifact is that despite what happened at the Warsaw ghetto, people actually can do something. Antisemitism still exists, and you have the power to stop it.
