The Nazi policy of brutal reprisals against the whole ghetto community for any individual act of Jewish resistance, combined with a lack of weapons and the continued hope of surviving the war and occupation, initially repressed armed resistance in the ghettos. In addition, fake Nazi promises of resettlement encouraged false hopes of survival. However, once it became clear that the Nazi intent was total annihilation of all Jews, resistance fighters in the ghettos prepared for the fight to survive, to avenge the murdered, or at least to die fighting.

Jewish partisans in Parczew forest, 1943. CL:Yad Vashem

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