The city of Warsaw, capital of Poland, flanks both banks of the Vistula River. A city of 1. Warsaw's prewar Jewish population of more than , constituted about 30 percent of the city's total population. The Warsaw Jewish community was the largest in both Poland and Europe, and was the second largest in the world, second only to New York City.
Following the German invasion of Poland on September 1, , Warsaw suffered heavy air attacks and artillery bombardment. German troops seized Warsaw on September 27, Quickly overrunning Polish border defenses, German forces advanced towards Warsaw, the Polish capital city.
This footage from German newsreels shows German forces in action during the invasion of Poland. Warsaw surrendered on September 28, On November 23, , a decree issued by Hans Frank, Governor General of German-occupied Poland, required all Jews in his jurisdiction to identify themselves by wearing white armbands with a blue Star of David.
This order also applied to the Jews of Warsaw. In the city, the German authorities closed Jewish schools, confiscated Jewish-owned property, and conscripted Jewish men into forced labor and dissolved prewar Jewish organizations.
In October , German officials decreed the establishment of a ghetto in Warsaw. The decree required all Jewish residents of Warsaw to move into a designated area, which German authorities sealed off from the rest of the city in November The ghetto was enclosed by a wall that was over 10 feet high, topped with barbed wire, and closely guarded to prevent movement between the ghetto and the rest of Warsaw.
