One of the greatest myths of the Holocaust is that the Jews made little or no effort to resist or defend themselves against their Nazi oppressors. In fact, Jews and others in Germany and throughout Europe did indeed resist the Nazis and their resistance took many and varied forms.

Naturally there were many types of physical defiance, from revolts to partisan activity and escape from the ghettos and camps. There was also suicide. But there were many more types of spiritual resistance, from secret religious observance to artistic and creative pursuits and simply refusing to abandon hope. It is possible to classify these forms of resistance according to when and in what contexts they occurred.

Jewish resistance fighters arrested in the Warsaw ghetto

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