Before World War II, Warsaw had the second largest Jewish community in Europe and the fourth in the world (after New York, Moscow and Chicago). Over 350.000 Jewish people lived in this city (almost 29 percent of the population).
On November 15th, 1940, the Nazis created the Ghetto. About 450.000 Jews from Warsaw and the environs were imprisoned in an area of 307 hectares.
The Ghetto was surrounded by a 11 miles long and 3 meter high (about 10 feet) brick wall. The population density reached 146.000 persons per square kilometer. On average, 8-10 persons lived in a single room.
After almost 3 years, the Ghetto had become a graveyard for more than 100.000 people who had died of exhaustion, hunger and sickness.
On July 22nd, 1942, the process of liquidation of the Ghetto was started. Up to July 22nd, 1942, over 300.000 people were deported in cattle wagons from the Umschlagplatz to the death camp in Treblinka.
The wall was torn down in 1943 when the Ghetto was liquidated after the Uprising, that took place from April 19 until May 16, 1943.
Today there is only one short section of the original wall remaining.
The photo shows a part of this remaining section of the wall, which is about 10 feet high, in the courtyard located at Zlota 62 street.
There are two holes in it after two bricks have been removed - one is in the Holocaust Museum Houston/USA and the other is in the Yad Vashem Museum in Jerusalem/Israel.