Holocaust remembrance week: How armed Jews saved lives

Volokh Conspiracy ^ | 5/2/14 | David Kopel

[BCrago66]

One thing that increased the number of Jewish survivors during the Final Solution was armed Jewish resistance, as I detailed in my article Armed Resistance to the Holocaust. (19 Journal on Firearms & Public Policy 144 (2007).) (This annual journal is published by the Second Amendment Foundation; its 23 volumes are available on the web, as well as via HeinOnline. I was editor in chief of the Journal in 1994-2011.)

[BCrago66]

I did not know about these incidents of Jewish armed resistance to the Nazis, besides the Warsaw Uprising. I know fellow Freepers would be interested in this, and also in the links to academic articles on this subject.

[2harddrive]

What are most AMERICAN Jews so anti-gun??

[2harddrive]

WHY, I meant.

[ealgeone]

That was a good read. I was unaware, other than the Warsaw Uprising, of armed resistance by the Jews in Eastern Europe.

The article would be a good one to keep handy for reference in discussions with the anti-gun crowd in this country.

[Sherman Logan]

by killing Nazis and depleting Nazi resources, the fighters saved lives elsewhere.

That seems like an entirely unjustified assumption. Probably no more than something in five fugures, at most, Nazis were killed by specifically Jewish resistance fighters. Given the millions of Germans and their allies killed by others such as the Red Army, it doesn't seem likely this small number made any significant difference in the Germany capacity to kill.

All of them died with honor.

Absolutely. And an entirely valid reason for doing what they did despite its relative military ineffectiveness.

It might also be noted that many at least of the Jewish resistance fighters were Communists, fighting for a system that was very nearly as evil as the Nazis.

[virgil283]

Thanks BC...good article and all new to me...

[joma89]

You only took into account the number of Germans killed. What you are not taking into account is the number of Germans diverted to deal with the uprisings, the logistics diverted to support them, the time taken, and the troops diverted indefinitely to ensure no further uprisings.

In short, any and all resistance causes not only a direct effect, but an indirect effect. It is the later which was the greater and virtually impossible to determine the full consequences.

This is a simple rule of assymetric warfare and is in use today.

JoMa

[5th MEB]

A book every Jewish American should have on their desk, nightstand, or home library table is the HOLOCAUST CHRONICLE.
Perhaps this book would explain to anti-gun Liberal Jews (if that’s even possible) why they should never depend on the state or the police for their or their families protection.

[5th MEB]

Just as a matter of interest, I am a Roman Catholic not a Jew.

[rmlew]

I'm here because my father was a partisan at age 11.
For the record, the Soviets disarmed many people before the Nazis broke their alliance with the USSR.

[SJackson]

Middle East and terrorism, occasional political and Jewish issues Ping List. High Volume If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.

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[Blood of Tyrants]

They are liberals who believe that the government will always be good. They are like the Jews who willingly waled to their deaths in the gas chambers; they just couldn’t believe that they would be killed.

[Blood of Tyrants]

They are liberals who believe that the government will always be good. They are like the Jews who willingly walked to their deaths in the gas chambers; they just couldn’t believe that they would be killed.