My Life, My Friend and Ally: Diaries As a Form of Resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto

The purpose of this study is to broaden the definition of Jewish resistance during the Holocaust to include the act of writing diaries. For many years, historians have maintained a strict and limited definition of resistance. However, within the last twenty years that definition has begun to broaden. Historians in the past have limited their definition of resistance to armed resistance only; however, recent scholars have broadened the definition by including such acts as sabotage, working slowly, and publishing underground newspapers and pamphlets. It is in the broader definition of resistance that this study fits. Diaries are a form of resistance for three reasons. First, journals provided Jews with the means to express their individuality and document their struggle for survival. Second, Jews utilized diaries in an attempt to pass on their experiences and knowledge for posterity's sake. Third, diaries aided Jews in coping with the unparalleled hardships of ghetto life. This study draws upon diaries written in the Warsaw Ghetto between 1940 and 1943. This study also employs secondary sources in order to understand historiography and necessary background.