Diseases

How were the diseases spread?

In the ghettos, what made it easier for diseases to spread was how overcrowded and unsanitary the places were. Some people that died from natural causes, ended up dying sooner because they didn't have the right food and medicine.

Common diseases

One of the most common diseases in the ghettos was typhus, which is caused by overcrowding and filth. In 1941, in the Warsaw ghetto, the amount of people that died from typhus was around 16,000. The real number of people would probably be around 100,000 because typhus is highly contagious, and the Nazis were afraid of epidemics. The soldiers would come in unannounced and remove the people who had typhus, and they wouldn't be seen again. The Jewish Council ended up lying about the number so that some of the sick would be able to get well again.