How the Ghettos Originated

When I began my research of the ghettos, the first thing I wanted to know was How the ghettos first originated. As I looked into it I found that the idea of these ghettos had really started in the Middle Ages. These first "ghettos" all closed down by the beginning of the 19th century, but while they were still going, people restricted Jews and some Romanies. Later on the Nazis revived the idea.

There were three major reasons why the Nazis revived the ghettos. Those reasons are; Most of Europe's Jew were right in eastern Europe and Poland, because of the very vast land area, the Jews were an easy target, and anti-Semitism was a huge part of Eastern Europe's History and the Nazis didn't want to pass up a chance to take advantage of that. If you aren't sure what exactly antisemitism is it is, It is pretty much being racist but towards Jewish people.

A ghetto in rome during the early 19th century.

After Reviving the idea of these ghettos, the Nazis took action. They began taking the Jewish people away from their homes, their towns, and there villages where there families had lived for generations. They placed them in the most old run-down areas of cities, that were surrounded by barbed wire and fences. The Jews were trapped in these depressing ghettos, and there was little to nothing that they could do.

This is a map of the Lodz Ghetto in Poland. It was the very first ghetto during this time.