Jewish Ghettos

During World War II, as Adolf Hitler began his discrimination against the Jews and other inferiors, they were sent to live in various city districts known as 'ghettos'. These areas were often enclosed or restricted, and when leaving was allowed, curfews were enforced. People lived in squalor and often died of exposure, disease, or starvation. The goal was to keep all of the 'inferiors' in the same area so that they could be separated, kept track of, and eventually eliminated to solve the Jewish 'question' in Germany. The Germans considered the Jews a great threat, thanks to Hitler's propaganda machine, and rationalized these ghettos as a necessary measure to control Jews while the Nazis figured out a solution.
 
Some Jewish ghettos existed for months or years, while others were only in place for a few days. In late 1941, the Final Solution was implemented, which started with the destruction of the ghettos. Prisoners were taken to mass graves, where they were lined up and shot. Some were deported and taken to killing centers or concentration camps, where they were murdered. A small number of the Jews living in ghettos were taken to labor camps instead, but most were sent to their death.
 
There were three different types of ghettos in Nazi-occupied territories: open ghettos, closed ghettos, and destruction ghettos. The Warsaw Ghetto was the largest in existence and was the stage of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, when the Jews fought back against the Nazis and nearly won their battle. Ghetto residents had to wear arm bands or badges that identified them as Jewish or for whatever other reason they were being held captive. They were forced to live in squalor, limited to food supply, and forced to follow strict rules based on the type of ghetto that they were in.
 
Perhaps the most notable ghettos existed in Hungary, and not until 1944. These were set up specifically for corralling all of the Jewish people in Hungary, at which point they were instantly deported to the border and then usually onward to Auschwitz to die. Within a matter of weeks, the Germans had rounded up more than 440,000 Jews in Hungary for deportation, with the exception of the Jews in Budapest. These residents were forced to live in marked houses before two ghettos were created, but the city was liberated before anyone was removed. Ghettos started as a holding tank, of sorts, for Jewish and other inferiors, but ultimately were done away with as the Nazi regime became more organized in their 'Final Solution'.