ABSTRACT
The Zionist undergrounds that had been established in some places during the Soviet era, provided the nucleus for the anti-German underground. Many Jews, and especially young people, fled eastward towards the Soviet Union, from the towns during the first days of the war, but many returned to their homes. Some had found their way blocked by Red Army Military Police or parachuted German troops. Jews were deported from many small towns and concentrated in larger ghettos. One of the forms of rebellious reaction were the hiding places that Jews prepared with great difficulty and secrecy despite the lack of materials and tools. Escape from the ghetto was an act of revolt that involved great risk, heavy soul-searching and family separation. In the spiritual world of the ghetto Jews, fighting for existence was identified with Eretz Israel as the symbol of a secure Jewish existence.
