1943 New York Times Calls Warsaw Ghetto Uprising 'Over-Reaction'

Netlore Archive: Circulating via email, an image purporting to show the front page of the May 10, 1943 edition of the New York Times with a headline declaring that the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising against Nazi oppression was an 'over-reaction'

Description: Emailed image
Circulating since: August 2006
Status: False / Satire
Analysis: See below

Email example contributed by Geil B., 14 August 2006:

Subject: How Very NY Times: Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, An Over-Reaction

Comments: Nothing of the sort ever appeared on the front page of the New York Times. It's a parody, ripped from its original context in a satirical article published by The People's Cube, a Web site devoted to lampooning left-wing "political correctness."

Albeit heavy-handed and overwrought to the point of incoherence, the piece is an attempt to ridicule those who have criticized Israel for a "disproportionate use of force" during its recent military conflict with Hezbollah by implying they would have done the same in reaction to the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising by Polish Jews against Nazi oppression during World War II.

Given any thought, the headlines themselves betray the author's satirical intent: "European Leaders Blame Jews for Disproportionate Response," "Jewish Resistance Shatters Hopes for Peaceful Final Solution," and "Peace Vigil Calls for a Cease-Fire." It's an understatement to say they don't reflect the reality of the time.

For good measure, I scanned the New York Times archives and found several articles reporting the horrific conditions in the Warsaw Ghetto, the events leading up to the uprising, and the uprising itself, none of which evinced even a hint of criticism toward the Jews who took up arms against the Nazis in 1943.

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Sources and further reading:

Historians: Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Was Overreaction
The People's Cube, 7 August 2006

Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
Aish International

Last updated: 08/15/06

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