The Warsaw Ghetto Museum has launched a series of monthly webinars commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. The first meeting, held on January 18, featured Judy Batalion, Canadian author of the bestseller "The Light of Days: The Untold Story of Women Resistance in Hitler's Ghettos." Nearly 150 people watched the webinar.
The reportage, "The Light of Days," is the result of the author's scholarly research on Jewish women fighters in ghettos during the German occupation. While working at the British Library, she came across the publication Freuen in di Gettos (Yiddish for "Women in the Ghettos"), which became the direct inspiration for "The Light of Days." Batalion tells the story of Jewish women resistance fighters in Poland during World War II: "ghetto girls" corrupted Gestapo guards, smuggled weapons in loaves of bread and jars of jam, helped build underground bunker systems, obtained secret information as intelligence agents, and committed numerous acts of sabotage. The book has been translated into 22 languages, and is being adapted for the screen by Steven Spielberg , with Judy Batalion writing the screenplay.
During the meeting, led by Masza Makarova from the MGW Education Department, Judy Batalion spoke about her work on the book and introduced selected female protagonists, including Renia Kukiełka – one of the key figures in the reportage. The writer also answered questions from the audience regarding both historical issues and the author's personal feelings while working on the text. When asked what message today's readers might find in the story of Jewish female fighters, she replied: "These women did what they could. They fought for dignity. Every small act can lead to change – and that's what is truly inspiring."
Judy Batalion also added that the Polish translation of "The Light of Days" will most likely be published in a few months.
A recording of the webinar will be available as a podcast, "City Behind the Wall," premiering in the coming weeks. Webinars commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising will be held monthly until the end of the year.
