# Warsaw Ghetto sealed (1940)

URL: https://poland-history.com/timeline/1940-warsaw-ghetto-sealed
Location: Warsaw

The Germans closed the Warsaw Ghetto, confining about 400,000 Jews in a small area where hunger and disease killed tens of thousands. Within the broader World War II period: Invaded by Germany and the Soviet Union, Poland suffered brutal occupation and the Holocaust, while its underground state and armed forces fought on every front of the war. At this point in the timeline (16 November 1940), the governing authority was Władysław Raczkiewicz (President of Poland (in exile)). President of the internationally recognised Polish government-in-exile in France and London during World War II. Warsaw Ghetto sealed mattered because it was part of the deliberate destruction of human lives that devastated Poland's Jewish and Polish populations and remains central to the memory of the twentieth century. The event is placed here so readers can follow it alongside changes in government, warfare, society, religion and culture across Polish history.

## Why it matters
Warsaw Ghetto sealed mattered because it was part of the deliberate destruction of human lives that devastated Poland's Jewish and Polish populations and remains central to the memory of the twentieth century.

Ruler at the time: [Władysław Raczkiewicz](https://poland-history.com/rulers/wladyslaw-raczkiewicz)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Warsaw Ghetto](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warsaw_Ghetto)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — Warsaw Ghetto sealed](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Warsaw+Ghetto+sealed)
- [Wikipedia — History of Poland (1939–1945) (period overview)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Poland_(1939%E2%80%931945))