The Jewish Military Organization (ŻZW) in the Warsaw Ghetto

The leadership of the Jewish Military Organization (ŻZW) emerged from the ranks of the Polish Betar membership after prewar leaders such as Menahem Begin fled to the east in advance of the German occupying forces. Many of the founders of the ŻZW had received military training in the Polish Army or in IZL cells (Irgun Zvai Leumi; National Military Organization) in the interwar period. Their personal contacts with Polish military officers would prove essential as they armed for battle with the Germans. This study considers the effect of the ŻZW leadership's military background on the duration and effectiveness of Jewish resistance during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, comparing the composition and strategy of the ŻZW to those of Mordechai Anielewicz's Jewish Fighting Organization (ŻOB).