Jews at the Warsaw Umschlagplatz, where they were assembled before being deported to the death camp, 1943

In October 12, 1940, the Germans decreed the establishment of a ghetto in Warsaw. The ghetto was sealed off from the rest of the city in November 1940 by a high brick wall. The Jews from the towns in the vicinity were forced into the ghetto, and the population increased to around 400,000 Jews.

Food allotments rationed to the ghetto by the German authorities were not sufficient to sustain life, and soon thousands of Jews began dying of starvation and disease. From July 22 until September 12, 1942 approximately 280,000 Jews were deported to Treblinka death camp. In April 1943 the Germans returned in order to liquidate the remaining Jews and were met with resistance. The Warsaw ghetto uprising lasted for six weeks.

The Germans went from house to house, setting fire to the buildings. The survivors were captured and sent to labor camps and to Majdanek, among them were Bogusia's parents, Golda and Gershon Jonisz.