During a roundup, an entire street was closed in a city by Nazis. The unfortunate people were then sent to a death camp, shot, taken for sexual slavery or sent to work in Germany. Some children were kidnapped and given to German families. This was particularly common practice in France. The term 'łapanka' comes from a game played by children in Poland, originating from the Polish translation of the verb, 'to catch'. Jews were treated particularly harshly. Roundups claimed around 400 victims each day between 1942 and 1944.
Łapanka Used for Resistance In 1940, Witold Pilecki used a roundup to purposefully get into Auschwitz. Once there, he was to gather intelligence on the camp and organize resistance. Once inside Auschwitz, he organised the ZOW, which secretly provided inmates with food, clothing, news and set up arms airdrops among other things. The ZOW also provided the Polish underground with valuable information. He hoped that the allies would help destroy the camp, but such an attack was deemed impossible. In April 1943 he decided to break out of the camp to convince the Home Army personally. During a night shift at a bakery outside the fence, he and two comrades overpowered a guard, cut the phone line and escaped. However, he failed to convince the allies, as his death figures were then thought to be grossly exaggerated. Pilecki, in a real-life movie twist, was later unfaily executed. His remains have not been found. |