In Remembrance… candleToday, a ghetto is thought of as an urban slum full of crime, noise, and filth. Seventy years ago a ghetto would have been the home imposed on thousands of Jews uprooted by the Final Solution. Both are dirty, dark places with an abominable lifestyle. One of the many Polish ghettos built under the Nazi regime was Zamosc, which has a history of bleak conditions, forced evacuations and incredible stories of survival. The Zamosc Ghetto became a symbol of anti-Semitic hatred and persecution through its harrowing conditions and restrictions. . Zamosc was first captured by the Germans on September 14, 1939. Shortly thereafter the Soviets arrived, took 5,000 Jews and left. For a week Zamosc was devoid of outsiders. On October 7, the Germans returned and promptly looted the Jews' belongings. They deported Jews to various labor camps in the Lublin area, including Wysokie, Bialobrzegi and Janowce. In 1939 and early 1940, numerous restrictions were imposed on Jews. They were forbidden to drive, leave the city and had to wear a white armband. In April 1941 they were forced to move to an abandoned neighborhood in New Town. Many houses had been destroyed and the rest were in ruins. Conditions in Zamosc were bleak. However, Poles were allowed entry into the ghetto, which gave Jews access to a minimal amount of food and basic necessities. Until June 1941 there was even a functioning post office. In early 1942, rumors of mass deportations from the Lublin area to the nearby extermination camp, Belzec, began to spread. It was confirmed that 10,000-12,000 Jews arrived in Belzec every day and were killed under strange circumstances. The first evacuation of Zamosc marked the beginning of the dilapidated fa... half of paper...... the Israeli Organization of the Jews of Zamość. The Organization of the Jews and the Surroundings of Zamość, 2010. Web. 23 February 2012. .Krakowski, Stefan. "Zamosc." Jewish virtual library. The American-Israeli Corporation Enterprise, 2008. Web. 23 February 2012. Kubiszyn, Marta. "Zamosc." Virtual Shtetl. Muzeum Historii Żydów Polskich, 2011. Web. 23 February 2012. .Kuwalek , Robert. "Zamosc Ghetto." Holocaust Education and Archive Research Group. HEART, 2012. Web. 15 February 2012. .Wierzbieniec, Wacław. "Zamość." YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe, November 12, 2010. February 23 2012 .