Mila 18

A bunker under this house, known as Mila 18, became the headquarters for the ZOB (Jewish Fighting Organization). From here, Mordechai Anielewicz, leader of the ZOB, led his tiny militia of 750 men in the hopeless task of resisting the Nazi liquidation of the ghetto.

The bunker functioned for about three weeks, from the start of the uprising on 19th April 1943 until its destruction on 8th May.

Mila 18 came under attack from German and Ukrainian forces on the 8th May 1943. They bombarded it for 2 hours and threw tear gas grenades inside. Mordechai Anielewicz was killed along with 100 of his men. Some are said to have taken their own lives to avoid capture or deportation to Treblinka.

Mila 18 no longer exists; in fact, the entire Warsaw ghetto was destroyed, apart from one or two disintegrating buildings. Although Mila street retained its name when it was rebuilt, it has no number 18.

A grassy mound marks the spot where the house and the bunker were; On top is a memorial to those who dies in the uprising. When I saw this monument in June 1999, it had been daubed in a red Swastika.

Leon Uris wrote a book about the Warsaw ghetto uprising called Mila 18. I am informed it is quite readable and wildly inaccurate.