The Goddess of Warsaw

Content Warning: This section discusses or mentions death and murder, the Holocaust and antisemitism, anti-gay bias and violence, and suicide.

Set within the historical context of the Nazi occupation of Poland and the Holocaust, The Goddess of Warsaw touches on ideas of resistance and survival in the face of oppression, through both armed resistance and non-violent means.

Jakub’s archives and Zelda’s resistance fighters are initially at odds with one other, representing two different approaches to resistance. Initially, Jakub believes that the fighters are “radicals” and disapproves of the violence they enact, while Zelda sees Jakub’s work as passivity that only contributes to their problems. However, they eventually come to work together during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising: After Jakub escapes from Treblinka and returns to the ghetto, he is tasked with reporting on the revolt. Zelda has come to see the importance of documentation, and Jakub’s acquiescence in turn underscores his acceptance of the fighters’ active approach.

Although Jakub and Zelda are fictional characters, Barr uses them to shed light on two very real historical movements that took place in the Warsaw Ghetto: The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, led by the ZOB, and the Oyneg Shabbos Archives founded by Emmanuel Ringelblum.