There is a popular misconception among the general public that most Jews went to their deaths passively.
10% of the Polish Army which fought alone against the Nazi-Soviet Invasion of Poland were Jewish Poles, some 100,000 troops.
Of these, the Germans took 50,000 prisoner-of-war and did not treat them according to the Geneva Convention; most were sent to concentration camps and then extermination in camps.
As Poland continued to fight an insurgency war against the occupying powers, other Jews joined the Polish Resistance, sometimes forming exclusively Jewish units.

Jewish resistance to the Nazis comprised not only their armed struggle but also spiritual and cultural opposition which brought dignity despite the inhumane conditions of life in the ghettos.
Many forms of resistance were present, even though the elders were terrified by the prospect of mass retaliation against the women and children in the case of anti-Nazi revolt.
As the German authorities undertook to liquidate the ghettos, armed resistance was offered in over 100 locations on either side of Polish-Soviet border of 1939, overwhelmingly in eastern Poland.
The uprisings erupted in 5 major cities, 45 provincial towns, 5 major concentration and extermination camps, as well as in at least 18 forced labor camps.
Notably, the only rebellions in Nazi camps were Jewish.

The Nieśwież Ghetto insurgents in eastern Poland fought back on July 22, 1942.
The Łachwa Ghetto revolt erupted on September 3.
On October 14, 1942, the Mizocz Ghetto followed suit.
The Warsaw Ghetto firefight of January 18, 1943, led to the largest Jewish uprising of World War II launched on April 19, 1943.
On June 25, the Jews of the Częstochowa Ghetto rose up.
At Treblinka, the Sonderkommando prisoners armed with stolen weapons attacked the guards on August 2, 1943.
A day later, the Będzin and Sosnowiec ghetto revolts broke out.
On August 16, the Białystok Ghetto uprising erupted.
The revolt in Sobibór extermination camp occurred on October 14, 1943.
At Auschwitz-Birkenau, the insurgents blew up one of Birkenau's crematoria on October 7, 1944.
Similar resistance was offered in Łuck, Mińsk Mazowiecki, Pińsk, Poniatowa, and in Wilno.
There is a popular misconception among the general public that most Jews went to their deaths passively. 10% of the Polish Army which fought alone against the Nazi-Soviet Invasion of Poland were Jewish Poles, some 100,000 troops. Of these, the Germans took 50,000 prisoner-of-war and did not treat them according to the Geneva Convention; most were sent to concentration camps and then extermination in camps. As Poland continued to fight an insurgency war against the occupying powers, other Jews joined the Polish Resistance, sometimes forming exclusively Jewish units.
Jewish resistance to the Nazis comprised not only their armed struggle but also spiritual and cultural opposition which brought dignity despite the inhumane conditions of life in the ghettos. Many forms of resistance were present, even though the elders were terrified by the prospect of mass retaliation against the women and children in the case of anti-Nazi revolt. As the German authorities undertook to liquidate the ghettos, armed resistance was offered in over 100 locations on either side of Polish-Soviet border of 1939, overwhelmingly in eastern Poland. The uprisings erupted in 5 major cities, 45 provincial towns, 5 major concentration and extermination camps, as well as in at least 18 forced labor camps. Notably, the only rebellions in Nazi camps were Jewish.
The Nieśwież Ghetto insurgents in eastern Poland fought back on July 22, 1942. The Łachwa Ghetto revolt erupted on September 3. On October 14, 1942, the Mizocz Ghetto followed suit. The Warsaw Ghetto firefight of January 18, 1943, led to the largest Jewish uprising of World War II launched on April 19, 1943. On June 25, the Jews of the Częstochowa Ghetto rose up. At Treblinka, the Sonderkommando prisoners armed with stolen weapons attacked the guards on August 2, 1943. A day later, the Będzin and Sosnowiec ghetto revolts broke out. On August 16, the Białystok Ghetto uprising erupted. The revolt in Sobibór extermination camp occurred on October 14, 1943. At Auschwitz-Birkenau, the insurgents blew up one of Birkenau's crematoria on October 7, 1944. Similar resistance was offered in Łuck, Mińsk Mazowiecki, Pińsk, Poniatowa, and in Wilno.
The Holocaust in Poland