The ghettos suffered from a severe shortage of food. The Germans gave very small food rations to the people who lived in the ghetto. Most of the Jews in the ghettos suffered from malnutrition and disease due to the food shortage.
Many Jews were forced to smuggle food to survive. Children were often involved in the smuggling, because their small size allowed them to pass through breaches in the ghetto walls. The smugglers faced grave danger every day, but still, they did not stop.