For the first time the concept of "ghetto" arose in the Middle Ages in Venice. During World War II, several million Jews perished in the ghettos founded by the Nazis. Nowadays, this word has acquired a slightly different meaning. Now ghettos exist in most developed countries. And Russia is no exception.
The very concept of a ghetto emerged for the first time in Venice. In the Middle Ages, this city was famous for its free morals, tolerance of various religions and wealth. In the 15th-16th centuries, crowds of Jews from Central Europe, Spain and Portugal arrived there in search of a better life. The Venice government could not like this situation. The Pope demanded that the Jews be expelled from the city. But at the same time, Venice needed competent doctors, bankers and jewelers. And then a compromise was found. The Jews were settled on an abandoned island called Getto Nuovo, which translated as "new smelter." German Jews pronounced "ghetto" instead of the soft Italian "jetto". Gradually, this pronunciation was fixed on the island. And then this word began to call several more isolated places in Venice, where Jews were settled. It is noteworthy that initially, in the very first Venetian ghettos, Jews lived a completely ordinary life. The settlers did not mind living their way of life separately from the rest of the world. They even paid the guards to guard the gates that were locked at night. In this way, the Jews tried to protect themselves from pogroms and hooliganism. However, discrimination against Jews existed in those days. So, Jews were forbidden to own real estate. There were bans on the study of many professions. There was the death penalty for a Jew's relationship with a Christian woman, but this word acquired a truly monstrous meaning during the Second World War. The Nazis created hundreds of ghettos throughout Europe and turned isolated places to hold Jews into death camps. During the war, the Germans liquidated most of the Jewish ghettos. A huge number of people died from exhaustion, unsanitary conditions, cold and disease. Those who survived were sent to concentration camps, or shot and burned in the ghettos themselves. Today the word ghetto is often used to describe socially disadvantaged areas of a city or country. It is there that the largest number of unemployed, criminals, the poor and drug addicts is concentrated. The main population of the ghetto is often representatives of one nationality. There are Latin American ghettos, African, Russian, Asian and others. In Russia, this term is often used to refer to urban areas with old housing stock, workers' outskirts. Mainly poor people, pensioners, unemployed live there. The prosperous and successful members of our society try once again to avoid such areas.