Collection GB 1556 WL 518 - Lodz Ghetto: list of survivors (microfilm)

Identity area

Reference code

GB 1556 WL 518

Title

Lodz Ghetto: list of survivors (microfilm)

Date(s)

  • 1945 (Creation)

Level of description

Collection

Extent and medium

99 frames

Context area

Name of creator

Biographical history

On the eve of World War Two, the city of Lodz in Poland had a population of 665,000 people of which 34 per cent were Jews. The Jewish population was very active in the industrial sector and the community had a very vibrant cultural life, consisting of sports clubs theatres and newspapers. The Jewish community also produced many renowned authors, artists and poets.

After the German army occupied Lodz on 8 September 1939 there began a campaign of anti-semitic persecution of increasing severity reaching a peak with the creation of the Lodz ghetto, which was officially sealed off from the outside world on 1 May 1940. Thousands were brutalised and hundreds were murdered in the process. The ghetto was only ever conceived of as a temporary measure and ultimately it was planned to rid the city of its entire Jewish population. In the meantime the population of the ghetto, nominally represented by a council of Jewish elders, was forced to live in appalling overcrowded conditions with minimal food and no sanitation. 43,500 people died during the ghetto's existence mostly through starvation and disease.

The deportations, initially to Chelmno, began in January 1942. In total 70,000 inhabitants were sent to their deaths during this first stage. There followed a period of relative quiet when the ghetto became a giant labour camp. The death camp at Chelmno was reopened in June 1944 on the orders of Himmler, who wanted to finally liquidate the ghetto and over 7000 ghetto inmates were murdered in the space of 3 weeks. Another 65,000 Jews were deported to their deaths at Auschwitz during the remainder of 1944. The remaining 1000 Jews at Lodz were liberated by the Russians on 19 January 1945.

Repository

Archival history

GB 1556 WL 518 1945 collection 99 frames Unknown
On the eve of World War Two, the city of Lodz in Poland had a population of 665,000 people of which 34 per cent were Jews. The Jewish population was very active in the industrial sector and the community had a very vibrant cultural life, consisting of sports clubs theatres and newspapers. The Jewish community also produced many renowned authors, artists and poets.

After the German army occupied Lodz on 8 September 1939 there began a campaign of anti-semitic persecution of increasing severity reaching a peak with the creation of the Lodz ghetto, which was officially sealed off from the outside world on 1 May 1940. Thousands were brutalised and hundreds were murdered in the process. The ghetto was only ever conceived of as a temporary measure and ultimately it was planned to rid the city of its entire Jewish population. In the meantime the population of the ghetto, nominally represented by a council of Jewish elders, was forced to live in appalling overcrowded conditions with minimal food and no sanitation. 43,500 people died during the ghetto's existence mostly through starvation and disease.

The deportations, initially to Chelmno, began in January 1942. In total 70,000 inhabitants were sent to their deaths during this first stage. There followed a period of relative quiet when the ghetto became a giant labour camp. The death camp at Chelmno was reopened in June 1944 on the orders of Himmler, who wanted to finally liquidate the ghetto and over 7000 ghetto inmates were murdered in the space of 3 weeks. Another 65,000 Jews were deported to their deaths at Auschwitz during the remainder of 1944. The remaining 1000 Jews at Lodz were liberated by the Russians on 19 January 1945.

Jewish Central Information Office

Partial alphabetical list (letters R-Z) of names of the survivors of Lodz ghetto, Poland, during World War Two, including date of birth and last known address (1939). Created, 13-27 June 1945.

Alphabetical

Open

Copies can be made for personal use. Permission must be sought for publication.
N/A

Microfilm

Description exists to this archive on the Wiener Library's online catalogue www.wienerlibrary.co.uk

Wiener Collection, Tel Aviv University, Israel

The following is a list of additional document collections held at the Wiener Library on the subject of the Lodz ghetto: 1416; 559; 1048; 1578; 1387; 557; 539a; 578; 1118; 1610; 1569; 611; 629.

Sources: The Holocaust Encylopedia, Walter Laqueur, editor, (Yale University Press, 2001). Entry by Howard Falksohn. Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997. Oct 2007 Wars (events) Antisemitism Concentration camps Eastern Europe European history Genocide Humanitarian law International conflicts Lodz Lodz ghetto, Poland National history Nazism Poland Polish history Political doctrines Racial discrimination Racial segregation Totalitarianism War War crimes World wars (events) World War Two (1939-1945)

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Jewish Central Information Office

Content and structure area

Scope and content

Partial alphabetical list (letters R-Z) of names of the survivors of Lodz ghetto, Poland, during World War Two, including date of birth and last known address (1939). Created, 13-27 June 1945.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

Alphabetical

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Open

Conditions governing reproduction

Copies can be made for personal use. Permission must be sought for publication.

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

  • Latin

Language and script notes

N/A

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

The following is a list of additional document collections held at the Wiener Library on the subject of the Lodz ghetto: 1416; 559; 1048; 1578; 1387; 557; 539a; 578; 1118; 1610; 1569; 611; 629.

Finding aids

Description exists to this archive on the Wiener Library's online catalogue www.wienerlibrary.co.uk

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related units of description

Related descriptions

Publication note

Notes area

Note

Alternative identifier(s)

Access points

Place access points

Name access points

Genre access points

Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

Wiener Library

Rules and/or conventions used

Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Status

Level of detail

Dates of creation revision deletion

Language(s)

  • English

Script(s)

    Sources

    Accession area