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Łódź- Photographs

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Lodz ghettos forced labor deportations children Chelmno occupied Poland

German troops occupied Łódź in September 1939. In 1940, the Germans established a ghetto there, confining about 160,000 Jews into a small area and later deporting Jews and Roma (derogatorily called "Gypsies") there as well. Many people died in Łódź as a direct result of the ghetto's harsh living conditions. In early 1942, German authorities began to deport ghetto residents to the Chełmno killing center.

Jewish forced laborers in the Lodz ghetto

Jewish forced laborers at work in a leather refining factory. [LCID: 80403]

Jewish forced laborers at work in a leather refining factory. Lodz ghetto, Poland, between 1941 and 1944.

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Raiding a home in the Lodz ghetto

German police raid a vandalized Jewish home in the Lodz ghetto. [LCID: 70377]

German police raid a vandalized Jewish home in the Lodz ghetto. Lodz, Poland, ca. 1942.

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Deportation from Łódź to Chełmno

Jews from the Lodz ghetto are forced to transfer to a narrow-gauge railroad at Kolo during deportation to the Chelmno killing center. [LCID: 25025]

Jews from the Łódź ghetto en route to the Chełmno killing center are forced to transfer from one train to another in the Polish town of Koło. Koło, Poland, probably 1942.

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Jewish children hauling a wagon in the Lodz ghetto

Jewish children forced to haul a wagon. Lodz ghetto, Poland, wartime. [LCID: 10503b]

Jewish children forced to haul a wagon. Lodz ghetto, Poland, wartime.

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Jews forced to transport excrement in the Lodz ghetto

Jews at forced labor, transporting excrement down a ghetto street. [LCID: 10559]

Jews at forced labor, transporting excrement down a ghetto street. Lodz ghetto, Poland, wartime.

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Motto of Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski

Motto of Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski, chairman of the Lodz ghetto Jewish council: "Our only path [to survival] is [through] work." [LCID: 74527]

The motto of Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski, chairman of the Lodz ghetto Jewish council: "Our only path [to survival] is [through] work." Lodz, Poland, wartime.

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Ghetto residents at forced labor

Ghetto residents, wearing mandatory yellow stars, at forced labor in a clothing factory. [LCID: 80382]

Ghetto residents, wearing mandatory yellow stars, at forced labor in a clothing factory. Lodz ghetto, Poland, 1941.

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Jewish women at forced labor in a sewing workshop.

Jewish women at forced labor in a sewing workshop. [LCID: 74528]

Jewish women at forced labor in a sewing workshop in the Lodz ghetto. Lodz, Poland, between 1940 and 1944.

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"Gypsy camp" in the Lodz ghetto

Gypsy camp in the Lodz ghetto. Poland, 1941–1944. [LCID: 74532]

"Gypsy camp" area in the Lodz ghetto. Roma (Gypsies) were confined in a segregated block of buildings. Poland, 1941–44.

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Gathering Jewish children in the Lodz ghetto for deportation

Jews, mostly children, proceed on horse-drawn wagons to assembly points for deportation. [LCID: 80383]

Jews, mostly children, proceed on horse-drawn wagons to assembly points for deportation. They are guarded by the Jewish police. Lodz ghetto, Poland, during the "Gehsperre" Aktion, September 5-12, 1942.

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Deportation of Jewish children from the Łódź ghetto

A large group of unaccompanied children line up outside of railcars. There are a few adults looking over the proceedings.

Deportation of Jewish children from the Łódź ghetto in German-occupied Poland during the "Gehsperre" Aktion, September 1942.

In September 1942, German authorities rounded up and deported about 15,000 Jews from the Łódź ghetto to the Chełmno killing center. During this action, they specifically targeted the sick, the elderly, and young children under age ten. On September 4, Chaim Rumkowski, head of the Łódź Jewish Council, called on ghetto residents to cooperate and give up their young children. The following day, the Germans imposed a curfew that confined Jews to their homes while the roundup took place. This roundup became known as the Gehsperre action, named for the German phrase "allgemeine Gehsperre," meaning "general curfew." 

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A crowd of people and belongings in the Lodz ghetto

Jews deported to the Lodz ghetto. Poland, 1941 or 1942. [LCID: 10511a]

Jews deported to the Lodz ghetto. Poland, 1941 or 1942.

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Family members say goodbye to a child

Family members say goodbye to a child through a fence at the ghetto's central prison where children, the sick, and the elderly were ... [LCID: 89772]

Family members say goodbye to a child through a fence at the ghetto's central prison where children, the sick, and the elderly were held before deportation to the Chełmno killing center. Łódź, Poland, September 1942.

In September 1942, German authorities rounded up and deported about 15,000 Jews from the Łódź ghetto to the Chełmno killing center. During this action, they specifically targeted the sick, the elderly, and young children under age ten. On September 4, Chaim Rumkowski, head of the Łódź Jewish Council, called on ghetto residents to cooperate and give up their young children. The following day, the Germans imposed a curfew that confined Jews to their homes while the roundup took place. This roundup became known as the Gehsperre action, named for the German phrase "allgemeine Gehsperre," meaning "general curfew."

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Deportation of Jews from the Łódź ghetto to the Chełmno killing center

Groups of people wait next to a mule-drawn wooden cart to board a long line of rail cars. Smaller groups are in the process of getting into the rail cars.

Jews from the Łódź ghetto are loaded onto freight trains for deportation to the Chełmno killing center. Łódź, Poland, 1942–44.

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Forced labor sorting confiscated clothing

Jewish women who were seized for forced labor sort expropriated cloth. [LCID: 80417]

Jewish women sort confiscated clothing in the Lodz ghetto. Photograph taken by Mendel Grossman between 1941 and 1944. 

Mendel Grossman photograph collection

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German postcard showing the entrance to the Lodz ghetto

A German postcard showing the entrance to the Lodz ghetto. [LCID: 07065]

A German postcard showing the entrance to the Lodz ghetto. The sign reads "Jewish residential area—entry forbidden." Signs forbidding entrance to Poles and Germans were posted at all entrances to the ghetto. Lodz, Poland, 1940–1941.

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Poverty in the ghetto: residents wait for soup at a public kitchen.

Poverty in the ghetto: residents wait for soup at a public kitchen. [LCID: 63023]

Poverty in the ghetto: residents wait for soup at a public kitchen. Lodz ghetto, Poland, between 1940 and 1944.

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SS chief Heinrich Himmler visits the Lodz ghetto

Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski (with white hair) and SS chief Heinrich Himmler on Himmler's first visit to the Lodz ghetto. [LCID: 74507]

An official visit of Heinrich Himmler to the Lodz ghetto. Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski, head of the Jewish council, greets the Nazi officials. Lodz, Poland, June 5, 1941.

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Moving into the Lodz ghetto

Jews deported from Germany and Austria march towards the Lodz ghetto. [LCID: 70380]

The Jews of Lodz move into the ghetto in March 1940. 

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Deportation to Chełmno

Jews carrying their possessions during deportation to the Chelmno killing center. [LCID: 10047]

Jews carrying their possessions during deportation from the Łódź ghetto to the Chełmno killing center. Jewish prisoner Mendel Grossman, who worked as an official photographer in the ghetto, took this photo. Łódź, Poland.

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Deportation from the Łódź ghetto in 1944

Deportation of Jews from the Lodz ghetto. Poland, August 1944. [LCID: 10052]

Jewish prisoner Henryk Ross, who worked as an official photographer in the ghetto, secretly took this photo of Jews being deported from the Łódź ghetto to Auschwitz in August 1944. 

In summer 1944, Nazi German authorities liquidated the Łódź ghetto, destroying the ghetto’s infrastructure and murdering most of its remaining inhabitants at killing centers. In June–July, the Nazis sent about 7,000 Jews to the Chełmno killing center. Then, in August, they sent about 67,000 Jews to the Auschwitz-Birkenau killing center. Łódź, Poland, between May and August 1944.

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Articles that Reference This Item

A German postcard showing the entrance to the Lodz ghetto. [LCID: 07065]
Article Łódź

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