Glossaries
Glossary 1 – General Terms and Organisations
AMERICAN-JEWISH JOINT DISTRIBUTION COMMITTEE (AJDC), colloquially known
as “the Joint”—a Jewish charity organisation founded in 1914. The Joint operated in
the Warsaw ghetto legally until the United States entered the war in December 1941,
and later clandestinely. AJDC provided food and financial aid to the ghetto, as well as
supported the underground resistance.
ANTI-AIRCRAFT DEFENCE OF THE CITY OF WARSAW (OPL), a system for the defence
of Warsaw’s buildings against German air-raids in 1939, manned on a voluntary basis
by civilian residents of Warsaw. The OPL was subject to the Civil Defence Commissioner
of the city of Warsaw. The defence was divided into district units, and further
into quadrants, areas, and blocks. The OPL was dissolved on 28 September 1939, the
day Warsaw surrendered.
ARBEITSAMT—the Labour Office at the Office of the District Head. The Arbeitsamt
managed the Jewish labour force in the area of Warsaw by supervising the Labour
Battalion, which provided workers for forced labour.
ARBEITSKARTE—document issued by the Labour Office, mandatory for all Jews
subject to forced labour.
ARMBAND—the white armband with a blue Star of David, which, following the
Decree of Governor General Hans Frank, all Jews in the General Government over
12 years of age had to wear as of 1 December 1939. In the areas incorporated directly
