ARBEITSAMT (German, Labour Office) — department of the Head of the District Office managing Jewish forced labour.
ARYAN (from German Arier) — term used in Nazi racial theory, meaning mainly Germanic people; opposite of a Jew; a non-Jew.
AUDIT OFFICE, Supreme Audit Office, see Najwyższa Izba Kontroli.
AUSWEIS (German, pl. Ausweise) — identity card; sometimes also certificate of
employment.
AUTO-DA-FÉ (Portuguese, act of faith) — in an Inquisition trial, public declaration of acceptance or rejection of the Catholic faith, followed by burning at the stake.
BAŁUTY, the largest and poorest district of Łódź, included in the city during WWI;
part of it was transformed by the Germans into the second largest ghetto of occupied Poland.
BEIRAT (German, Auxiliary Council) — in the Litzmannstadt (Lodz) Ghetto, a group of prominent persons nominated by Mordechai Rumkowski as his advisory body; the first Beirat with 31 members was appointed after 13 October 1939; only a few avoided death on 11 November. The so-called second Beirat was appointed on 9 December 1939, and the number of members grew to 67. See also Judenrat.
BETAR (Hebrew, acronym for Brit Trumpeldor), Trumpeldor’s Association (of Jewish Youth) in Poland (Stowarzyszenie [Młodzieży Żydowskiej] im. Trumpeldora w Polsce) — Zionist youth organisation established in 1923, associated with the Revisionists; based on the scouting model, preparing its members to participate in Jewish self-defence.
BUND (Yiddish, lit. union) — Jewish Socialist party and workers’ movement in the
western part of the Russian Empire, established in 1897, especially active in interwar Poland.
BURMISTRZ (Polish) — mayor.
CENTOS (Polish, acronym for Centrala Związku Towarzystw Opieki nad Sierotami
i Dziećmi Opuszczonymi) — Central Association for the Care of Orphans, established in 1924. Its activities were partially supported by AJDC.
CKU (Polish, abbr. Centralna Komisja Uchodźców) — Central Committee for Refugees, established at the turn of 1939/1940 by the Landsmanshaftn Department of ŻSS.
