Date unknown, Warsaw ghetto, [Mordkhe Schwartzbard?], ”פֿון לאָדזשער
לעבן“ [On life in Łódź]. The organisation of the Jewish community in
Łódź after the outbreak of war. Establishment of the Judenrat. Activities
of the finance and social aid committees.
[1] On life in Łódź
The chairman of the Jewish kehillah, Leyb Mincberg, left Łódź immediately
upon the outbreak of war. When the occupation of the city began, the kehillah
was in total disorganisation. There was no money in the till, not even funds
for burying the dead. A conference of 15 people — wardens, representatives
of institutions, social activists — was convened in order to set up an aid committee.
At that time, it was impossible to show oneself in the street because
people were being seized for labour. It was proposed to submit an application
to the authorities for the kehillah to supply workers and the seizures to stop.
Dr Schlosser was charged with drafting the application. It was submitted to
the authorities by a delegation of three people: Dr Schlosser, Rumkowski, and
Dr Szwalbe. During the process, the authorities asked who the kehillah elder
was. As Mr Mincberg was not in Łódź, Mr Pływacki was hastily elected chairman.
A little later, it was announced that the kehillah administration was
being dissolved and, at the same time, Mr Rumkowski was appointed as the
Eldest of the Jews. He was also ordered to establish a Judenrat. Rumkowski convened a meeting of 32 eminent people from the world of finance and formed
the Judenrat with them as its members. Events unfolded fast. Soon afterwards
an order came from the authorities that the whole Judenrat was to present
itself forthwith to the Gestapo. All those who came were arrested without preliminaries. The following were released: Rumkowski; Windman, the head of
the finance department; Faust,²⁸⁴ the head of the social welfare department;
Dr Helman, the head of the sanitary department. Rumkowski ran everything,
together with those department heads. Then came an order to re-establish
the Judenrat. After a series of meetings, a 12-man Judenrat was appointed.
284 Szmul Faust (1880–1942), owner of a spinning mill; he left for Warsaw in January 1940; perished in Treblinka.
